Life+Landscapes: Creating Connections

LIFE+LANDSCAPES

Creating Connections

I am inspired and feel hopeful by the data collected at Pepperwood on our changing and recovering landscape that has applications for fire resilience and climate solutions. I am grateful for the integration of Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge in land stewardship practices, and the intergenerational environmental education and public programs. I am in awe of Pepperwood’s accomplishments and continued vision that the leadership and staff bring to this magical landscape.”

JULIE KAWAHARA FOUNDER, KAWAHARA & ASSOCIATES; PEPPERWOOD BOARD MEMBER

ON THE COVER: Early spring snows at Pepperwood during calving season. Belted Galloway cattle grazing in pastures in the foreground and snow-capped Mt. Saint Helena in the background. Photo courtesy of Ian Nelson.

THIS PAGE: Lupine. Photo courtesy of Ian Nelson.

OPPOSITE: Victoria Alonso, Executive Director of Fundación Tierra Austral, (left) and Lisa Micheli (right). Photo courtesy of Victoria Alonso.

Connecting Lives and Landscapes

Dear Friend,

I am writing this to you from Santiago, Chile – where I am finally concluding a Fulbright Fellowship originally scheduled for 2020. Chile shares so much in common with California, with its capital city of Santiago located in the heart of the country’s Mediterranean region. Chileans are facing similar challenges: land fragmentation, habitat conversion, struggling agriculture, severe drought, and unprecedented megafires.

In both countries, these factors cause deep environmental, social, and economic strain. Through this cross-hemisphere partnership, we are working to re-engineer conservation science by incorporating equity into its guiding principles. Conservation has a legacy founded on cultural imperialism that we must overcome and evolve through. By leveraging our interconnectivity I find that we are not only stronger together, but I believe we can find a way to succeed as a global community.

Today we’re seeing a shift in conservation. Historically, conservation initiatives were largely funded by large, often international organizations, which made massive nationscale investments to help establish large public protected areas. But at times these places became inaccessible to the people living in close proximity, and the benefits of these natural areas became exclusive to all but those with the privilege of access. Now there is a greater emphasis on community engagement, leadership, access, and stewardship of our conserved lands and waters across public, private, and Indigenous jurisdictions and cultures.

Working within and across communities requires building a collaborative network grounded in trust. With Pepperwood´s role as a participant in the Chile-California Conservation Exchange since 2016, the fruits of our international collaboration are blooming. Since then, with leadership from a set of collaborative conservacionistas (conservers of nature), Chile’s Civil Code was amended to provide a framework for conservation easements – the legal tool that allows private land to be dedicated to nature protection into perpetuity. This provided the incentive to form the nation’s first land trust, Fundación Tierra Austral, led by my friend and colleague Victoria Alonso, who has been a driving force behind this movement. I am inspired by the work being done in Chile. I am seeing on this journey that the ways we use science as a tool can build trust. It is a thread that connects us.

Victoria reminisced that as part of our Chile-California Exchange, she had been struck by the wisdom of one of my personal conservation heroes, Sharon Farrell, founder

of the California Lands Stewardship Network, and key influencer in the formation of OneTam and the Golden Gate Biosphere. Sharon emphasized the need for what she called, “60 Cups of Tea,” the ability to slow down and listen – over tea, or maybe even a cold beer – to create a foundation for meaningful relationships. Instead of charging ahead and “producing results,” or ¨making an impact¨ (doing what many of us in this field may feel we have been trained to do). What is really needed is time taken to know each other, build trust, and forge a sense of shared purpose and belonging. Ultimately, the most important ingredient to our collective success in community-based conservation, is building the trust of landowners, agencies, and the public.

Now a question guiding my enquiry is what is the role of science in building trust, especially in the context of community-based work? How can science help bridge political differences and general mistrust some may bear towards the government or private sector? I have experienced a number of collaborations where science was an effective means of establishing a healthy dialogue between diverse interests. With your support and engagement, this is part of Pepperwood’s approach to making conservation equitable and accessible.

Because we are all – somos todos – conservacionistas.

Warm regards,

Lisa Micheli

Art as a Bridge to Nature

By Stephanie Beard

Communications Coordinator

Artist Catherine Daley’s Aurora Series, captures the light and wind through the seasons from its location in front of the Dwight Center for Conservation Science.

Photo courtesy of Lisa Micheli.

The curator behind Pepperwood’s Gallery is a man named Ben Benson. Archaeologist, cultural anthropologist, professor, artist, adventurer, exhibit designer, master electrician – these are a handful of Ben´s accomplishments, but they by no means capture the essence of the man. For that, one needs to have a conversation with him. His enthusiasm for art and the natural world, his optimism for humanity, his expertise in Indigenous arts and traditions,and his passion for connecting people with, in his words, the majesty of Nature is enlivening. I’ve had the pleasure and good fortune of sharing many conversations with Ben over the years, and each time I come away feeling inspired.

Ben has been engaged with Pepperwood for over fifteen years, having discovered the reserve through our relationship with the Santa Rosa Junior College where he served as a faculty member and founder of the Multicultural Museum. Ben´s presence at Pepperwood predates our founding director and most of the current Pepperwood team. When he was first spending time on site his role was rather… nebulous. But the openness of his role – to essentially explore whatever facets of the land captured his imagination – empowered him to help shape Pepperwood’s art initiatives from the inside out.

Ben identifies as part Native American and part Jewish, and he grew up with a very clear sense of Native American culture. He saw in California Indigenous culture an incredible stability and integration with nature, so much so that those cultures could have endured in perpetuity in balance with their habitat. Much of his career as a cultural anthropologist, archaeologist, and professor, has focused on how Native Americans achieved harmony with the ecology of California. Therefore, his first order of business at Pepperwood was to create space for Native American

perspectives and philosophy. He invited several Indigenous community members, with whom he had long term relationships, to the reserve to open a dialogue with Pepperwood´s team. In time, some did, and together they subsequently formed the Native Advisory Council at Pepperwood. Since then, the Council has grown and evolved and is revitalizing Native American culture and connection to place here at Pepperwood.

