Mission
Our mission is to foster a love of the land in Sonoma County.
Values
We are committed to practicing these values, always, as we connect people with nature.
- Lead with Nature: Research proves that we are hardwired to respond positively to nature. Nature is enough. No bells and whistles needed.
- Foster Belonging: We create a welcoming and warm atmosphere that reflects our community. We ensure that the land and the people on it are treated with dignity and respect.
- Build Reciprocal Relationships: We collaborate with volunteers, communities, organizations, agencies, and the land. We bring together the sources, perspectives, and ideas necessary to succeed. With integrity and honesty, we practice care for the land and each other. We promote a culture of reciprocity.
- Cultivate Common Purpose: Through shared experiences, understanding, listening, stewardship, and place-based action, we expand what conservation looks like.
- Act with Courage: We respond with dynamic creativity to the changing needs of people and land. This means taking risks and bold action, and sometimes making the unpopular choice. We hope to always have the courage to fail.
- Nurture Joy: We are passionate about what we do, and we enjoy the camaraderie at the heart of our work. We celebrate personal and professional milestones and renew in nature with awe and humility.
Land Acknowledgement
Our office in downtown Santa Rosa is located on the ancestral home of the Southern Pomo people, past, present, and future. We recognize them as the first people and the first stewards of this land. We are on occupied territory and acknowledge the ongoing devastation of colonization.
This land acknowledgement is the first step in LandPaths’ long journey to repairing our relationship with the original people of this land, and to respect, make space, and honor the knowledge, culture, and deep connection to the natural world of indigenous people.
Join us in this process by connecting and uplifting the organizations and resources listed below, which is a way for us all to start on a course of reparative study and action:
California Indian Museum and Cultural Center
Sonoma County Indian Health Project
Please read on to learn about other steps we are taking to uplift and make space for Native voices at LandPaths.
- Increase Native representation across LandPaths, including within Board leadership.
- Mindful acknowledgement and inclusion of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in environmental education curriculum and stewardship of preserves and partner properties.
- Including in our Equity Strategic Plan goals for building reciprocal relationships with local indigenous people.
- Researching how Preserves stewarded by LandPaths may be assets for local indigenous people.
- Including native language(s) in our Language Justice project which will culminate in signage at preserves and community gardens stewarded by LandPaths.
To learn more about the native people where you live go to native-land.ca.
Who We Serve
LandPaths serves all of Sonoma County, and does not discriminate based on race, gender, beliefs, disability, or sexual orientation. We believe everyone should have access to the awe and inspiration of nature.
