Nathan Wickstrum
Mountainfilm on Tour 2022
Join us for our 8th annual Mountainfilm on Tour on Saturday, September 17, or make it a weekend and also join us for Under the Open Sky, a special farm-to-table dinner on Friday, September 16
A Benefit Concert for OVLC
Greatful Shred, a benefit concert for the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy is coming to Ojai this summer. Saturday, July 30 and Sunday, July 31 mark your calendars and prepare to rock out at the Libbey Bowl to the vibes of the Dead. Tickets go on sale April 22, 2022. Save the date and stay amped!
Grateful Shred Info
Greatful Shred, a benefit concert for the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy is coming to Ojai this summer. Saturday, July 30 and Sunday, July 31 mark your calendars and prepare to rock out at the Libbey Bowl to the vibes of the Dead. Tickets go on sale April 22, 2022. Save the date and stay amped!
National Trails Day: 30th Anniversary
Saturday, June 4, 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day! In celebration, OVLC is hosting a number of volunteer opportunities including good old trail maintenance, trail cleanup, and some trail restoration work too. Projects will run 9am-12pm and range from easily accessible and not physically demanding to requiring a […]
Art in Nature’s Wonderland
The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy and Ojai Studio Artists invite you to experience Art in Nature’s Wonderland. Come and enjoy dinner, cocktails, art installations, silent auction, raffle, handcrafted party favors, and the music of Amanda McBroom, Alan Thornhill and Laura Walters. Be surprised and amazed by the art hidden in nature as you wander through the preserve and dance under the stars
Stewardship Hike with Brendan Taylor
Take advantage of this opportunity to hike with our Director of Field Programs, Brendan Taylor. The hike will be roughly 5.5 miles long and includes hiking a trail that is in the works to become an official OVLC trail in the near future. On this hike, Brendan will discuss the planning process that goes into making a trail official, along with answering any questions you might have about land management, stewardship, and preserve use. All you need to bring is your curiosity, water, hiking shoes, and sunscreen.
Rattlesnake Avoidance Training for Dogs 2022
Snake season is all-year-round in Ojai! The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy is hosting a rattlesnake avoidance training clinic for dogs so you can take your dog outdoors with peace of mind.
Herpetofauna of the Ojai Valley
The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy and the Turtle Conservancy are offering a field trip to introduce participants to the reptiles and amphibians of the Valley. Dr. Chris Evelyn, from the Vertebrate Zoology Museum at UC Santa Barbara, will lead this introduction to the frogs, salamanders, lizards, snakes, and turtles of the Valley. This trip is a mix of presentation and field exploration.
Spring Native Plant Sale 2022
This year’s Spring Native Plant Sale is being hosted in person on April 23 from 9 am to 12 pm at our Ojai Meadows Preserve Native Plant Nursery. We will be selling some of our favorite drought tolerant plants and a variety of wildflower seeds for you to grow at home in your garden. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to bring the beauty of the preserves to your yard. We look forwarding to seeing you there!
CREATURE FEATURE: February 2022
A member of the flycatcher family, the Cassin’s kingbird (Tyrannus vociferans) feeds primarily on flying insects! They can often be spotted perched atop trees or on wires looking over open spaces in search of their next meal.
Special Use Permit
Want to use an OVLC Preserve for special use like a photography shoot, leading a guided hike, or teaching a class? Apply today for a Special Use Permit
GREEN VALLEY PROJECT — STUDENTS HELP WITH RESTORATION AT THE OJAI MEADOWS PRESERVE
Thanks to support from the Green Valley Project, OVLC has hosted several hands-on habitat restoration events at the Ojai Meadows Preserve with environmental science students from Nordhoff High School.
MANZANITA WINTER POLLEN
Look closely at the decisions they make, as the careful branches twist among paths—unseen made known. The orange branches and peeling bark tell a tale millions of years old
FROM THE FIELD / FEBRUARY 2022
Back in July 2021, the OVLC removed several non-native red gum trees (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) from the Ojai Meadows Preserves. We also removed a Peruvian pepper tree (Schinus molle), a Chinese pistache (Pistacia chinensis), and a Mexican fan palm (Washingtonia robusta). We made the difficult decision to remove these non-native trees as part of a larger effort to restore the preserve and help make our community more resilient in the long term.