Without Ben, there wouldn’t be a gallery at the Dwight Center for Conservation Science. Ben began the Gallery by coordinating Native American basketry exhibits in concert with the Council. “It was here that I noticed how what we perceive as art –this beautiful basketry, which is in fact so much more than just artistry – reflects an environmental philosophy of connection and reciprocity,” he tells me. What sprang up from those first exhibits at Pepperwood was a persistent personal mission to connect Pepperwood’s community to nature through art.

With Ben´s leadership, Pepperwood’s Gallery has expanded its mission to also feature the contemporary arts. Not only are there seasonal exhibits in the Gallery, there are now

LEARN MORE ABOUT ART AT PEPPERWOOD, AND FIND OUT WHAT’S FEATURED IN THE GALLERY AND ON THE LAND RIGHT NOW!

environmental art installations throughout the reserve with many more planned for installation. I had a feeling Ben was a force behind the expansion of our Gallery programming. He laughed when I framed it this way in my interview with him – though I noticed he didn’t refute it. “I can be tenacious!” he says modestly. His tenacity, and partnership with our new Arts Committee chaired by Education Director, Margaret Boeger, has paid off. Realizing this vision has taken a decade of dedication and patience to integrate art throughout the reserve and into our strategic plan.

I asked Ben how this had unfolded. After all, Pepperwood is a sciencebased institution with hard-core research happening throughout the reserve. Ben has complete faith in Pepperwood’s scientists and stewardship practitioners to guide on those fronts, but as a cultural anthropologist, his guidance comes from a different place. “The issue that we in the environmental community face is that knowledge of what’s happening to the world around us through climate change is not enough. Knowledge of our impact on the environment is not enough. We need culture change.”

For the last two hundred plus years, America’s economy has been founded to a large degree on consumption and exploitation of our natural resources. With new communication technologies, we have further strained our cultural connection with the natural world. Now we’re facing some extraordinary environmental challenges – many of which are exacerbated by our own actions. To Ben, yes, solutions involve science.

Assistant Preserve Manager, Devyn Friedfel and Ben are creating burn piles to clear a site for Pepperwood’s upcoming “Labyrinth”. The 40’ diameter stone labyrinth will be located on a high terrace above the Bechtel House. It will be a special art site for meditation and peacefulness in harmony with nature.

But they will also require cultural evolution. But, how do we evoke this sort of change? Ben’s theory involves one of the fundamental features of a culture, “art is one of the ways we can stimulate awareness, that we can open people’s hearts to the majesty of Nature. Art provides visitors with a way to connect to Nature and to understand the importance of science.”

From his earliest days at Pepperwood, Ben has facilitated connections to nature through art and predominantly Native American philosophy. The way he sees it, we will be able to meet our environmental challenges only when we begin to see nature as truly sacred. His hope, through his work at Pepperwood, is to tap into our deepest feelings as Americans and to build a felt sense of that sacred value in order to transform our relationship to the natural world. He sees art as a window, a stimulator, a bridge. It can be evocative. It can open people’s hearts and minds to the nature that surrounds them, and the nature they are.

Ben fundamentally believes that regardless of who we are, we all share a foundational relationship with nature – a profound awareness of the natural world around us that simply needs to be revived. He does not expect to get there overnight. Cultural evolution takes time. Generations of

time have led us to where we are now, and it will take generations more to evolve our culture and restore a deeply held value of environmental reciprocity. Pepperwood is using art to create a space for people to begin to shape their own feelings and their own awareness of the natural world based on experiences in nature that they can also share with their family.

Pepperwood is perfectly positioned to facilitate this change because of this intersection of art, science, and nature fostered by Ben´s leadership. “There’s no barrier between what science shows us objectively and what our hearts can feel subjectively.” Ben says, we’re going to do that at Pepperwood with art – we’re going to create experiences not only to know Nature, but to feel it.”

We are pleased to share that in honor of Ben’s service to Pepperwood for the past fifteen years, we’re celebrating him and his continued service as our Honoree at our annual Sunset Celebration fundraiser on June 3rd. We hope to see you at the big event!

Ben’s ongoing environmental studies in Native American cultural ecology require him to explore habitats that are often quite isolated. Here, he’s pictured heading into a desert oasis, six miles into a canyon above Bad Water, Death Valley. He takes his customized KTM 500 moto that he also uses at Pepperwood when surveying for CalFire before prescribed burns.

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Ben teaching at the Santa Rosa Junior College. Ben at Pepperwood’s Gallery in the early days speaking to an audience about the Pomo basketry exhibit. Ben working on the base for artist Catherine Daley’s first Aurora Series sculpture. The “Lure of Pepperwood” art exhibit in 2023, featuring the artwork of Richard McDaniel. Photo courtesy of Gary Morgret.

Long before joining the Native Advisory Council at Pepperwood, and twelve years prior to even being born, L. Frank Manriquez traveled the world over before deciding to start life in Santa Monica, California. A lifelong activist and artist, L. lives life on the cutting edge.

Introducing L. Frank Manriquez: Irresponsible Artist, Responsible Activist

By Stephanie Beard Communications Coordinator

L. Frank is Tongvetam, Acjachemen, and Rarámuri and their preferred pronoun is pó – a Native gender identifier that you’ll see throughout this piece. The Tongvetam (TONG-vetam), sometimes called Tongva, are Indigenous to the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands, while the Acjachemen (HAH-shi-men) are Indigenous to what are now the southern areas of Orange County and the northwestern areas of San Diego County. The Rarámuri, renowned for their long-distance running ability, are Indigenous to what is now the state of Chihuahua, in northern Mexico.

