JOIN OUR ADOPTER PROGRAM

Wish you could volunteer on your own schedule? Now you can! 

Much like the broader society, our volunteer program has been stop-and-go since the pandemic began. Over the past year, thanks to funding from the Ojai Women’s Fund, we were able to start our Volunteer Adopter Program. The program has given volunteers the flexibility to work on their own time and help us maintain our 27 miles of trails and extensive oak restoration projects. Individuals have been able to take on responsibility for a section of trail on our various preserves (Trail Adopters) or several oak restoration circles at the Ventura River Preserve and Ojai Meadows Preserve (Restoration Adopters). 

Anyone who is interested in volunteering can join and we’ll provide the training and tools that are required to be a Volunteer Adopter. Using the Ojai Women’s Fund grant, we purchased tools that can easily be borrowed. Plus, volunteers are given access to an instructional handbook, tutorial videos, in-person training that will give them the freedom to train and volunteer on the schedule that works best for them. 

Trail Adopters 

Trail Adopters will help brush the trail and keep the corridor open, while also maintaining drains and trail signs, and act as eyes-on-the-ground to help OVLC staff identify larger problems and prioritize needed trail work. The majority of Trail Adopter sections have been adopted at this point, but there are still a few sections available for those who are interested! 

Restoration Adopters 

Restoration Adopters will tend oak circles by weeding invasive plants, watering, mulching, and monitoring the growth of the oaks to help our Field Crew stay on top of this vast on-going project. The addition of watering and mulching will be made possible this year through a series of host days called Community Adopter Days. On these days, an OVLC staff member will provide Adopters with access to our irrigation system to water the oak circles and special tools for mulching. They will also answer any questions Adopters may have and act as a point of contact. 

By providing these Community Adopter Days, we’ll be able to dramatically increase the amount of care the land receives, even with our limited staff resources. Plus, the day will be open and flexible for adopters to come and go as they please. After all, that’s the very idea of the whole adopter program. We look to our incredible community for more help and make it as easy as possible for our community to offer help! 

COMMUNITY ADOPTER DAYS

Interested in becoming a Restoration Adopter but not sure what it’s like? Winter is the perfect time to get out in the sunshine and get a little dirty. Join us at one of our two Community Adopter Days at the Ventura River Preserve. Families with young children are welcome to attend. 

Saturday, March 5

Saturday, March 19 

Contact Adam Morrison at adam@ovlc.org to sign up. 

The OVLC has always been sustained by our volunteers, both in the field and in the office. Without volunteers, our ability to build and maintain our trails and restore the lands would not be possible. That’s why we love our volunteers, and it’s also why we are constantly thinking of new ways for people to engage in caring for our community’s natural areas. Providing more engagement opportunities was why we first thought of creating this Volunteer Adopter Program, but when the pandemic hit, it crystallized the need for a more flexible volunteer program that allows for more independence on the part of volunteers. Plus, the increase in preserve use during the pandemic made the need for trail maintenance paramount. 

This Volunteer Adopter Program is crucial in helping to achieve our stewardship goals through the rest of this pandemic and beyond. We hope you will consider becoming an Adopter. 

Do you want to be an adopter? To learn more and to sign up, contact Brendan Taylor: brendan@ovlc.org

Tags: adopter, OVLC, Program, restoration, stewardship, trails, volunteer