FROM THE DIRECTOR / February 2022
I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of E.O. Wilson on December 26, 2021 at the ripe old age of 92 years. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to interact with Ed occasionally over the years.
PRESERVING PARKWAY: NEW LAND ACQUISITION OF 28 ACRES
This past November, the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy (OVLC) joined in partnership with The Trust for Public Land (TPL) to announce the acquisition of 28 acres located just upstream from the confluence of the Ventura River and Cañada Larga Creek. The property, officially named the Parkway Preserve, will protect and restore critical wildlife habitat along the Ventura River, provide opportunities to mitigate stormwater flooding, and provide neighboring communities with increased access to open space along the Ventura River.
CREATURE FEATURE
Beep! Beep! You might know the greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) from the classic Looney Tunes cartoon and how the character Road Runner always seems to run faster than Wile E. Coyote; but this isn’t the case in real life. In fact, coyotes can run up to 43 miles per hour, while the greater roadrunner clocks in at a top speed of 26 miles per hour.
VOLUNTEER PROFILE: STUART NIEBEL — OVLC DOCENT
Stuart Niebel has been an Ojai Valley Land Conservancy (OVLC) docent since 2012, and has led dozens of tours on our preserves, including guiding hundreds of local school children. We hope you will consider becoming a docent too. Don’t worry if you think you don’t have the knowledge base – Stuart has created extensive docent manuals for the Valley View Preserve, Ventura River Preserve, and Ojai Meadows Preserve! We are proud to highlight Stuart’s contributions to the OVLC, in an interview he had with Land Steward, Linda Wilkin.
NEW BENCHES AT THE VENTURA RIVER PRESERVE
If you have visited the Ventura River Preserve in the last couple months, you may have noticed some new and enticing places to sit. Specifically, some fine, hand-crafted redwood benches. We’re at long last replacing benches lost in the Thomas Fire and installing new memorial benches too.
New Acquisition: Parkway Preserve
The Trust for Public Land and the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy announced today the protection of 28 acres adjacent to the Ventura River, preserving critical wildlife habitat and land for outdoor recreational use for the community of Ventura.
2021 FISCAL YEAR* ANNUAL REPORT
June 30, 2021 marked the end of our first full fiscal year since we changed our fiscal year to start in July. OVLC also restructured our accounting and simplified our chart of accounts. As a result, the staff and board have a deeper understanding of the role that each program plays in OVLC’s financial condition. In particular, these changes provide comprehensive insights into the costs of stewarding the preserves, and help OVLC plan for new acquisitions and budget for preserve improvements.
TRAMPLE TRAILS: HELP US PROTECT THESE LANDS FOR YOU
There are more and more unsanctioned trample trails popping up all over OVLC preserves, and they are a problem. Some of these trails (like the trample trail pictured to the right) are clearly there because trail users just have to know what is around the bend. You are not a cat. Do not let curiosity overwhelm your faculties. In this regard, we want to assure you, OVLC is not hiding a secret oasis or Garden of Eden. If there is a beautiful spot or stellar vista, we already guide you there!
THE SEED COLLECTOR
There are many lessons learned when the days are spent with plant and animal folk—a literacy of some ancient hum that this unseasoned human must learn. On the fall day before rain this early October—unbeknownst to me—the acorns were ready.
WELCOME NEW STAFF MEMBERS
Our OVLC family is growing! We’re excited to announce three new staff members: Vivon Crawford, Adam Morrison, and Lisa Nix.
