LandPaths

Rooting Youth in Nature: LandPaths creates models for impactful nature-based youth experiences. We draw heavily on research finding that multi-day programs and consistent mentors are key factors that increase the long-term impact on a child's relationship and attitudes toward nature.In Our Own Backyard is a nature awareness program built to enhance student connection and confidence in the outdoors. In Our Own Backyard, school-based, provides an in-depth experience with 4-full day field trips, and 2 classroom visits over the course of the school year, averaging 20 hours in the field per student. In Our Own Backyard curriculum correlates with many of the state and federal science, math, language arts and physical education standards, and anticipates strong alignment with common core and next generation science standards. In Our Own Backyard serves approximately 700 students, is offered for free to schools with over 50% of the student body qualifying for free and reduced lunch. In 2012, LandPaths launched a teen-focused program, Inspired Forward. Built on the In Our Own Backyard model, Inspired Forward is a field-based, multi-day program. Inspired Forward is an unique offering to low-income and underrepresented youth, providing experiential learning opportunities and tackling teen issues of gang prevention, substance use, and other challenges through developing a strong sense of belonging, confidence, and leadership while role-modeling positive choices. Inspired Forward is offered free to schools and partner organizations serving low-income communities. In 2020 and 2021, LandPaths was one of the only Organizations in Sonoma County to provide nature-based camps in the face of the pandemic. LandPaths provided 12 weeks of Covid-safe day camps to 375 youth, providing scholarships to 118 of those campers. LandPaths own camp is a nature-based summer immersion program for kids from 6 to 13 years old. Owl camp offers a rich place for children to explore the natural world, test out new ideas and experience the freedom of child-directed, open-ended learning through nature exploration and play guided in small groups by expert educators. Each summer as children work through how to build a fort, experiment with art, or discover native plants and animals, they are exercising their brains in important ways-and building a memorable connection with the land in every step. LandPaths also offers Rivertrek camps. In 2020-2021 the Rivertrek was converted to a multi-day day program to ensure covid-safety, successfully serving 23 teens. Consistent with LandPath's youth programs, these camps immerse youth in nature and develop outdoor skills, such as paddling, camp cooking, fire starting, filtering water all the way down to caring for your feet and hands (and blisters). These experiences and skill development, build participant sense of belonging (with nature and with peers) and confidence in continuing outdoor activities and exploration for a lifetime.Branching Out Conservation for Everyone: LandPaths is Sonoma county's lead public access organization, working county-wide and providing over 200 free to the public outings annually with over 5,000 participants-all with an exemplary safety record. Diverse by Design, LandPaths outings and Vamos Afuera, include themed hikes, farm tours, camp outs, kayak trips, Spanish-language and stewardship projects allowing residents and visitors to discover the county's beauty and take part in its healing. We tap our community's local knowledge and experience in creating the outings and shaping engaging programs. Our passion is to invite all Sonoma county residents outdoors-including the most reluctant or unfamiliar-sparking their curiosity in nature through positive and relevant nature-based experiences.In 2007, LandPaths broke ground at Bayer farm setting off an avalanche of "Firsts." Bayer farm was our first urban park project, our first partnership with the city of Santa Rosa, our first partnership with the Latino community, and our first community garden. Since that time Bayer farm has grown into a farm-based community center with programs ranging from Iread Outside, a nature-based early childhood literacy program to summer free lunch. In 2017 we were invited to partner with Sonoma county regional parks to create another community garden based on the Bayer farm model at Andy Unity Park. Program accomplishments in these place-based, outdoor community hubs included two summer free lunch programs in partnership with Redwood Community Foodbank, and converting educational garden plots into food production plots to provide access to nutritious, organic food to 85 families in the low-income, primarily LatinX communities surrounding the two community gardens. In 2020-21, Volunteers did 7,954 hours of volunteer service at Bayer farm and Jeff's Garden (formerly Andy's Unity Park Community Garden).Growing Community with Nature/Community Care: LandPaths champions community conservation, where residents participate in actions that support a healthy community-nature and people alike.People powered parks is our approach to land stewardship, on our own lands and lands we assist in managing for agency partners. LandPaths owns six unique preserves in Sonoma County: Bohemia Ecological Preserve, Ocean Song, and Grove of the Old Trees in West County, Rancho Mark West and Calistoga Road in Northeast Santa Rosa, and Riddell Preserve in the Healdsburg Area. Totaling over 2,000 protected acres of land in Sonoma County, the properties are diverse in habitat values, from old growth redwoods, serpentine soils and associated plant community, madrone and oak woodland, to Salomon bearing creeks. Our preserves originate with shared values between the landowner and LandPaths-values of land stewardship and community engagement. LandPaths actively takes care of these lands with on-going community investments to remove non-native plant species and planting natives to improve native wildlife habitat, repairing old ranch roads to improve water quality and steelhead spawning habitat, and building trails for future public use. in 2021, LandPaths acquired the Myers parcel adjoining Ocean Song preserve in West Sonoma County, creating an almost 800 acre unified preserve, which will contribute to carbon sequestration, fire fuel reduction, habitat protection, and outdoor educational opportunities in our region. The young stewards launched in 2021, arising from our commitment to build climate and wildfire resilience locally, advance equity in the conservation field through intentional recruitment and paid work experience, and respond to the need for green workforce training for young adults, who've been left to contend with the climate crisis. Now in its fourth session, the program has reached 23 young people. LandPaths' people powered parks model has also assisted agencies from city, regional to state parks, transition properties to public parks. LandPaths currently assists with: (1) Bayer Farm, LandPaths' farm-based park in the lowest income area of Santa Rosa in partnership with the City of Santa Rosa, serving 40 families with garden allotments, and over 1,000 community residents and school-age youth, many visiting repeatedly throughout the year, and (2) Fitch Mountain and Healdsburg Ridge, with 230 acres of natural open space, with the City of Healdsburg. People powered parks foster individual and community commitments to nature and community.Treksonoma combines our love of bringing people outdoors with our interest in linking land (public and private) together, creating wildlife and community linkages. Most of this programming has been hiatus during the pandemic for health safety. These multi-day experiences cultivate a group conversation, learning and connection to the landscape, its diversity of habitats and land uses, land stewardship, people and each other-building blocks to a sustainable community. LandPaths is committed to building a network of routes where we all can walk-roll-paddle, where our children can do this with their schoolmates, where we are welcomed as we pass through, and where we can refocus energy on healthy land, healthy people, and healthy community.