L. comes across as wisened, yet is never far from a genuine laugh or smile, and always has a joke on deck. One thing about L. Frank that has always impressed me is pó ability to keep lighthearted even in the depths of difficult conversations – a dash of whimsy is what L. brings to even the tensest moments. A keynote speaker

for a Bioneers Conference one year, L. was incorrectly introduced as Pomo. L. got up and opened with “well, I’m not Pomo, but I can spell it!”

During our virtual interview, L. is scribbling something below the view of the camera. I’ve known L. for some time now, so I’m certain there is artistry unfurling just out of my view. Pó is always doodling something rather casually stunning or evocative in the margin of whatever piece of paper is handiest. “L.,” I say, “are you doodling down there?” Pó laughs unabashedly, and lifts the page for me to see a picture taking shape, “some people think I’m taking notes!” An understandable mistake to make.

A gifted artist and cartoonist, L. Frank has exhibited pó artwork (paintings, sculpture, weavings, photography, cartoons, and regalia) in museums and galleries locally, nationally, and internationally. Pó calls themself an

The Moment is a painting depicting when L.’s Spanish ancestors arrived with the big dipper as witness. The top dipper represents 100,000 years ago, the middle that is barely visible is the dipper today, and the bottom dipper represents 100,000 years into the future.

irresponsible artist and I wonder if this is partly because of the doodling habit. Pó says this often in contrast with the other strong facet of pó being: activism, “I’m an irresponsible artist and a responsible activist,” pó says definitively.

L. works to revitalize Indigenous languages and is the co-founder of Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival and also serves on the Board of The Cultural Conservancy, to name just a couple advocacy roles. L. brings extensive knowledge of California Indian cultural affairs to pó position on the Native Advisory Council at

early days of the Native Advisory Council’s convening. And it was very intentional.

L. has great hopes for local Native people to have access to and gather the plants they need without having to beg or pay to do so. This is a customary barrier these days, as many culturally significant places and resources are now considered to be on private lands. Indigenous access to these places and resources is then either barred entirely or restricted unless special acceptances can be made. For Pepperwood, these sorts of things are in the works, but L. believes they could really be happening now. Navigating

Native Advisory Council, Pepperwood has increased access to Indigenous perspectives through educational programming. L. looks forward to seeing more of this in years to come. “I would like us to be more prominent in our educational access for youth, for instance teaching Indigenous science alongside Western science,” pó explains, “People tend to talk about the land without any indigeneity. English and western thought will happen, but the Indigenous science will not happen as assuredly because the people teaching it are not Indigenous, and the curriculum is not Indigenous. Indigenous is hard to find and get across because we’re so busy

Pepperwood. L.’s work re-Indigenizing language helped to influence Pepperwood’s own name reIndigenization campaign in 2021. Now, all of Pepperwood’s signage for trail names includes not only the English names, but the Indigenous names.

L. first became involved with Pepperwood before it was known as Pepperwood. Then, pó was on the Board of the California Indian Basketweavers Association (CIBA), on which pó served for fifteen years. “I’m not really sure how I got on the Council,” L. explains, “I was with a larger group of Natives and we were being asked a bunch of questions and I just didn’t go away. Ya know, I think I got on the Council by attrition – just wouldn’t go away!” Though, in reality, it was Pepperwood’s Cultural Resource Coordinator, Ben Benson who initially got L. Frank involved with the Pepperwood Foundation in the

the protection of sacred places and plants without restricting access is something Pepperwood is working on to facilitate greater cultural access for local Indigenous people.

Meanwhile, the Native Advisory Council is working to increase access to traditional foodways. Uplifting the unity between health of body, mind, and spirit, it is a priority for the Council to create opportunities for Indigenous communities to have access to traditional foods. The Council is identifying Native plant communities that still exist on the land that, with support and Indigenous stewardship, can provide sustainable food systems for the Indigenous community, and eventually the community at large.

As a teacher and elder, education is extremely important to L., especially when it comes to teaching younger generations. In partnership with the

trying to fit into this world.” L.’s vision is for curricula that share the stories and perspectives of the land’s First Peoples alongside western science.

In the last year alone, the Native Advisory Council and Pepperwood have collaborated to re-indigenize trail names, increase the number of Indigenous visitors to the land, and bring cultural burning back to the land that is now Pepperwood. This momentum will continue in years to come, and in large part because of the combined strengths of each of the Native Advisory Council’s six members. L. Frank is among the longest-serving members of the Council and looks forward to continuing this important collaborative work.

Skull art Through the Eyes of the Ancestors.

Winter TeenNat: an Intentional Space for Bonding

By Holland Gistelli Education Program Coordinator

The winter school break brings one of our most anticipated education events of the year – Winter TeenNat. Since 2020, we have welcomed TeenNat alumni back to Pepperwood with open arms for three days of joyous nature exploration, new connections, and continued mentorship over the winter holiday. This special alumni reunion brings together past participants from all years of Pepperwood´s summer TeenNat program, dating back a decade to our first cohort from 2013!

This year, high school students from our most recent cohorts connected with college students and graduates by sharing insights and building community. We created a safe space for alumni to share their recent accomplishments and adventures and to talk about where their educational and career paths are leading them. In these moments, our older alumni are serving as near-peer mentors and role models, illuminating for our younger alumni the range of open doors –including experiential opportunities and leadership pathways.

A major highlight of Winter TeenNat is the opportunity for our alumni to be immersed in the wonders of the cool, damp winter landscape – our green season! This is a far cry from the hot and dry weather and natural phenomena they experienced during their summer TeenNat session. Our Winter TeenNat crews bond over planting native bunchgrasses into rich, rain-saturated earth, watching a northern harrier gliding over green grasslands, examining the microhabitat of a lush moss and lichen forest on an oak branch, encountering ponds brimming with newts in the midst of breeding season, and learning about the fascinating diversity of fungi we find.