FROM THE DIRECTOR / NOVEMBER 2021
Local conservation organizations like OVLC struggle with how to address the global phenomenon of climate change. What can a small group do to ameliorate threats that affect the very things that we are trying to save but are governed by global scale factors? The discussion can focus on mitigation versus adaptation and resilience. Mitigation comes in the form of investing in forests and other natural systems that effectively store carbon for hundreds of years. Adaptation and resilience measures seek to protect and enhance the local ecosystems in response to anticipated changes. Sometimes, the best approach is both.
Fall Native Plant Sale 2021
This year’s Fall Native Plant Sale is being hosted in-person on October 30 from 9am to 12pm at our Ojai Meadows Preserve Native Plant Nursery. We will be selling some of our favorite drought tolerant plants and a variety of wildflower seeds collected from the preserves for you to grow at home in your garden. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to bring the beauty of the preserves to your yard!
UNDER THE OPEN SKY – PADDLE RAISE
Thank you for attending our Mountainfilm on Tour and Under the Open Sky at the Ventura River Steelhead Preserve. Friday night’s paddle raise was wildly successful and we are incredibly grateful for your support. If you didn’t have a chance to donate during the paddle raise, you can help us continue to protect and restore the lands we all love by using the donate box below:
OVLC VIRTUAL AUCTION
In support of our Mountainfilm on Tour events, we are hosting a virtual auction from September 17-27. The auction is open to the public (no Mountainfilm on Tour ticket purchase required) and featured items include a six-night stay at a 15th-century Tuscan hilltop house, a tour of the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve, a Fletcher Chouinard Designs surfboard, marketing from Fionna Hutton & Associates, local Airbnb’s, and a whole lot more.
Temporary Forest Closure & What This Means For OVLC Adopted Trails
Forest Service trails adopted by OVLC will be closed effective 8/31/21 at 11:59 p.m. More than 6,800 wildfires have burned a total of 1.7 million acres across all jurisdictions in California, and the National Wildfire Preparedness Level (PL) has been at PL5 since July 14, 2021; only the third time in the past 20 years […]
VOLUNTEER PROFILE
Dave Fleischman started volunteering for OVLC two years ago. Today, he has increased his volunteer involvement with the organization by taking on maintenance of volunteer tools and becoming a volunteer trail crew leader. OVLC Land Steward, Linda Wilkin, sat down with Dave to talk about his time working on trails and volunteering with OVLC. Here’s what Dave had to say:
OAK RESTORATION AT THE OJAI MEADOWS PRESERVE
On June 20 and 21, OVLC hired The C.R.E.W. to remove 7 non-native trees at the Ojai Meadows Preserve as part of a greater conservation effort to restore oak woodlands and savannas in the Ojai Valley.
JESSE GRANTHAM: FAREWELL TO AN OJAI LEGEND & AVIAN EXPERT
Former Board member and dedicated OVLC volunteer Jesse Grantham and his wife Trina have moved to North Carolina to be closer to their grandchildren. Longtime Ojai residents and OVLC supporters know Jesse as the local authority on all things avian. Perry Van Houten wrote a lovely and fitting tribute to Jessie in the Ojai Valley News on April 23, 2021.
CREATURE FEATURE / JULY 2021
OVLC has recently received some new tenants on its Ventura River Preserve. Coyotes (Canis latrans) have been seen displaying territorial behavior near some parts of the river due to a nearby den. Coyotes mate between January and March, and females usually give birth to 4-7 pups after a gestation period of 58-65 days.
RESTORATION / JULY 2021
OVLC Restoration Field Crew has recently gained a new member, Sophie McLean, to help out with field tasks and nursery management. She has a degree in Plant Biology and is excited to exchange her knowledge with OVLC Nursery Manager, Ron Singer.
NURSERY INTERNS
You may have noticed some new voices on our social media the last few weeks. Thanks in-part to a generous grant from the Rotary Club of Ojai, we have two interns from Nordhoff High School: Alessandra (Ally) Lucchesi and Corallyn Moss. They will be assisting OVLC Nursery Manager, Ron Singer, in growing and caring for the thousands of plants that the OVLC uses annually in restoration projects.
