Meet LandPaths - Sharing Our Love Of Nature Every Step Of The Way

Learn more about nationwide efforts to reconnect kids with nature - and then get your kids outside with LandPaths (Family Amphibian Search, April 24).  

The SRJC Foundation David Del Monte Lectureship Endowment proudly presents "Reconnecting Kids with Nature" featuring Avery Cleary, Amy Pertshuck, and Susan Sachs Lipman. Their talk is inspired by the work of author Richard Louv (recipient of the 2008 Audubon Medal) and his award-winning book, Last Child in the Woods. The event takes place on Monday, April 12, 2010, 12:15pm at the Newman Auditorium, Santa Rosa Campus. The lecture will also be available via video-conference from the Mahoney Library, Rm. 726, Petaluma Campus. Admission is free, but a $4 permit is required to park on the SRJC campus.

Avery Cleary, Amy Pertshuck, and Susan Sachs Lipman from the Children & Nature Network will discuss the nationwide effort to reconnect children to the outdoors. They will highlight the resources that inspire, empower and engage adult participation in the movement to connect children and nature and simple steps that each of us can take to help make day-to-day experiences of nearby nature the cultural norm. The Children & Nature Network (C&NN) was created to encourage and support the people and organizations working nationally and internationally to reconnect children with nature.

Additional information on their talk and related efforts is available at:

• http://www2.santarosa.edu/file-depot/download.php?action=dl&id=18325
• http://naturecircles.org/averybio.html
• http://www.childrenandnature.org/

On April 7, Sonoma County Conservation Action will be showing Rivers of a Lost Coast, a movie about the historic Salmon runs and amazing fisheries resource of Sonoma County and the Northern California Coast. There is a $10 cost for this special 6:30 p.m. screening at the Rialto Cinema (551 Summerfield Road, Santa Rosa) and the evening will also include a raffle, silent auction, and a guest speaker.

LandPaths is proud to support SCCA's efforts to highlight concerns about declining salmon runs from an angler's perspective. The movie is narrated by Tom Skerritt, from A River Runs Through It, and explores an important part of local history from the turn of the 20th Century to the present day. Unfortunately, by the early 1980s, the Golden State’s coastal fisheries found themselves caught in a spiraling decline. As California searched for its disappearing salmon and steelhead, these fly fishers foraged for their souls.

Please join the Climate Protection Campaign on Wednesday, March 31 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. for a community gathering to discuss “green” electricity. Renata Brillinger of the Climate Protection Campaign will describe Sonoma County efforts to green our electric supply and the impact of Proposition 16 - if passed. LandPaths is excited to partner with the Climate Protection Campaign in implementing their Community Climate Action Plan because we need a stable climate in order for healthy lands to exist.

This event is a follow-up to CPC's very successful community forum on February 24and will take place at the Glaser Center, 547 Mendocino Avenue, in downtown Santa Rosa. Please feel free to invite others to this community gathering. If you have announcements you'd like to make or any questions about the event, please contact Lora Neffson 525-1665 x114 or lora@climateprotectioncampaign.org.

LandPaths' Bayer Neighborhood Park and Gardens has joined the Sonoma County iGROW effort and is looking forward to seeing this great program expand over the upcoming years. iGROW seeks to improve the health of Sonoma County residents by increasing access to healthy food. This partnership of community leaders and organizations is committed to improving the health of all Sonoma County residents and hopes to:

• Encourage people in all parts of the county to grow their own fruit and vegetables
• Inspire people to create neighborhood garden groups and new community gardens
• Connect experienced gardeners to beginning growers
• Strengthen our communities by sharing food and life skills
• Help people find local sources of healthy food

LandPaths and Bayer Farm are supporting the iGROW program by providing information to local residents on how they can start their own garden, and by holding open workdays, demonstrations, and workshops throughout the upcoming months. Learn more about this program and how you can get involved - including the 350 Garden Challenge.

LandPaths is proud to be one of the newest members of the Sonoma County GoLocal Cooperative. We hope to play an important role in expanding GoLocal's "Play Local" campaign with outings and special events that encourage support of Sonoma County's natural treasures AND local businesses. GoLocal is a network of locally-owned businesses, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and residents working together to build a resilient, thriving, local economy by supporting local, independently owned businesses and promoting sustainable practices.

In partnership with GoLocal, LandPaths will be forming local business partnerships and sponsorships, as well as developing "coupons" for local gateway businesses (such as those in Duncan's Mills and Occidental near the Willow Creek Addition to Sonoma Coast State Park.) We encourage any existing GoLocal members to contact us about possible collaboration, as well as encourage individuals to check out our page at GoLocal for more details and to possibly even become a GoLocal member yourself.