Ultimate Super Bowl Snack Food Recipes • Tasty

Who's pumped for the Super Bowl?! Make these delicious snacks for your watch party

Next-Gen Blue Oaks

Replanting an old clear-cut at Rockville Trails Preserve

Sometimes little ones need to be coddled.

That is the case with a “nursery” of blue oaks deep in the heart of Rockville Trails Preserve. Twelve acorns and two saplings have been planted as a first step to restore an area that was logged decades ago. Historic aerial photos show a thriving oak savanna in 1937. Today, areas of the Preserve have only foot-tall stumps, evidence of a past clear-cut. They may have logged the trees for firewood, or because agricultural advisors thought removing the trees would benefit livestock. Whatever the reason, the result is that huge areas that were once wooded are now grasslands. Our goal is to plant and protect 60 young trees in one of these historically wooded areas. (See aerial photos below.)

Iconic California oaks

Your support enables us to replant these oaks and do all we can to help the babies grow.

If you have ever been on a docent-led hike at Rockville Trails Preserve, you may have noticed the blue oak savannas that sweep across the landscape, lending it an iconic California look. This species of oak grows only in California, and only in a narrow ring around the Central Valley.

For the past few decades, land managers and ecologists have been concerned because these slow-growing oaks are not regenerating adequately on their own. Researchers believe slow regeneration may be caused by changes in rainfall and summer temperatures, depleted groundwater, or cattle eating the tender leaves of saplings.

Tender seedlings
We know now that healthy grassland ecosystems include a variety of plants and trees, and we are doing everything we can to support blue oaks at Rockville Trails Preserve. At the clear-cut site, stewardship coordinator Ryan Lewis has protected the tender seedlings from cattle with moveable fencing. When the weather heats up and dries out, staff and volunteers will water, mulch, and apply shade cloths. With help from Citizen Scientists, Lewis is also caging a population of one-foot-tall, stunted and tenacious blue oaks throughout the property.

Although we plant oaks and other native plants and trees as part of restoration efforts on all of our properties, we focused on blue oaks at Rockville Trails Preserve to replace the trees that will be removed as we build the entrance and parking lot for the natural park.

None of our efforts would be possible without your support and shared passion and commitment to the land. We also thank Nomad Ecology, former staff member Sue Wickham, and our dedicated volunteers for helping us care for our blue oaks. If you are a tree-hugger at heart, or just want to help care for these special trees, please contact Ryan or Jasmine to sign up as a volunteer.

Photos courtesy of Nicole Braddock, Wikimedia Commons,  and Solano Land Trust.

January 26th: Communing With Cattle: Interpreting Animal Behavior And Sending Positive Cues

Registration for the Communing with Cattle Workshop scheduled for January 25th filled up quickly!  We are happy to announce that we have added an additional day for those who weren't able to make the initial registration list, but still wanted to participate!  Please join us on Saturday, January 26th at Rush Ranch! 

Venture into the world of animal behavioral science! We will be learning how to read and interpret cattle body language and recognizing how our actions can affect cattle behavior. As Citizen Scientists, Docents, and SLT staff and volunteers, we can lead the way towards minimizing stress for livestock and recreationists alike. Let's learn to safely share the trails!

Livestock and recreationists share the trails on over 130,000 acres of open space in the North Bay and San Francisco Bay Areas. All of Solano Land Trust's properties are managed with grazing. Grazing animals serve a valuable purpose on the rangeland but are often misunderstood. Cattle can be especially imposing to hikers due to their large size.

January 26th, Meet by 9:30 am at the Rush Ranch Nature Center; you will be done by 1:00 pm. This activity will be led by Jasmine Westbrook, SLT Project Manager. We will begin with a presentation and some discussion, and then we will take to the pastures to try to interpret the behaviors of cattle in the field. Please bring water and comfortable shoes for the outdoor portion. I recommend dressing in layers, as the Nature Center can get a bit chilly! The walk to the pasture will be easy to moderate difficulty level, depending on where the cattle are. If it is pouring rain, we may cancel the hike, but the rest of the event will take place. I plan to bring a lunch and I hope that some of you will join me!

RSVP by following the link:
http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=k4v5ckmab&oeidk=a07eg1oyt3d0efbd27b

Space is not limited for the January 26th event, but it will help us get a head count. This event is open to the entire SLT community. If you are a docent, the docent specific training will be February 2nd.  For questions about this event, email Jasmine Westbrook at jasmine@solanolandtrust.org. THANKS! 

