Spring Fling: A Hike and Picnic in the Wilds of the Laguna!

Friday, May 19, 5:30-8:30pm

Beginning at the Laguna Environmental Center, 900 Sanford Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95401

Suitable for all ages. Families welcome. FREE. Pre-registration required: www.lagunafoundation.org

Join us for a walk on the wild side. You’ll learn a little about the City of Santa Rosa’s recycled water program on a working farm (Stone Farm, home of the Laguna Environmental Center). Then, we will carpool to and explore the 100 acre natural area on the City’s Alpha Farm, enjoying the last beautiful hours before sunset. Bring a picnic dinner to enjoy on the bank of the Laguna de Santa Rosa. Our walk will be casual, stopping to talk and looking for wildlife. We will make our way back just before it gets dark and should arrive back to the Laguna Environmental Center by 8:30pm.

The Laguna is a 254 square mile watershed with over 50 named creeks draining the Santa Rosa plain from Windsor to Forestville. The Laguna is a mosaic of habitats with a high species biodiversity, with endemic and rare species. Management is complicated by a history of altering ecosystem function and diverse land use today, including the majority of Sonoma County’s population. This talk will focus on why the health of the Laguna is important and projects that are helping to improve it.

Denise Cadman is the Environmental Specialist for the City of Santa Rosa. This position involves managing 1,500 acres of irrigated and natural area land in the Laguna de Santa Rosa; planting creek corridors, removing invasive species, conducting studies and performing long-term surveys on plants, birds and mammals. An education program compliments these efforts. Denise grew up in the wilds of Rincon Valley and received her BA, secondary teaching credential and MA from the biology department of Sonoma State University. She teaches at Santa Rosa Junior College as an adjunct faculty member in the Life Science Department in addition to working for the City of Santa Rosa and she and her husband operate a draft horse powered family farm in the Laguna de Santa Rosa. Denise attributes her career in natural resource management to a love of bird watching.

This free program is made possible through a partnership between the Laguna Foundation, LandPaths and the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District. The District permanently protects the diverse agricultural, natural resource and scenic open space lands of Sonoma County for future generations. It is funded through a quarter-cent sales tax that was voted in by the residents of Sonoma County.

For more information, visit www.lagunafoundation.org 

Or contact Anita Smith, Public Education Manager, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation

(707) 527-9277 x 110, anita@lagunafoundation.org