Past Events

Saturday, August 19, 2023

young man with notebook in field of flowers near utility tower

Naturalist Ed Series: Pollinators Under Power Lines

1:00pm to 3:30pm
Fairfield Osborn Preserve

Pollinators like bees, flies, butterflies and beetles, are responsible for one out of every three bites of food we take! Come hear how SSU and Pollinator Partnership teamed up to research impacts on plants and their insect-pollinators due to vegetation management under power lines, and get a chance to contribute data yourself by performing a field survey. We’ll also discuss their roles in ecosystem health, and the fascinating larger world of insects and arthropods.

Hawk on a snag.

Naturalist Ed Series: Birds of Osborn Preserve

9:00am to 12:00pm
Fairfield Osborn Preserve

Birds play vital roles in pollinating, controlling pests, fertilizing plants and more. Join us to learn about fall bird diversity at the Osborn Preserve! We will explore a variety of vegetation communities to search for, find and observe birds and evidence of birds. We will also learn about what resident and migratory birds are doing on Sonoma Mountain this fall.

Saturday, June 3, 2023

Meadow with shed

Trails for Conservation

9:00am to 3:00pm
Galbreath Wildlands Preserve

Join us for a hands-on community trail work day at Galbreath Wildlands Preserve. Well-built trails protect habitat and species, and prevent erosion while keeping sedimentation from falling into waterways. Properly planned and maintained, trails can be interesting to hike, lead us to beautiful and inspiring spaces, and be sustainable year after year. You might come away with new ideas and skills for use on your property or another place. For Galbreath, this trail project day will help provide access for future guided outings so more people can learn from and experience our wonderful preserve. You get to experience the beauty of nature on the preserve while also contributing with volunteer service and practice trail maintenance skills.

Monday, May 22, 2023

small waterfall with ferns

Pond & Creek Restoration Field Day for Landowners, Part Two

9:30am to 1:00pm
Galbreath Wildlands Preserve

Water is our life’s blood. We all know this, and realize we must take whatever steps we can to conserve and use it wisely. For landowners, the protection and storage of water can be vital. In this two-part series you will learn about effective approaches to preserving and enhancing the creeks and ponds vital for local ecosystems. This will include the role of maintaining stream flow, woody debris, restoring riparian vegetation and invasive species control (with a focus on bullfrogs and invasive plants). 

The first field day will be at the Hopland Research and Extension Center (HREC), the University of California's principal field research facility for agriculture and natural resources in the North Coast region. The following week we will meet at Sonoma State University’s 3,670-acre Galbreath Wildlands Preserve in the upper Navarro watershed in Yorkville. The properties are very different from each other and the approaches to restoration have been different. It is encouraged, but not necessary, to attend both sessions in order to to learn actionable skills.

Monday, May 15, 2023

California Conservation Corps members with shovels near a pond

Pond & Creek Restoration Field Day for Landowners, Part One

10:00am to 1:00pm
Other

Water is our life’s blood. We all know this, and realize we must take whatever steps we can to conserve and use it wisely. For landowners, the protection and storage of water can be vital. In this two-part series you will learn about effective approaches to preserving and enhancing the creeks and ponds vital for local ecosystems. This will include the role of maintaining stream flow, woody debris, restoring riparian vegetation and invasive species control (with a focus on bullfrogs and invasive plants). 

The first field day will be at the Hopland Research and Extension Center (HREC), the University of California's principal field research facility for agriculture and natural resources in the North Coast region. The following week we will meet at Sonoma State University’s 3,670-acre Galbreath Wildlands Preserve in the upper Navarro watershed in Yorkville. The properties are very different from each other and the approaches to restoration have been different. It is encouraged, but not necessary, to attend both sessions in order to to learn actionable skills.

tanoak leaves and acorn caps on the ground

Galbreath Sudden Oak Death Blitz

9:30am to 1:00pm
Galbreath Wildlands Preserve

Help control this destructive forest pathogen! Now in its 16th year, this statewide citizen/community science project is vital to managing Sudden Oak Death, which is widespread in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Join us to contribute to science while getting your own bay laurel or tanoak trees tested at no cost. 

Saturday, May 13, 2023

coast live oak tree

Osborn Sudden Oak Death Blitz - Bilingüe en Español

10:00am to 1:30pm
Fairfield Osborn Preserve

Help control this destructive forest pathogen! Now in its 16th year, this statewide citizen science project is vital to managing Sudden Oak Death. Sonoma County continues to be a hotbed of infection, and Osborn Preserve was the first location it was detected here back in 2001, so maintaining long-term research on site is particularly important. Join us to contribute to science while getting your own bay laurel or tanoak trees tested at no cost. This is a bilingual event (English and Spanish). 

¡Ayúdanos a controlar un patógeno destruyendo el bosque! Ahora en su decimosexto año, este proyecto de ciencia comunitaria, estatal, ha sido vital en controlar la Muerte Súbita Del Roble . Desafortunadamente, este patógeno continúa infectando a muchos árboles robles en el condado de Sonoma desde 2001, cuando primero detectaron el patógeno en la área natural protegida conocida como Fairfield Osborn Preserve. Debido a su estatus como epicentro del patógeno es importante continuar recolectando información para la investigación científica con propósito de ayudarnos a entender los efectos del patógeno en la comunidad del bosque a través del largo plazo. Aprenda cómo recolectar sus propias pruebas de los árboles robles, y mandar a que sean analizadas, sin costo alguno. Este es un evento bilingüe (Inglés y Español).

Saturday, May 6, 2023

a naturalist presenting to a group on a trail

Natural History Hikes

10:00am to 2:00pm
Fairfield Osborn Preserve

University students and community docents will be your guide. Our guides are trained in natural history of the mountain and interpretation of preserve programs. They will lead you on one of many trails into this 450-acre preserve on the shoulder of Sonoma Mountain. Hike options include visits to the headwaters of Copeland Creek and spectacular vistas of the Santa Rosa Valley and Valley of the Moon.

Saturday, April 29, 2023

a man holds a stick in the air in the forest

Ezell: Ballad of A Land Man

5:00pm
Fairfield Osborn Preserve

Creating art that explores and inspires the possibility of living in harmony with nature and with one another, Clear Creek Creative presents their theatrical work Ezell: Ballad of a Land Man. An environmental, cultural, and spiritual parable derived from living in the foothills of Appalachia, about one man among many seeking to make sense of the time, place and condition in which we live. The development and sharing of this theatrical work is an attempt to make plain and disrupt domination — to reveal the patterns of domination behavior within this character Ezell, within his relationship to others and the land, within his livelihoods and his ways of being, within his ancestry and his belief system.

a naturalist presenting to a group on a trail

Natural History Hikes

10:00am to 2:00pm
Fairfield Osborn Preserve

University students and community docents will be your guide. Our guides are trained in natural history of the mountain and interpretation of preserve programs. They will lead you on one of many trails into this 450-acre preserve on the shoulder of Sonoma Mountain. Hike options include visits to the headwaters of Copeland Creek and spectacular vistas of the Santa Rosa Valley and Valley of the Moon.

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