8 Most Romantic Animals of Santa Clara Valley
Humans aren’t the only ones who appreciate a little romance. Santa Clara Valley is home to a vast diversity of wildlife, and some of them really know how to turn up the charm. Feel free to take notes as you read how these fascinating creatures win over their mates!
How to Have a Sustainable Valentine's Day
Did you know that Valentine's Day contributes, on average, an additional 9 million kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions? With mass-produced flowers, gifts wrapped in plastic, and cheaply made items, the holiday adds an unnecessary strain on the planet.
How Plants Prepare for Spring
After weeks of heavy rain, hillsides are turning green, and it’s beginning to feel like spring is right around the corner. You may know that spring is "baby season” for local wildlife like ground squirrels, bobcat kits, and red-tailed hawks, but did you know the same is true for native plant life? Plants are also preparing to create new life, and in fact, this preparation happens all year long.
Atmospheric River Storm: Open Spaces At Work
The first few weeks of 2023 brought a parade of Atmospheric River Storm events that ravaged California. Several feet of rain and powerful wind events caused widespread power outages, and many areas experienced intense flooding, fallen trees, and mudslides. Though the storms caused a fair amount of disruption across the region, Santa Clara Valley’s open spaces (our critical natural infrastructure) likely helped mitigate even further damage.
Staff Spotlight - Meet Kat Hill
Kat Hill, Volunteer Programs Coordinator, at the Authority, always knew she wanted to work in the outdoors. Growing up in the Mojave desert of southern California, surrounded by Joshua trees and the unique desert terrain, nature felt like home to her from an early age.
Winter Produce Guide
Everyone deserves access to healthy, nutritious food. When you shop for locally grown produce, you help support local farmers, your health, and you also reduce your carbon footprint! Keep reading to learn which fruits and vegetables are in season this winter plus a cozy recipe idea to help it all come together.
Winter Wildlife: California Tiger Salamander
It’s salamander season, when California tiger salamanders are returning to their ponds to breed.
Naughty and Nice Wildlife
Santa Clara Valley is teeming with wildlife that depend on open spaces to survive and thrive. In honor of the holiday season, we’re making a list and checking it twice to see which wild animals are naughty or nice.
Celebrating Open Space Volunteers
In 2022, volunteers completed over 230 trail patrols on bike, foot, and horseback, as they welcomed visitors to preserves, reported trail conditions and wildlife sightings, and supported critical field operations. They also contributed over 600 hours towards facilitating public enjoyment of our preserves, including helping during busy spring hours, and supporting large-scale events such as Open Access Days at Máyyan 'Ooyákma – Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve and Diablo Foothills, and Earth Week celebrations in Coyote Valley. By the end of 2022, the hard work of volunteers are expected to total over 3,900 hours towards our mission informed projects!
Fifth Graders Become Oak Tree Heroes
In October 2022, the Open Space Authority partnered with Point Blue Conservation Science (Point Blue) to host an educational field trip in Coyote Valley through the Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed (STRAW) program. Over the course of a few hours, around 90 fifth graders from San Martin/Gwinn Environmental Science Academy built direct-seed cages for acorn plantings and learned how oak trees contribute to a healthy watershed.
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Recent Posts
- Stinkwort Success
- Caregiver's Guide to Nature
- Celebrating Healthy Soils Week
- This is our moment. Join us!
- Laguna Seca Transferred Into Public Ownership
- Protecting Monarch Butterflies
- Coyote Valley Photo Contest: Meet the People's Choice Winner!
- The Negative Impacts of Illegal Dumping
- Spotlight: Honoring Larry Coons
- Celebrating Nature in your neighborhoods
Charlotte Graham
Public Information Officer
cgraham@openspaceauthority.org