Laguna Foundation Public Education Events

Summer-Fall 2013 Schedule

Laguna Environmental Center Open Houses
Second Saturday of the Month, 10:00am-3:00pm
June 8, July 13, August 10, and so on . . .
Location: 900 Sanford Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Free (donations appreciated)

Learn about the natural and cultural history of the Laguna de Santa Rosa and historic Stone Farm by taking a guide-led tour or exploring a variety of hands-on activities. Birdwatch from the observation deck. Stop by for a visit and take in the beautiful views. Bring a picnic! Enjoy our gift shop in Great Blue Heron Hall and a group art exhibit by Art Workshop of Western Sonoma County (LAST CHANCE TO SEE THIS ART EXHIBIT-- a new exhibit will be coming end of June). This is a working farm, so please leave your pets at home. The site is wheelchair accessible. No RSVP necessary. Come join us!

Messengers of Summer: Sonoma County's Dazzling Dragonflies
Workshop with dragonfly expert and author, Kathy Biggs
Friday, June 21, 9am-3:30pm
Location: Heron Hall, Laguna Environmental Center, 900 Sanford Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95401
$55 ($45 for Laguna Foundation members). Pre-registration required.

Welcome the summer solstice with this delightful workshop about dragonflies, the "messengers of summer and heralds of the sun" (as poet and zoologist H. Lons calls them). Join Kathy Biggs for a morning presentation in Heron Hall, lunch by the dragonfly-rich pond at the Laguna Environmental Center, followed by fun-filled time in the field. Kathy will share the biology, life cycle, and ecology of Odonata (the family to which dragonflies and damselflies belong). Identification marks for the most common species in Sonoma County will be introduced. The afternoon field trip will be an opportunity to practice identification skills and to make sense of the unusual and fascinating behaviors of dragonflies. Bring your own sack lunch. Coffee, tea and snacks will be provided.

Kathy Biggs is a local birder and nationally prominent expert on dragonflies and backyard wetlands biology.  She is the author of Common Dragonflies of California: A Beginner's Pocket Guide, as well as other field guides and a dragonfly coloring book for children.  For more information about Kathy's books and work, see her website. The Biggs' field guides and coloring books will be offered at a discounted price at this workshop.




Cheese Curd Basket-Making Workshop with Charlie Kennard
Saturday, September 21, 9:00am-3:30pm
Location: Heron Hall, Laguna Environmental Center, 900 Sanford Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95401
$75 ($65 for Laguna Foundation members). Pre-registration required.
This workshop is for teens and adults.

Join us for a day of traditional basket weaving! We will make southern Italian-style fiscelle baskets (cheese strainers) out of Juncus, which leave the basket’s impression on the cheese. We will also demonstrate how to make a ricotta salata cheese. Quick weavers may be able to use their own basket to make cheese that afternoon! This type of twined-weave basket was traditionally made by shepherds while pasturing their flocks.

Charles Kennard, a resident of San Anselmo, is a long-time student of California Indian and European basketry, and practices a wide variety of basketry techniques using local plants. He has taught for the Miwok Archeological Preserve of Marin (MAPOM), Point Reyes Field Institute, UC Botanical Garden, in many schools and at teacher trainings.  Tule boats made in his workshops can be seen at the Laguna Environmental Center, California Academy of Sciences, the Bay Model in Sausalito, and in the collection of the Oakland Museum.  A sinuous 150-foot woven fence he made borders the East Garden of the Academy of Sciences.  Charlie is also active in native habitat restoration in Marin, managing several projects for the Friends of Corte Madera Creek Watershed.



Kayaking and Hiking the Laguna
Presentation by David Bannister, Laguna Foundation Executive Director
Saturday, December 14, 3:00-4:30pm (in conjunction with our monthly Open House)
Location: Heron Hall, Laguna Environmental Center, 900 Sanford Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95401
$10 at the door. No RSVP necessary.

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Also on tap . . .(details coming soon)

  • Climate Change program, June
  • Raptors talk and walk, August
  • The Lost Bird Project film showing, October
  • Edible Fungi of Northern California, presentation
  • Bay Area Puma Project, presentation about mountain lions
  • Art and nature workshops
  • Mid-Week Movie Nights
  • And much, much more!!!

For more information, contact Anita Smith, Public Education Coordinator, (707) 527-9277 x110 or anita@lagunafoundation.org