Community Education
Walks, Talks & Classes

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER

The Laguna Foundation is proud to collaborate with local biologists, artists, educators, naturalists, and partner organizations to offer a wide range of natural and cultural history online programs, presentations, and outings all year long. Whether you’d like to learn a new skill, enjoy the beautiful Laguna scenery, or attend a fun event with your family, the Laguna Foundation has a variety of offerings to deepen your appreciation for the Laguna de Santa Rosa, connect with nature, and inspire a vibrant community dedicated to lifelong learning.

Please note that all in-person outings follow current Sonoma County health orders and guidelines for group activities to keep everyone safe during COVID-19. Heavy smoke, excessive heat or heavy rain cancels in-person programs. Lastly, please let us know in advance if you can no longer attend an outing so we can offer a spot to someone on the waitlist.

Select webinar recordings can be found on our Educational Resources page or on our YouTube channel.

August
	An Evening with Greg Sarris: Memoir on Homeland and Belonging Tuesday, August 2, 2022. 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm $10 – 25 Sliding scale. Registration required. No tickets will be available at the door. Pre-purchase the book! Add-on available when you purchase your ticket. Please join us for an intimate evening of reading and conversation with award-winning author and tribal leader Greg Sarris for his new memoir, Becoming Story: A Journey among Seasons, Places, Trees, and Ancestors. In this powerful new work, Sarris offers a searching portrait of his own life, from his upbringing in Santa Rosa's Indian Country to the discovery of his own Indigenous ancestry to his work as an elected leader of the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo tribes. Sarris will be joined by Caryl Hart, Ph.D., Vice Chair California Coastal Commission, for discussion and audience questions about his writing and his work serving his fifteenth consecutive term as Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. This will be followed by book signing. Light refreshments will be available on the patio and the Laguna Environmental Center garden will be open for your enjoyment. Books are available for advance purchase with your ticket or at the event. This event will take place at the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation's Great Blue Heron Hall, located in the heart of the Laguna de Santa Rosa watershed and surrounded by the mountains and plains that feature prominently in Sarris' writings. We are honored and grateful for the opportunity to host Chairman Sarris and highlight his new book in partnership with the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and Heyday Books. Author website: greg-sarris.com | Book Press Release | Book Trailer Free Parking Parking is limited; please carpool if possible!
	The Magic of Twill in Basketry With Charlie Kennard Saturday, August 13, 2022. 9:30 am – 3:30 pm $110. Pre-registration is required. Flat strips of material such as cattail, crushed tule, bark, New Zealand flax, and split bamboo, can be interlaced in many ways, to make decorative patterns and to create the structure of baskets. We will learn basic twill weaves using single-color bamboo or cattail, reweaving the same strips for different exercises. Participants using cattail will be able to keep the strips; bamboo strips will be returned to the instructor at the end of the workshop. A handout will illustrate a selection of weaves. Charlie will also show a variety of twill weave baskets and mats, and demonstrate splitting bamboo into thin strips. Even if you have done other types of weaving, this workshop will stretch your brain! Participants should bring a spray bottle, and, if they wish, a camera to record the steps in weaving. Please bring a lunch to the workshop. Charlie Kennard of San Anselmo is a long-time basket weaver and student of California Indian and other traditional basketry techniques of the world, and believes that through knowledge of, and love for localized ecology and cultures, we will safeguard all. He has taught for the Point Reyes Field Institute, East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Fibershed in Point Reyes Station, and for continuing private groups. Tule boats made in his workshops can be seen at the Bay Model in Sausalito, Lake County Museum, and another is in the collection of the Oakland Museum. You can also visit a basketry plant garden Charlie has created at the Marin Art and Garden Center in Ross. Charlie is active in wildlife habitat restoration in Marin, managing several projects for Friends of Corte Madera Creek Watershed.
	Fresh Pressed Flowers Workshop with Jan Lochner Saturday, August 27, 2022. 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm $35. Pre-registration is required. In this make-and-take workshop, local gardener and Laguna Foundation volunteer Jan Lochner will share the simplicity and beauty of the art of pressing flowers. Jan will demonstrate techniques she uses to press and use flowers. We will make various useful items, from bookmarks and cards to window ornaments and refrigerator magnets. All workshop materials and supplies, including flowers, are provided. Participants need only bring an open creative spirit and a smile. Suitable for eight years old and up (minors must be accompanied by an adult). Join us for this fun , hands-on and informative workshop as Jan shares her secrets of pressing flowers in hopes that you will continue to enjoy this easy and enjoyable art process on your own. Jan Lochner has been creating note cards from pressed flowers as a hobby for 25 years. She uses color, shape, and texture on fine quality paper, making each hand-made card unique. Her home in Sebastopol is her workshop with the dining room table seldom clear and kitchen cupboards filled with bags and boxes of flowers that she collects from her garden and other local sources.

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September - More events coming soon!