Looking forward to another learning adventure with you!

Meet The Farmers: Five Dot Ranch

Five Dot keeps it in the family

Kirby and Kaitlin Swickard of Five Dot Ranch don’t mind if you call them cowboys, even though they are cowgirls. The two young women have joined the Five Dot Ranch family business, and represent the latest generation of the Swickard family that has produced grain and livestock in California since the 1850s.


Todd and Loretta Swickard, Kirby and Kaitlin’s parents, took over the Five Dot Land and Cattle Company in Susanville from Todd's parents in 1994 and launched a natural beef business in 2006. Kirby says she and her three siblings spent their childhood “on the rangeland, gathering cattle, and cowboying.”

A Family Affair

Today, Kirby, the eldest, does outreach, catering, and human resources for the family business. Kaitlin does marketing and sales. Both earned degrees in agricultural business, Kirby at Chico State, and Kaitlin at Cal Poly. Another daughter, Lindsey, teaches FFA at Elsie High School in Santa Rosa, and the youngest, Logan, 20, is a student at Butte Community College.

Five Dot Ranch runs cattle at the King-Swett Ranches and has done so since the early 1980s when the property was still owned by PG&E. They have been part of the Solano Land Trust family for years, and at a recent Solano Land Trust business breakfast, Kirby and Kaitlin gave a short PowerPoint presentation about the business while Todd watched proudly from the audience. Five Dot donated all the beef served at our recent Sunday Supper at Joyful Ranch, and Todd was a spotter during the live auction.

Popular butcher shop and restaurant

In addition to the cattle operation that produces beef 100 percent hormone and antibiotic free, the family runs the Five Dot Ranch butcher shop and Five Dot Ranch Cookhouse in Napa. Theirs was one of the original businesses in Oxbow Market.

“In ten years, we went from being full-time ranchers to being full-time ranchers and restaurant owners. It’s been a steep learning curve,” Kirby said.

We are proud to play a role in this family business and happy to share their inspiring story with you.

(By Aleta George, January 2016. Photos courtesy of Five Dot Ranch.)

There's Still Time To Support Solano Land Trust!

You still have time to support the important work to preserve our shared land, and shared values. If you haven't already done so, please consider making an end-of-year contribution.

Your gift supports:

-Healthy land and clean water for wildlife and people

-Scenic views and open spaces between our cities

-Healthy, local food

-Safe recreational trails for all to enjoy

-Free and low cost community-based outdoor events

-Responsibly managed natural areas

Let's keep Solano County a desirable place to live, work and play!

Donate now to make a generous, tax-deductible year-end gift today. 

Gifts of all sizes are greatly appreciated!

If you've already sent in your donation, please know that we are deeply grateful.

Communing With Cattle: Interpreting Animal Behavior And Sending Positive Cues

As mentioned in our latest eVistas, Solano Land Trust is hosting a workshop on hiking with livestock on January 25th.

Venture into the world of animal behavioral science! We will be learning how to read and interpret cattle body language and recognizing how our actions can affect cattle behavior. As Citizen Scientists, Docents, and SLT staff and volunteers, we can lead the way towards minimizing stress for livestock and recreationists alike. Let's learn to safely share the trails!

Communing with Cattle: interpreting animal behavior and sending positive cues. 

Livestock and recreationists share the trails on over 130,000 acres of open space in the North Bay and San Francisco Bay Areas. All of Solano Land Trust's properties are managed with grazing. Grazing animals serve a valuable purpose on the rangeland but are often misunderstood. Cattle can be especially imposing to hikers due to their large size.

January 25th, Meet by 9:30 am at the Rush Ranch Nature Center; you will be done by 1:00 pm. This activity will be led by Jasmine Westbrook, SLT Project Manager. We will begin with a presentation and some discussion, and then we will take to the pastures to try to interpret the behaviors of cattle in the field. Please bring water and comfortable shoes for the outdoor portion. I recommend dressing in layers, as the Nature Center can get a bit chilly! The walk to the pasture will be easy to moderate difficulty level, depending on where the cattle are. If it is pouring rain, we may cancel the hike, but the rest of the event will take place. I plan to bring a lunch and I hope that some of you will join me!

