(Subject to cancellation due to air quality.)
Wednesday afternoons this fall, Sonoma Ecology Center educators will be providing what every kid needs after the laptops close: outdoor activities that are educational and fun.
Starting in September, our activity table will be set up at Sonoma Garden Park every Wednesday from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., where kids will learn about harvesting and birdwatching and go on scavenger hunts.
Then in October, the action moves to Montini Preserve, where we’ll focus on indigenous people of the region and the beautiful oak woodland.
In November, the table goes to Maxwell Park, where kids explore “water wonders” and Sonoma Creek.
Parent or chaperone supervision is required. For more information, contact Tony Passantino at tony@sonomaecologycenter.org.
- Sonoma Garden Park is located at 19996 7th St. East
- Montini Preserve is located at 175 1st St. West
- Maxwell Park is located at 100 Verano Ave.
Help Sugarloaf with trail restoration work. Work includes bridge and step construction, installing signs, clearing, lifting, carrying and hiking. Bring gloves, hat, and water that you can carry hands-free (i.e. bring a backpack).Wear long pants, boots or sturdy shoes and sunscreen. Poison oak is present, so long sleeves are suggested. We have tools and trained crew leaders with tasks for all. Those under 18 years old must be accompanied by a responsible adult. We will provide tools, food and beverages. If you are a current State Parks volunteer, signup in vicnet. If you are an SEC volunteer, sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0e4aaca62ca3ff2-sugarloaf1
The practice of Forest Therapy has been shown to improve health and well-being.
Have you heard about Shinrin-yoku or Forest bathing? Here is an opportunity to take a walk and experience the practice for yourself. Learn techniques to maximize the health benefits and stress reducing qualities of this walking practice. Shinrin-yoku originated in Japan and is gaining popularity in the United States for its documented Health benefits.
This practice takes a walk in the woods to another level. A centering and calming restorative practice, it promotes balance and restored vitality through a quality of presence and heightened sensory awareness. Recent articles have been written up in Oprah, Time Magazine, and National Geographic, as well as numerous other publications. Sugarloaf Ridge State Park hosts a Forest Therapy Series as part of its ParksRx Program the 4th Saturday of each month. These walks are led by certified ANFT (Association of Nature and Forest Therapy) practitioners. See http://www.natureandforesttherapy.org/ for more info about this practice.
Tickets are $20 or free with a 2020 ParkRx from a Sonoma County Medical Provider (click here for more info)
In collaboration with Sonoma County Regional Parks, Sonoma Ecology Center is hosting COVID-safe volunteer cleanups at Maxwell Farms Regional Park on Saturday, Sept. 12 and again on Saturday, Sept. 26, with two time slots for each day. In order to guarantee participants’ safety, mask-wearing and other protocols will be in effect. See below for details on cleanup days and to register.
Maxwell Park
100 Verano Ave., Sonoma
- Saturday, Sept. 12, 9-10:30 a.m.
- Saturday, Sept. 12, 10-11:30 a.m.
- Saturday, Sept. 26, 9-10:30 a.m.
- Saturday, Sept. 26, 10-11:30 a.m.
Volunteers will clean up the section of Sonoma Creek that runs through Maxwell Farms Regional Park. This well-used area is an important habitat for a variety of plants and animals, and a key corridor allowing animals safe passage through urban areas. For questions, contact John Ryan, county volunteer coordinator, at john.ryan@sonoma-county.org.
Cleanup Event Details
In order to comply with Sonoma County’s health order governing outdoor activities, no more than 12 volunteers per shift are allowed. RSVPs are required. All participants must wear masks and comply with social distancing protocols. Please arrive as close to the start time as possible for a brief safety talk beforehand.
Volunteers are asked to bring their own water and to wear comfortable shoes and layered clothes they don’t mind getting dirty. Organizers will provide litter grabbers, garbage bags, buckets and gloves; volunteers may bring their own work gloves and plastic bags if they have them.
After each cleanup event, recyclables will be separated from trash and the trash weighed and recorded as part of the statewide Coastal Clean-Up tally.
Join our Hiking for Fitness “graduates” on this free, Intermediate Fitness Hike.Come to the weekly Harvest Market at Sonoma Garden Park every Saturday morning from 9am to noon. We grow fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers, keep chickens and bees, and more on this 6.1-acre city-owned park. Fresh produce, eggs, honey and other locally grown foods are available.
Social distancing protocols are observed. Please wear a mask and provide six feet of space indoors. A disinfecting station will be available.
Sonoma Garden Park is located at 19996 7th St. East, Sonoma.
Join us for a 1.4-mile nature hike along the Sonoma Creek. On the hike your leader will teach you about the plants, animals, and aquatic life of Sonoma Creek. The hike starts at the Visitors Center. No fee, but parking charges apply.
The first hike starts at 9:30am, second starts at 11 am. Sign up at Visitor Center or RSVP to alma@sonomaecologycenter.org
Limited to 12 participants.
The Robert Ferguson Observatory will host Night Sky Trails on September 26. Guests will be in small groups with individual RFO docents and treated to an hour long laser guided tour of the constellations.
Please note that the tours begin promptly at 8 or 9PM. Allow generous time to arrive, park and gear up!
This is an outdoor event only. The observatory building and its telescopes will NOT be open.
We will be following strict COVID-19 precautions. Guests are required to wear masks and observe proper social distancing from other family groups. Individuals exhibiting symptoms such as coughing, sneezing and fever, have tested positive or have been exposed to others who have tested positive, should not attend. All events, while scheduled, are subject to change in accordance with COVID-19 County and State guidelines.
$5.00 per adult, free under 18, plus $10 State Park parking fee. This listing is for a 8:00 PM tour. A 9:00 PM tour the same evening is available here.
RFO is operated by the Valley of the Moon Observatory Association, a 501(3)(c) nonprofit organization, and all of the proceeds will go towards maintaining this beloved Sonoma county institution.
For more information about other upcoming events please visit our calendar.
** Classes are offered Monday through Friday at 7, 9 or 11 a.m. **
Miss yoga? Practice outside!
During the pandemic, Sonoma Ecology Center is partnering with Sonoma Yoga Community to offer outdoor yoga classes at Sonoma Garden Park. A variety of classes such as Feel Good Yoga, Yinyasa Flow, Raja Flow and more are now being offered Monday through Friday at 7, 9 or 11 a.m. by the studio’s many great instructors, including SEC’s volunteer coordinator at the Garden Park, Ivana Nedelchev.
For more or to register, go to yogacommunity.net and click on the class schedule.
(Subject to cancellation due to air quality.)
Wednesday afternoons this fall, Sonoma Ecology Center educators will be providing what every kid needs after the laptops close: outdoor activities that are educational and fun.
Starting in September, our activity table will be set up at Sonoma Garden Park every Wednesday from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., where kids will learn about harvesting and birdwatching and go on scavenger hunts.
Then in October, the action moves to Montini Preserve, where we’ll focus on indigenous people of the region and the beautiful oak woodland.
In November, the table goes to Maxwell Park, where kids explore “water wonders” and Sonoma Creek.
Parent or chaperone supervision is required. For more information, contact Tony Passantino at tony@sonomaecologycenter.org.
- Sonoma Garden Park is located at 19996 7th St. East
- Montini Preserve is located at 175 1st St. West
- Maxwell Park is located at 100 Verano Ave.
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