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October
Presented in partnership with:	Fall Birding Walk at the Laguna de Santa Rosa Guided Walk with Teresa and Miles Tuffli Saturday, October 1, 2022. 8:30 am – 11:30 am FREE. Pre-registration is required. Location: Laguna de Santa Rosa Trailhead parking lot on the Highway 12 side (NOT the Occidental Road side), located at 6303 CA-12, Sebastopol, CA, 95472 Join Teresa and Miles Tuffli for a fall birding walk exploring the Laguna de Santa Rosa trail. We’ll slowly meander along the mostly flat trail as it winds through open oak savannah, grasslands, riparian woodlands, marshes, and perhaps a pond if time allows. Fall is a terrific time to visit the Laguna -- we'll be on the lookout for the high variety of birds who make the area their home for the fall and winter months. All levels of birding experience are welcome! We'll discuss a variety of topics, such as: getting the most out of your binoculars, techniques for locating birds, what sorts of details to notice when observing a bird, species identification, bird vocalizations, and bird behavior and habitats. Miles and Teresa Tuffli are avid birders from Sonoma County. They especially love helping fellow nature-lovers and “bird-curious” folks take the next step of getting into the field to enjoy the bird world! They’ve led guided bird walks for the Point Reyes Birding & Nature Festival, LandPaths, Marin Audubon Society, and Point Reyes National Seashore Association’s Field Institute. Miles and Teresa also enjoy volunteering their time with many local nature-based organizations. Learn more about them at their website and blog: I’m Birding Right Now. There is no charge for this outing, which is made possible by the voters of Sonoma County who fund the work of Ag + Open Space with a quarter-cent sales tax. NOTE: Though we’ll be walking slowly, for those with mobility issues, please be aware that we will be on unpaved trails and some slight inclines. Depending on recent rainfall, the trail may be muddy. This is an in-person event. All in-person events follow current Sonoma County health orders and guidelines for group activities to keep everyone safe during COVID-19. Please let us know in advance if you can no longer attend so we can offer a spot to someone on the waitlist.
Presented in partnership with:	Fall Birding Walk at the Laguna de Santa Rosa Guided Walk with Teresa and Miles Tuffli Saturday, October 8, 2022. 8:30 am – 11:30 am FREE. Pre-registration is required. Location: Laguna de Santa Rosa Trailhead parking lot on the Highway 12 side (NOT the Occidental Road side), located at 6303 CA-12, Sebastopol, CA, 95472 Join Teresa and Miles Tuffli for a fall birding walk exploring the Laguna de Santa Rosa trail. We’ll slowly meander along the mostly flat trail as it winds through open oak savannah, grasslands, riparian woodlands, marshes, and perhaps a pond if time allows. Fall is a terrific time to visit the Laguna -- we'll be on the lookout for the high variety of birds who make the area their home for the fall and winter months. All levels of birding experience are welcome! We'll discuss a variety of topics, such as: getting the most out of your binoculars, techniques for locating birds, what sorts of details to notice when observing a bird, species identification, bird vocalizations, and bird behavior and habitats. Miles and Teresa Tuffli are avid birders from Sonoma County. They especially love helping fellow nature-lovers and “bird-curious” folks take the next step of getting into the field to enjoy the bird world! They’ve led guided bird walks for the Point Reyes Birding & Nature Festival, LandPaths, Marin Audubon Society, and Point Reyes National Seashore Association’s Field Institute. Miles and Teresa also enjoy volunteering their time with many local nature-based organizations. Learn more about them at their website and blog: I’m Birding Right Now. There is no charge for this outing, which is made possible by the voters of Sonoma County who fund the work of Ag + Open Space with a quarter-cent sales tax. NOTE: Though we’ll be walking slowly, for those with mobility issues, please be aware that we will be on unpaved trails and some slight inclines. Depending on recent rainfall, the trail may be muddy. This is an in-person event. All in-person events follow current Sonoma County health orders and guidelines for group activities to keep everyone safe during COVID-19. Please let us know in advance if you can no longer attend so we can offer a spot to someone on the waitlist.
	Coiled Willow Basket With Charlie Kennard Saturday, October 16, 2022. 9:30 am – 3:30 pm $110. Pre-registration is required. We will learn how to split and trim willow to prepare weaving threads, and then begin a trinket basket, with a foundation of whole willow. Participants can choose whether to use a gap stitch or close weaving. Charlie will supply us with his own gray and purple willows, grown in Marin. Gray willow is also found in the Laguna de Santa Rosa and other parts of Sonoma County. Participants should bring a sharp pocket knife, small wire clippers and a water bowl. Please bring a lunch to the workshop. Charlie Kennard of San Anselmo is a long-time basket weaver and student of California Indian and other traditional basketry techniques of the world, and believes that through knowledge of, and love for localized ecology and cultures, we will safeguard all. He has taught for the Point Reyes Field Institute, East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Fibershed in Point Reyes Station, and for continuing private groups. Tule boats made in his workshops can be seen at the Bay Model in Sausalito, Lake County Museum, and another is in the collection of the Oakland Museum. You can also visit a basketry plant garden Charlie has created at the Marin Art and Garden Center in Ross. Charlie is active in wildlife habitat restoration in Marin, managing several projects for Friends of Corte Madera Creek Watershed.

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For more information, contact Carlos Barragan, Environmental Educator
(707) 527-9277 xt. 110 or by email at Carlos.Barragan@LagunaFoundation.org

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