Winter TeenNat exemplifies the power of creating a welcoming and encouraging space for young people to explore their interests. It is important to our team to ensure our “TeenNatters” know that they are always welcome at Pepperwood, that this is a community where they belong. Many are still figuring out what paths they want to pursue, and are inspired by hearing fellow alumni’s updates about their exploration of degrees and jobs spanning interests from science to the humanities. Each year we are grateful to share in the joy our TeenNatters experience during this chance to get out into the rejuvenating fresh air and beauty of nature, growing supportive friendships among kindred spirits.

Each winter since 2020, we’ve held a three-day TeenNat Alumni community reunion during which participants reconnect with the land, their passion, and each other. Photos courtesy of Summer Swallow.

Prescribed burn at Pepperwood.

Native Grasslands: The Unsung Heroes of Climate Change

I’m not being overly dramatic, considering the problems facing California. We are experiencing extremes from record heat to flooding to drought and wildfires. Even a generous rainy season isn’t enough to assuage our fears around the changing climate – or to sufficiently refill our aquifers. For this kind of problem we need creative, nature-based solutions for which grasslands may hold the key.

By Michael Gillogly Preserve Manager

If I ask you to imagine your favorite California landscape, what comes to mind? Perhaps the magnificent redwood forests, or the golden rolling hills dotted with gnarled old oaks. But grasslands? Oftentimes, when we look at grasslands we only see a vast expanse of green or yellow – just grass. But what if I were to tell you, here lies one of the greatest unsung heroes of our California landscape? To understand, we must look closer.

Native grasslands are exceptionally biodiverse places and provide numerous ecological functions. Many animals rely on grasslands for food, fiber, medicine, and habitat, and humans are included in that tally. Carbon sequestration, water infiltration, soil stabilization, nutrient cycling, wildlife (from pollinators to apex predators), and a multitude of rare and endangered species are supported by healthy native grasslands. Native grasslands might just help save the world.

Did you know that native perennial bunchgrasses like California fescue (Festuca californica), purple needlegrass (Stipa pulchra), blue wild-rye (Elymus glaucus), and California barley (Hordeum brachyantherum) have root systems that dwarf other plants? For example, purple needlegrass can have root structures that penetrate up to 20 feet into the soil. These deeprooted champions take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and deposit the carbon deep in the soil where it stays stationary for the long-term and remains unaffected by wildfires. This root structure also provides an efficient pathway for rainwater to filter deep into the soil, replenishing soil moisture and reducing downstream flooding. Grasses like these can live for centuries.

Grazing is a much-needed “disturbance cycle” for grassland health. A cow munching on a native bunchgrass acts in much the same way as pruning a fruit tree: it stimulates growth and promotes plant health. Hundreds of years ago this disturbance was fulfilled by large herds of elk, antelope, and deer. Wolves and grizzly bears kept

Markegard Family Grassfed’s Galloway cattle fulfill an important role in maintaining the health of Pepperwood’s native grassland ecology. Calving season is one of the most endearing times at the reserve. Photo courtesy of Ian A. Nelson.

the herds on the move, giving the plants time to recuperate before being grazed again. Regenerative agriculture is about farming root systems in much the same way these pre-colonial predators inadvertently did, by keeping herds moving and allowing plants to rest between disturbances. When properly managed, grazing cows can magnify the ability of native grasses to sequester carbon. As the cow tears the tops of the bunchgrass, the plant equalizes by reducing its root mass, releasing as carbon deep into the soil. As the plant regrows, it pulls more carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. This cycle can repeat again and again if the plant has an adequate rest period between grazing episodes.

Another healthy disturbance cycle for grasslands is periodic fire. Native cultures stewarded these lands with fire to promote plants for food and textiles, among other reasons. At

Pepperwood, we are working alongside Indigenous leaders to restore cultural burning practices to our native grasslands. How, where, and when to apply fire is another reason we turn to our knowledgeable Indigenous native practitioners.

Intentional fires like these burn less severely, emit less smoke, and move more predictably than wildfires. Fire burns up accumulated dead fuels, or thatch, transforming them into usable nutrients like nitrogen, which benefit the soil and plant life. Native plant species tend to fare better after fire disturbances than those not adapted to periodic fire regimes, giving them the advantage after a fire. For this reason, prescribed and cultural burning practices are helpful in reducing invasive species. Additionally, with the thatch removed sunlight can reach the seeds waiting in the soil. The subsequent boom of post-fire productivity is felt by all those who rely on grasslands from the smallest pollinators to the biggest grazers.

When evaluated on a global scale, native grassland restoration has great potential to mitigate climate change for a whole range of reasons. So what’s the hold-up? Why haven’t we abated the worst impacts of our changing climate by restoring native grasslands, switching to regenerative agriculture, and reintroducing traditional burning practices? The answer is probably something you can guess.

The loss of native wildflowers and perennial grasses has been caused by human development, industrial agriculture, the introduction of invasive species that overcome native grassland communities, and the encroachment of trees and shrubs into grasslands that remain undisturbed. All of these impacts combined have made native grasslands one of the most endangered ecosystems in the State.

Intentional burning, which includes prescribed and cultural burning, is an important component of maintaining a healthful grassland ecosystem. Pictured is a cultural burn that took place in June of 2022. Photo courtesy of Ian Nelson.

In California, 47,000 acres of grassland are converted to agriculture or development every year. Today, non-native species make up the bulk of our grasslands.