RSVP by following the link:
http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=k4v5ckmab&oeidk=a07efyv931u7f970c8d

Space is not limited for the January 25th event, but it will help us get a head count. This event is open to the entire SLT community. If you are a docent, the docent specific training will be February 2nd.  For questions about this event, email Jasmine Westbrook at jasmine@solanolandtrust.org. THANKS! 

Looking forward to another learning adventure with you!

Giving Back To The Land You Love!

Join us the second Saturday of most months at 9:00 AM at Lynch Canyon Open Space Park.

This Saturday, January 12th, we will be removing the old boardwalk and cutting/ screwing boards for a new boardwalk!

We wrap up by noon and finish the work with a pizza lunch, provided by Solano Land Trust.
Make new friends, get some exercise, enjoy the outdoors and give back to the land.

Food And Community

A union worth celebrating

As we begin this new year filled with hope and opportunity, Solano Land Trust is proud to announce two newly-formed unions that took place at the end of last year.

One was a not-so-traditional wedding. The other is an alliance between Solano Land Trust and Fully Belly Farm. Both unions offer reasons to celebrate.

Solano Land Trust’s very own field operation’s manager, Jordan Knippenberg, recently wed Janvier Marie Velilla, farm harvest manager of Full Belly Farm. On a windy morning in October, Jan and Jordan, joined by a small group of friends, hiked up a mountain overlooking the Capay Valley. It was here where they made vows to honor their love, the land, and their communities. Jordan and Jan are so committed to the health of land and people that they even chose career paths that support this passion.  Little did they know, their shared values and partnership would bring their jobs together, too.

Solano Land Trust and Full Belly Farm, a certified organic farm in Capay Valley since 1985, has started our own partnership! As of January, Rush Ranch will serve as a location for members to pick-up the farm’s community-supported agriculture (CSA) produce boxes.

“I am excited to help join these two similar-minded agencies together,” says Jordan, who will deliver the weekly boxes to Rush Ranch from his home in Capay Valley. “I hope this collaboration strengthens our like-minded goals of supporting land, food, and people of this region.

Diversity has helped to keep the farm economically viable. With six owners — two of whom are second generation — and 80 employees, Full Belly Farm grows vegetables, fruit, herbs, flowers, and nuts. They also offer products from pasture animals.

Two peas in a pod

Solano Land Trust and the farm share common missions, which includes practicing sustainable management of the land. “The preservation of working landscapes is very important to us. One of our goals is to integrate farm production with longer-term environmental stewardship,” says Judith Redmond, part owner of Full Belly Farm.

Another important part of their job is to help people understand the importance of eating locally-grown, high-quality food, and to help subscribers connect their food with the farm. “After a while, it’s not just about the food; it’s a relationship with the place that grows it,” Judith says. This meaningful work, however, is getting increasingly difficult for small farm owners like Judy. “CSA’s are hard to keep going. Running a farm business in California is on the margin economically. It requires a lot of labor to farmland, and labor is more expensive here than in any other state in the country,” she adds.

Thanks to you, we are able to honor our commitment to support local agriculture and family farms. Oh, and when you subscribe to a weekly box of Full Belly Farm produce, you get the added advantage of visiting Rush Ranch once a week, where fresh air and a large open sky await you!

Learn more about Full Belly Farm and sign-up for a veggie box HERE.

Photos courtesy of Jordan Knippenberg and Full Belly Farm.

Land And People

Keeping the link alive

Together, we care for land and people.

Your support of this important work throughout the year ultimately accomplishes this mission. Not only is land protected, forever, but it can also be shared with the community for all to enjoy. People can find peace, exercise their bodies, and renew their spirits in nature. We trust that healthy land leads to healthy and happy people!

Sometimes, before young people can get out on the land, they may need help getting on their feet. This holiday season, Nicole Braddock, Solano Land Trust’s executive director, gave staff and board the chance to donate gifts to local foster kids who often fall through the cracks when they age out of the foster-care system at eighteen. We are proud to report that a small mountain of gifts, along with a jar of cash for gift cards, filled the couch in Nicole’s office in one day. The gifts and money were distributed by Heart 2 Heart Solano Youth Services, a program dedicated to supporting these teens.

Together, we provide opportunities for adults and kids alike to get outside in nature’s classroom. One way we do that is by offering a monthly kids' hike. Lucky for families, the next one is on Friday, January 4, when most kids are still out of school. In fact, Di Holokahi, our new engagement assistant, is having her daughter’s birthday party on the hike with some of her friends. Great idea, Di!

Thanks for all you do to support land and people of all ages.