Programs
Overview
The Foundation's program activities fall into four general categories: Education, Restoration, Science and the Laguna Learning Center.
Education
In the area of Education, Learning Laguna, our docent-led wetlands education program for local schoolchildren, has grown since 1999 to serve nearly 1,000 students per year in school districts of the Laguna watershed. It is a popular program with teachers, parents and students, and provides both classroom and field trip experience that communicates key environmental science concepts to these children at a critical stage in their development.
We have also begun a regular program of docent-led walks for all ages in the Laguna as a part of our education efforts, another popular program which has attracted hundreds of attendees since we launched the program in 2003.
Restoration
In the area ofRestoration, the Foundation works to restore native vegetation providing wildlife habitat in the interwoven biotic complexes of the Laguna (perennial marshes, seasonal wetlands, oak savannahs and riparian forests), and to control invasive species that undermine native biodiversity.
Currently, we are involved in three major restoration initiatives: the Laguna Ecosystem Restoration and Management Plan, the Ludwigia Control Project, and the Middle Reach Restoration Project. Our intrepid corps of volunteer LagunaKeepers performs clean-up, revegetation and removal of invasive weeds in the Laguna on volunteer weekend workdays throughout the year.
Science and Research
The Foundation’s Science and Research program works to develop deeper understanding of the Laguna’s complex and interdependent systems of land, soil, water, and biotic communities. Our research efforts establish a baseline of scientific knowledge, inform our restoration and conservation planning activities and are being developed to provide educational opportunities for local students.
Currently, we are involved in two research projects: the development of a pre-TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) Conceptual Model of Laguna water quality to evaluate the physical, chemical, and biotic factors that affect beneficial uses of the Laguna’s watershed, and a Bird Monitoring effort to assess the effectiveness of our Riparian restoration project.
Laguna Learning Center
Finally, the Foundation has secured a lease agreement with the City of Santa Rosa to lease the Civil War-era buildings on Stone Farm, a property owned by the city which overlooks the Laguna. We will rehabilitate these historic buildings and construct a new interpretive center in the same style to create the Laguna Learning Center.
The Center will focus public attention on the Laguna, house our educational programs and restoration efforts, and host interpretive exhibits on the natural, Native American, and early agricultural history of the Laguna, as well as on our future vision of how the Laguna can thrive alongside sustainable agriculture and nearby cities. We launched the capital campaign to build the Learning Center in spring of 2005 and hope to begin construction of the first phase in summer of 2006.
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