But, and this is a very important but, well-managed grazing and the use of intentional burning practices can help restore our native species. There are also many ways for an individual to contribute to the health of our native grasslands. You can choose to favor native species over non-native species in your landscaping practices. You can choose to source your meat responsibly, maybe even consider beef produced at Pepperwood by Markegard Family Grass fed! And you can choose to support your local open space authority to implement measures that promote native grasslands.

Each year, Pepperwood volunteers collect native grass seed at the reserve and propagate them in specialized planting “plugs.” Last year alone, volunteers planted 25,000 native grass plugs throughout the reserve. You can join us at Pepperwood, the first Saturday of every month, for our Volunteer Workdays, or you can support an open space that is local to your neck of the woods. If you have property with grasslands on it, maybe consider ways you could be a better steward to that community or start by getting to know the plants and animals that reside there.

Whatever you choose to do, I hope the next time you are enjoying the expansive views across those green rolling hills, you feel thankful for the multiple benefits native grasslands provide, and maybe share that knowledge with a friend or two.

Increasing Environmental Literacy in Sonoma County Youth

By Margaret Boeger Education Director

The Sonoma Environmental Education Collaborative (SEEC) is a regional consortium of environmental education professionals from organizations, agencies, and school districts. SEEC was created to enhance best practices in our fields and to encourage the creative exchange of ideas within the science education community. Our mission is to create vibrant, innovative collaborations that increase environmental literacy in Sonoma County youth. As a collaborative, SEEC undertakes its mission by identifying and addressing regional needs for environmental education beyond the scope of individual organizations. Pepperwood is proud to have been part of the SEEC leadership team since its inception,

SEEC’s work reaches over 25,000 students and community members annually through the collective’s programs. We promote professional development within our community, and we have held nearly 20 workshops focused on topics promoting best practices in environmental education that are prioritized by the SEEC community. These include monthly speakers’ series as part of our regular meetings – thanks to the support of the Community Foundation Sonoma County! In 2016, we launched a multisite event designed to connect Latino families with outdoor resources, called “Day of the Child.” In 2023, we look forward to continuing this important work and implementing a capacity-building opportunity with our partners at LandPaths. Stay tuned to learn more!

Students investigating nature from their classroom during a winter visit from Pepperwood’s Environmental Educators through the SCENIQ (Students Conducting Environmental Inquiry) program. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Gonzalez.

Growing Pepperwood’s Presence in the Spanish-speaking Community

By Stephanie Gonzalez Environmental Educator

Pepperwood’s presence in the Spanish-speaking community is small but growing! In February, I had an interview with Ana Salgado, a radio broadcaster for KBBF (Sonoma County´s bilingual radio station at 89.1FM), about Pepperwood’s upcoming programming. This interview was one of many steps Pepperwood is taking to increase our visibility and connect with the Spanish-speaking members of our community.

Recently, we have made great strides in this effort. The Spanish version of our website is up and running, making it easier for those looking for things to do in Santa Rosa to find our offerings and to navigate our website. We have launched a fully-Spanish e-newsletter to help maintain connection with people we are meeting via in-person outreach at events and gatherings in the community. We are exploring partnerships with other organizations like Latino Outdoors, and are exploring new outreach opportunities to continue to create stronger ties. This is how Pepperwood’s presence will grow in the lives of our Spanishspeaking community members – one conversation at a time!

Stephanie Gonzalez is creating space for Spanish-language speakers of all ages to connect with nature at Pepperwood through classes offered exclusively in Spanish.

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Herb & Jane Dwight’s Family Legacy

By Stephanie Beard Communications Coordinator

Herb Dwight’s backpacking phase lasted more than 50 years. Whenever he was on the trail, he’d take a moment to pause and revel in the marvels of nature. “One has to stop and look around and observe.” Born in 1930, Herb is a third-generation Californian. When he was young, his father took him to the remote areas of California – from the high Sierra’s to the coldest rivers. These experiences imbued in him an affection for wild places. “I graduated from Stanford in June 1953, at a time when negotiations for ending the Korean War were underway. Several of us were scheduled to report for active duty a week after graduation, giving us one week to engage in another epic adventure in the high Sierras.”

Roughly 1,500 miles away, Jane Dwight, born in Oklahoma, spent much of her childhood on the backs of horses. She was an equestrian from an early age and Jane competed extensively, but her favorite way to ride was bareback and her favorite place to ride was in the forest. When Jane met Herb, they connected over a shared love of the outdoors. She knew that by marrying a third generation Californian, California would be her lifelong home, so she became as passionate about the place as her husband. Jane and Herb’s shared love of the wilderness and the rejuvenating power of nature instilled in them an ethic of conservation that’s persisted throughout their life together, and they’ve passed this value on to their children and grandchildren.

Pepperwood’s grasslands in the springtime are a blanket of wildflowers – a testament to the biodiversity of these marvelous and life-giving ecosystems, and to the health of our grasslands! Photo courtesy of Gerald & Buff Corsi.

Herb was always taken with the iconic California backdrop of golden hills and green oaks. His first impression of what is now Pepperwood is that this place must be a piece of heaven. Jane was astonished by the expanse of land that was here, and was privileged to have the opportunity to purchase the land with her husband. Herb and Jane agreed they wanted to protect, preserve, and restore this place. They also wanted to respect the legacy of the former owner Kenneth Bechtel, who had in the 1930’s begun buying up the land adjacent to his ranch, and then subsequently gifted it to the California Academy of Sciences (CalAcademy). His vision was that this land would serve as a platform for research and education in the natural sciences into perpetuity. After purchasing the land in 2005, the Dwight’s created the Pepperwood Foundation to acquire and manage the 3,200-acre property.