MEET LINDA WILKIN: OVLC LAND STEWARD
We are excited to formally introduce Linda, OVLC’s new Land Steward and botanist extraordinaire! Linda’s love for plants has given her a breadth of experience in farming, habitat restoration, and nursery work. These days, she is putting her experience and passion toward protecting OVLC’s open spaces. For the last eleven months, Linda has been out in the field engaging with preserve users, dealing with fires at the Ojai Meadows Preserve, fixing kiosks and trail signage, and more recently leading volunteer events.
FROM THE DIRECTOR / JULY 2021
Between the year and a half of pandemic-constrained life and California’s extreme drought, one could be excused for suffering from a grim outlook. However, we at OVLC see reasons to have optimism beyond the slowly abating (at least locally) pandemic.
Trail User Etiquette
Due to an increasing interest in outdoor recreation, OVLC trails are receiving more traffic than ever before. OVLC trails are primarily multi-use trails, open to equestrians, mountain bikers, and hikers/runners. Please be courteous to other users, share the trail, and follow these guidelines when you are using OVLC trails:
Why Oak Trees?
Every year OVLC plants hundreds of oak trees. These oak trees help the Ojai Valley become resilient to a changing climate. The oaks we plant today start off small and fragile, but with time they will become majestic towering oaks that define Ojai’s landscapes. Restoring our lands back to oak woodlands has a myriad of benefits for our […]
Aggressive Coyotes on OVLC Preserves
We have received multiple reports of coyotes acting extremely aggressive toward users in the vicinity of the Old Baldwin Road Trailhead and the lower Ventura River Preserve trails. In both incidents, hikers had large dogs with them and the coyotes aggressively and persistently threatened them
CREATURE FEATURE
Have you noticed all of the beautiful bluebirds flying around the Ojai Meadows Preserve? The Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana) is one of our local residents that we are lucky to have year-round here in Ojai.
JOIN OUR ADOPTER PROGRAM
Wish you could volunteer on your own schedule? Now you can! We’re very excited to announce that with funding from the Ojai Women’s Fund we are starting our Volunteer Adopter Program. This will help us maintain our 27 miles of trails and our oak woodland restoration sites. Individuals will be able to take on responsibility for a section of trail on our various preserves (Trail Adopters) or several oak restoration circles on the Ventura River Preserve (Restoration Adopters). Join our new Adopter program!
RESTORATION / MARCH 2021
If you walk in the Ojai Meadows Preserve, you may have noticed burned areas scattered throughout the preserve. The Ventura County Fire Department believes that each of these fires was intentionally started, and is investigating further.
STEWARDSHIP / MARCH 2021
Lately, the iconic switchbacks on the hillside with the water tank are being short cut and a new trail is forming, following the ridge Luci’s Trail meanders up.
More Than Just Your Pretty Views
From almost anywhere in Ojai, you can look out at the undeveloped hillsides and know you are home. In addition to conserving Ojai’s scenic backdrop, the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s protection and restoration of land has a myriad of benefits that go beyond beauty. The diverse and rich habitats that thrive in these open spaces provide the following essential ecosystem services that increase our resilience to a changing climate.
FROM THE DIRECTOR / MARCH 2021
If you have recently driven down Santa Ana Road, you may have noticed a small herd of goats grazing the fields at OVLC’s Ventura River Steelhead Preserve.
Adventure+ Film Tour 2021
The OVLC is teaming up with Adventure+ to bring you four virtual film tours. The Vertical Life Film Tour, available May 14-22, is an all new climbing film tour originated in Australia. The tour has been created and conceived by the team behind Vertical Life Magazine to celebrate the relaunch of the Magazine following COVID-19 hibernation and will make its North American debut in with a theatrical and virtual release on May 14, 2021.
MEET YOUR OVLC STAFF
While OVLC copes with elements of the new normal of the pandemic, we are encouraged by the recent staff changes, and look forward to coming through this strange time stronger than ever. Keep your eye out for Linda, as well as our restoration crew, and if you see them out on a preserve, please feel free to introduce yourself and say hello!
