SEC is holding another Toxic Runoff Containment Workshop this Saturday, Dec. 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Saint Francis Winery Production Yard (directions below).

This workshop, including the wattles and stakes we distribute and in-person instruction on how to use them, is free of charge to Sonoma County property owners with burned structures located near waterways within the Glass Fire zone. Our goal is to assist local communities in containing potentially harmful toxic runoff and prevent it from washing into nearby watersheds with the onset of heavy rains. Click here for details or see this blog post.

Directions:

This workshop is at the Saint Francis Winery Production Yard, not the tasting room. Click here for Google Map directions.

• Turn onto North Pythian Road from Sonoma Highway
• Bear right where North Pythian Road forks with Los Guilicos Road, staying on Pythian
• Just before reaching Los Guilicos Road again, turn right through an open gate and follow signs for “Toxic Runoff Containment Workshops” to a back corner next to the Saint Francis Maintenance Shop
• Look for a big red truck!

SEC staff and wonderful community volunteers will be on hand to help you and explain how to install wattles properly. Materials will be provided at no expense to the homeowner while supplies last.

We will need a signed access form with your name and address so that we can return at a later date to check and make sure the wattles were installed correctly. Neighbors are welcome to help one another with wattle installations on their properties.

We ask the following to keep everyone safe and healthy.

Safety Rules:

• All attendees must wear a mask and maintain safe physical distancing (6 feet or more) as much as possible at this outdoor event
• Sanitizer will be available at the sign-in table. Please sanitize your hands before and after handling pens and clipboards (you will be asked to sign a property owner consent form and event participation waiver)
• Wattles are cumbersome and heavy, so please do not attempt to lift them and other materials on your own; to protect your back, wait for assistance from SEC staff and volunteers

Sonoma Ecology Center would like to thank the Sonoma County Office of Recovery Resiliency for providing funding and approval for this event, and especially to all of you for responding to the call to help safeguard the health of our watersheds and communities! Please help spread the word to your neighbors, so we can reach as many affected properties as possible.

For more information go to www.sonomaecologycenter.org/watershed-protection. For questions, email us at firerecovery@sonomaecologycenter.org.