Their vision for the property expanded when they considered how it could be preserved, conserved, and used. An education program, a research program – the organization started out small, but the impact began rippling outward very quickly from that point on. The Dwight’s

wanted to ensure that this place that so inspired them could inspire others. “If we could encourage people to become more aware of what truly natural property has to offer, then we could hook them on becoming more committed to preserving what natural land remains,” Herb says. Jane is very much in alignment and is most pleased to share the place with people of all ages, “the people who come here, no matter what age, find wonder here. This is my greatest joy.”

The Dwight’s founded Pepperwood to make conserved wild land accessible to all, so that the benefits of such a place may be felt by all who visit it.

“Jane and my fondest hopes are that the Pepperwood Foundation will serve as an inspiration for current and future generations to preserve our unique natural attributes: our landscapes, flora, and fauna. Our strategy at Pepperwood incorporates science-based conservation, cutting-edge research, and interdisciplinary education to further the preservation of our natural habitat.” Seeing Pepperwood now, nearly twenty years later, they see their vision has not only come to fruition, it has grown to include so many more people over the years. This is their legacy – one they pass onto their children and grandchildren to safekeep together so that nature may be enjoyed and protected by the whole community.

Herb and a friend in the high Sierras.

Connected Lands are Resilient Lands

By Tosha Comendant Conservation Science Director

As one of only five Mediterranean ecosystems in the world, California is home to a globally exceptional array of plants and animals. Wildlife and their habitats have cultural and spiritual value, deliver essential ecosystem services, and support recreational benefits. In northern California’s Coast Ranges and across the West, subdivision and development splices the natural landscape into increasingly smaller fragments. For reasons we’ll explore, these disconnected landscapes offer less resilience, especially as our climate changes. This is why landscape (or habitat) connectivity has become a crucial component of conservation science and is the focus of Pepperwood’s Linking Landscapes for Wildlife initiative in our 2020-2025 Strategic Plan. To understand why connectivity is important let’s build our own wellconnected landscape from scratch in our imaginations, and see how it behaves.

First, envision the core elements of your landscape: the natural bodies of water – streams, seasonal creeks, ponds, lakes, rivers, or the ocean. How are these water bodies connected to the land-based (terrestrial) habitats that surround them – perhaps a woodland, grassland, chaparral community, or desert? Imagine whether it is sunny or shady, and think about what plants grow here? Maybe, through this exercise, you’re imagining one of your favorite places to go hiking, camping, fishing or just a place that gives you peace.

Now that you’ve created a vibrant ecosystem, it’s time to layer in the wildlife. Who relies on the water bodies? Are there fish? Maybe you’ve already added birdsong and are imagining kingfishers swooping or peregrine falcons hunting. Perhaps there’s a large mammalian predator lurking about, stealing itself from the view of the prey animals like blacktailed deer. Add in some smaller creatures like snakes, salamanders, scorpions, insects, earthworms, even bacteria. Don’t forget to include yourself in this place – or maybe your whole family. People need healthy ecosystems too!

The scene is set, the players are in their positions. Now, transform this static and idyllic scene into the humming, busy, crowded orchestra of life that is a fully functioning ecosystem. On your mark, get set, go! Visualize the flow of life in motion! Cue the photosynthesizers to begin transforming carbon from the sun into energy. Cue the grazers and plant-eaters to consume this plant-made energy from the sun. Cue the predators to consume that energy now in the form of prey, large and small. Cue the decomposers to transform death into bioavailable nutrients in the soil. Cue the seed dispersers, and the nitrogen-fixers. Cue the rains and watch the water filter in, finding its eventual way to the bodies of water you imagined first.

Now you can take a step back and gaze at this imagined ecosystem in motion. Thanks to the activities of all living things, there are cycles of mass and

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR LINKING LANDSCAPES FOR WILDLIFE INITIATIVE.

energy and that help to to clean the air, filter the water, and nourish the organisms that inhabit this place. This is a well-connected landscape: one where occupants can move through the landscape as needed to get water, to find food, to find shelter, to seduce a mate, and to support the flow of nutrients, water, and energy.

Over the last decade, natural areas in the West – including forests, wetlands, deserts, and grasslands –

We face substantial gaps in knowledge of population size, distribution, and habitat requirements about most wildlife species. Understanding trends in species abundance and behaviors, such as dispersal and reproduction, are salient to local and regional conservation planning and stewardship actions. We are filling these gaps through our long-term monitoring using wildlife cameras at Pepperwood and Audubon Canyon Ranch’s neighboring Modini

facing multiple threats from habitat loss and climate change. Working with our neighbors who steward these key habitats, we are utilizing the best available research to reduce both physical and social barriers to wildlife movement. This approach offers multiple benefits like increasing forest and grassland health, enhancing water supplies, reducing wildfire hazards, and protecting cultural values. Pepperwood´s holistic approach entails combining wildlife monitoring and landscape analysis with community outreach and local partnerships to increase the pace and scale of conservation actions.

have been converted to other uses at the rate of one football field every two and a half minutes. Remaining habitats occur in smaller and increasingly fragmented units due to the expansion of roadways and other human infrastructure that creates obstacles to wildlife movement. Losses of suitable habitat have put more than 300 California animal species at or near the brink of extinction, with many other western wildlife species also in severe decline. Sonoma County is known for its lush landscapes, yet it is accruing habitat loss 20% faster than other California counties and 80% faster than elsewhere in the US.

Mayacamas Reserve. We have also helped to expand this approach to other sites throughout our region, including partnerships with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. These results can help us to identify barriers to movement, evaluate effective restoration and stewardship measures, and educate everyone in our community to foster a culture of human and wildlife coexistence.

Critical lands surrounding Mount St. Helena, which we call the Heart of the Mayacamas, are the hub of multiple habitat corridors essential to the survival of plants and animals

Just for a moment, go back to that place you imagined. What sounds do you hear? Perhaps a babbling brook, a meadowlark’s song, the breeze gently rustling the leaves of the trees, a squirrel vehemently proclaiming its territory, a porcupine ambling through the underbrush, or a beaver slapping its tail on the water. What do you smell? Perhaps some wildflowers, or fresh rain on soil, grass in the morning, pine in the hot sun. Imagine what each of your senses will experience in this place. All of these elements are in motion, flowing through the landscape. You too, in all your motions of daily life, are connected to such places. The water you drink and the air you breathe, even the food you eat relies on these ecological connections. We are all connected, inextricably, to the Earth that surrounds us. Our health, and the health of future generations should be reason enough to want to protect it.

Steven Hammerich (right) takes a team out for coverboard monitoring. In association with a post-fire forest restoration project funded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Pepperwood has installed over 90 coverboards distributed throughout the reserve. The boards are a convenient and controlled way to monitor herpetofauna and invertebrates, and to measure changes in species diversity over time. Photo courtesy of Makayla Freed.

Coexisting with Our Wild Neighbors Starts at Home

A critical part of sustaining biodiversity is caring for our local wildlife. The best way to care for local wildlife is to avoid conflicts between their needs and our priorities. The good news is there are many things we, as individuals and family units, can do to coexist! Below are some handy tips on how to be a good neighbor to our local wildlife.

KEEP PETS INDOORS OR CONTAINED

Cats and dogs are natural predators and can devastate wildlife populations. Keep pets leashed or fenced when they’re outside.

DIM LIGHTS AT NIGHT

Artificial light at night disrupts ecosystems. Timers and motions sensors on outdoor lights prevent confusion of wildlife–and save energy.

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STASH YOUR FOOD AND TRASH

Avoid attracting wildlife to your property by securing trash containers and keeping animal food indoors.

ROAD SAFETY FOR PEOPLE & WILDLIFE

To reduce collisions, honk and flash high beams at animals on the road. Consider wildlife crossing strategies at roadkill hotspots.

SECURE LIVESTOCK

Provide security in the form of paddocks and guardian animals to help minimize livestock and wildlife conflicts.

FRIENDLY FENCING

Remove unused fencing and make sure your fences are highly visible with space at the bottom to let wildlife pass through.

Mentoring the Next Generation of Wildlife Champions

By Steven Hammerich Wildlife Specialist

Pepperwood’s Conservation Science Internships (CSI) provide career development, mentoring, and training opportunities for the next generation of environmental scientists and stewards. The program is run in partnership with the Santa Rosa Junior College’s Math Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) program serving students from traditionally under-resourced communities. MESA plays a critical role in helping to recruit interns and provide a supportive community on campus. CSI interns analyze thousands of photographs from Pepperwood´s wildlife cameras to identify the number and type of animals observed. This work is an essential step in the process of understanding how we can use data to measure trends in our native biodiversity.

Thanks to the generosity of Pepperwood´s private donors, the CSI program has grown in size and scope over the past year. We have added a new type of position for experienced interns with a focus on learning advanced field methods, data collection, tracking, and mapping. We are delighted to announce that Vivianne Fuller is the first person filling this new Wildlife Field Technician role. She is working closely with Pepperwood staff and partners from the North Bay Bear Collaborative to collect black bear field DNA samples and to increase our understanding of black bear population dynamics across the region through coordinated efforts. We are grateful for the support to grow this impactful program in partnership with the SRJC!

Steven and CSI intern, Viviane Fuller checking wildlife camera data.

Preparing for a Career in Environmental Science

By Viviane Fuller Wildlife Field Technician

As the first CSI Wildlife Field Technician, I assist in collecting bear scat samples and data from remote field cameras. I also review and catalog the photos and videos captured by the wildlife camera. I’m a student at the Santa Rosa Junior College where I recently obtained my Certificate in Natural Resources Management and I am currently taking classes in Sustainable Agriculture and Horticulture. My goal is to inspire others to care about our environment and to take proactive steps towards the conservation and restoration of our natural resources. This experience is helping me to build the confidence that I need to follow a career in Environmental Science.

Through this internship, I learned there is a lot of “wildlife drama” happening in nature, and that humans

have a lot in common with the wildlife. One of the happiest days for me was when we went to the field and searched for bear scat. I followed animal tracks, tried to think like a bear, and with the team, was able to collect 39 scat samples! I also learned that we often don’t see wildlife when we are out there, but they are there, watching us the entire time.

I am originally from Brazil and a first-generation college student. I see myself as an example that it is never too late to take action and transition to a career that is meaningful and beneficial to our planet. Thank you for your support in creating this opportunity and in incentivizing other students to pursue their dreams, independently of their age, gender, race or nationality.

Steven and Viviane checking wildlife camera data to determine bear activity in this area.

Black bear scratch marks on a burned Douglas-fir tree.

Interview with Pepperwood’s GrizzlyCorps Fellows

By Stephanie Beard Communications Coordinator

AmeriCorps is a government agency which focuses on uniting individuals who choose to participate in service to their community. There are different programs for different age groups, but a lot of people choose to do a service “gap year” before or after college. I know, because I was one of those people! I did a program called City Year when I graduated from college, and it changed my entire life and mindset for the better. It wasn’t easy for me and there were many difficult learning lessons, but I’ll never regret my year of service.

There are many programs that fall under the AmeriCorps umbrella from City Year to VISTA to a newer program created by UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment called GrizzlyCorps. This is where Pepperwood comes in, because we

have on our team not one, but TWO GrizzlyCorps fellows! Makayla Freed has been with Pepperwood for two years through this program as our Field Technician, while Sophia Pruden joined us this past year as our Restoration Technician.

The AmeriCorps ethos runs deeply through all of its programs, so I was curious how this new program through the UC system with an environmental service focus was instilling AmeriCorps’ mission of improving lives, strengthening communities, and fostering civic engagement through service and volunteering. To find out, I asked Makayla and Sophia to share their own experiences.

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Makayla and Sophia.

Why did you choose to do AmeriCorps?

After volunteering, interning, and working seasonally with Pepperwood for several years, I was made aware that Pepperwood had a GrizzlyCorps fellowship position opening up. I was excited at the possibility of working full-time at a great organization doing work I’m passionate about. I had been working shoulder to shoulder with Michelle Halbur, Pepperwood’s Preserve Ecologist, for a few months learning various project protocols and developing greater plant identification skills. With such great mentoring from Michelle and other Pepperwood staff and years of place-based knowledge at the reserve, I knew that a transition into a full-time role could be a great fit and had the potential to open doors for future opportunities at Pepperwood and/or beyond.

I wanted to do GrizzlyCorps because it allowed me to stay in Sonoma County for a year, continuing to build on my professional development and training in applied restoration ecology. I wanted to serve at Pepperwood specifically to learn more about regenerative grazing and prescribed fire, and because Pepperwood is a leader in active land stewardship and implementation of Traditional Ecological Knowledge led by the Native Advisory Council.

What important opportunities has AmeriCorps facilitated for you? For your professional goals?

Through my GrizzlyCorps service at Pepperwood, I have gained valuable experience with volunteer engagement, project management, and general research experience. I’ve had the opportunity to take on roles and responsibilities that have pushed me to become a better problem solver, coworker, and ecologist. The knowledge and skills I’ve gained in by being involved in a wide variety of projects has made me more confident in my ability to take on whatever job tasks are thrown my way. Looking at job descriptions used to intimidate me, but now I find myself saying, “I can do that.”

This program has supported me in becoming Firefighter Type 2 certified, allowing me to join our local Prescribed Burn Association, and be involved in the prep, ignitions, and post-fire monitoring of oak woodlands, redwood forests and grasslands. I get to work alongside our grazing partner, Markegard Family Grass Fed’s crew in learning about how to manage grazing for ecological health. I am also much more proficient in plant identification, specifically native perennial grasses, and also how to use more land stewardship tools such as chainsaws.

Americorps’ overarching mission is to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. How have you been living this mission through your service at Pepperwood?

My time at Pepperwood has allowed me to work with volunteers to steward and monitor the land while building a sense of community. Pepperwood is beyond lucky to have a dedicated volunteer base that shows up in cold, heat, rain, shine, and more to do great work all while keeping the sense of community at Pepperwood strong and vibrant. The combined efforts of volunteers to continue this great work and Pepperwood to provide fun smile-filled workdays and projects has been a very inspiring experience during my service.

I am grateful to be a part of the Pepperwood volunteer workdays, which engage our community and get people out on the land learning about restoration. It is inspiring to see the dedication of such a diverse group of individuals who show up every month ready to work on restoring the environment. Additionally, I like to think I am improving lives when involved in our prescribed burning as this reduction of fuels throughout the reserve is creating a more resilient landscape that will burn much less intensely when a wildfire happens.

Why is conservation, science, and stewardship important to you?

Conservation, science, and stewardship are vital to humankind’s approach to addressing perhaps the greatest threat we’ve ever faced: climate change. Science-backed conservation and stewardship approaches to addressing the effects of climate change are key to preserving natural resources, biodiversity, cultural traditions, and much more.

Land Stewardship is important to me because it’s the only source of livelihood I can see myself pursuing! It’s where I am happiest. Conservation science and restoration ecology are fields of study that need more public engagement and understanding, as it’s how we will be able to understand the climate crisis and restore ecosystems to mitigate impacts to society. Stewardship connects me to where I live and creates a relationship between myself and the land that I think is crucial for more people to pursue.

MAKAYLA SOPHIA

Your Support Creates Connections!

Your gift to Pepperwood boosts the resilience of Northern California’s working and wild lands and the communities that rely upon them for their well-being. We put your contribution to work to understand our changing environment and to teach people of all ages how to care for our natural places.

Your gift powers connections that matter and science-based solutions for a vibrant natural world.

Ensure Your Legacy for Generations as a Member of Pepperwood’s Sentinel Society

The Sentinel Society takes its name from Pepperwood’s designation as a Sentinel Site, which acknowledges Pepperwood’s critical role in providing scientific information and data that informs and transforms conservation practices regionally and nationally. Sentinels defend and keep watch, and through your estate plan, as a member of the Sentinel Society, you will make it possible for Pepperwood to be a vigilant protector of nature today and in the future.

Invest in Pepperwood’s Mission – Join One of Our Giving Circles

The generosity of these donors is critical to Pepperwood’s ability to deliver on its

Photo: Eve Lynch

2130 Pepperwood Preserve Road

Santa Rosa, California 95404

www.pepperwoodpreserve.org

INSPIRING CONNECTIONS THROUGH SCIENCE

Since our founding in 2005, Pepperwood has established itself as a leader in crafting resilience solutions for California’s wild and working lands. Located in the heart of Sonoma County — a globally recognized biodiversity “hotspot” — Pepperwood manages a 3,200acre biological reserve and the Dwight Center for Conservation Science. The Dwight Center serves as a hub for ecological research and education. An important refuge for more than 900 species of native plants and wildlife, our reserve is a living laboratory hosting researchers from around the world. Serving tens of thousands annually, Pepperwood’s operations are supported by individual gifts, foundation and government grants, and fee-for-service revenue. Our calling is to bring scientists and community together to ensure that local communities and our natural world continue to thrive together for generations to come.

NATURE DISCOVERY FOR ALL AGES

With the vital support of our donors, Pepperwood makes environmental education affordable, accessible, and a whole lot of fun!

NEWSLETTER EDITOR: Stephanie Beard

BELOW: A bobcat caught on one of Pepperwood’s wildlife cameras – part of the Wildlife Picture Index.