Learning the Land

In this podcast, Land Trust Conservation Director, Bryan Largay, provides background and an update on our efforts to restore and increase wetland habitat in the Pajaro River and Watsonville Slough Estuary. Working with landowners, growers, and a large community of partners, this project will benefit wildlife and biodiversity, enhance ecosystem integrity, and reduce risks related to bigger and more...

In this episode, the Land Trust's Donor Relations Manager, Cameron Berry, interviews special guest Ron Munger. Ron spent his career at a national non-profit helping people understand the options for making legacy gifts that benefit future generations without impacting current lifestyle or family security.

It’s time for some good news! In this new podcast, we’re providing a behind the scenes peek at the work the Land Trust and its partners are doing to protect the land we love. Land Trust Engagement Director, Laura Dannehl-Schickman talks with External Affairs Director, Eric Lombardo about some exciting land conservation successes and how people working together make good things happen! Listen and e...

Welcome to episode four of Tails of the Wild with the Land Trust. I’m your host Vicki Lowell, the Marketing and Communications Manager for the Land Trust and I am excited to have our Conservation Director, Bryan Largay as our guest today. He’s going to tell us all about bioreactors, relatively simple systems that can be used to funnel water from agricultural land and remove nitrates before that wa...

In this episode, we're talking to Bill Vaughn, the Principle Forester at Vaughn Forestry. Bill has been working with the Land Trust for many years, most recently during the selective timber harvest at the Byrne-Milliron Forest. He explains the process from planning through execution and explains how sustainable harvests help keep the Byrne healthy, beautiful, and productive.

In this episode, we're learning about avian brood parasitism with Eric Nunez, an Access Specialist at the Land Trust and all-around bird enthusiast. Listen up as we discuss this interesting and perhaps fowl reproductive strategy within some avian ecology. 

Hello and welcome to the second episode of Tails of the Wild with the Land Trust!  We're offering something different with this episode, a ghost story of sorts narrated by the Land Trust's Engagement Director, Laura Dannehl-Schickman. Enjoy!

Hello and welcome to the first edition of Tails of the Wild with the Land Trust!  With this new radio series, we’re offering up a shorter format. Each episode will be about fifteen minutes and provide a quick overview of one of our projects. We’re very excited to have Hannah Travers as our first guest. Hannah is a Natural Resource Coordinator at the Land Trust and today she’s going to talk to us a...

In this episode we have the pleasure of speaking to Wildlife Researcher Ahíga Snyder of Pathways for Wildlife. Ahiga and partner Tanya Diamond , a Wildlife Ecologist, founded Pathways for Wildlife to help land trusts, conservation organizations, and transportation agencies identify important wildlife and habitat linkages for land conservation efforts. Their work involves conducting wildlife connec...

In today’s episode, we’re diving into one of the Land Trust’s conservation priorities – to protect and manage working lands to address climate change and promote environmental sustainability. The vibrant working lands of Santa Cruz County face the dual threats of suburban sprawl and a changing climate, which will increase flooding, drought stress, and fire. Actively managing working lands—especial...

Well, hey there, Land Trust listeners! And welcome to today’s episode of Learning the Land. We’re shaking things up and offering this episode both as a podcast AND video – so if you want to enjoy some fun maps, pictures, and footage that go with today’s discussion, head over to our youtube channel. In this episode, we’re focusing on the Land Trust’s initiative to protect biodiversity throughout Sa...

The Land Trust recently launched its new Conservation Roadmap, which outlines our county-wide initiatives for the next five years!  The Roadmap is packed with projects that are aimed at addressing Santa Cruz County’s most pressing needs for wildlife, creating access to nature, and mitigating the drastic effects of climate disruption, which has hit our community hard over the last five years.  In t...

Hey there, Land Trust Listeners! In this extended episode, we join up with Rangeland Scientist Larry Ford, Ph. D. to learn more about the science of the open range - and how grazing can help protect endangered species, create biodiversity, and provide new economic opportunity based in conservation!

 Did you know grasslands are as crucial as forests in sequestering carbon? Or that using site-specific native plants in restoration ensures the success of local wildlife? In this episode, we interview Matt Marshall at Central Coast Wilds to learn about the importance of native plants as well as the critical role Central Coast Wilds plays in ecological restoration efforts throughout the Bay Area. 

Welcome back, Land Trust Listeners! In this episode, we continue our deep dive into the Land Trust's Wildlife Connectivity work with Project Director Dan Medieros. Together we'll learn about the Land Trust's newest project and site of our second wildlife crossing, Rocks Ranch -particularly why this property is so critical in creating safe passage for the Santa Cruz Mountain Lions to...

We're excited to introduce the Land Trust's new Executive Director, Sarah Newkirk! In this episode, guest host and Development and Communications Director, Calah Pasley, interviews the Land Trust's new leader, Sarah Newkirk, about her previous work with The Nature Conservancy, the origins of her love for nature, and her plans for the Land Trust's future.  Get ready to be excite...

Thinking about our legacy and what's been meaningful in our lives can take many forms. In this episode, Membership Manager Sarah McMurray interviews Donor Relations Manager Laura Dannehl-Schickman about the Land Trust's legacy program and why people might choose to honor their connection to the land as part of their legacy.

In this two-part series, we interview Land Trust Project Director Dan Medeiros about our wildlife connectivity work in Santa Cruz County. Part 1 delves into our work to create a Highway 17 wildlife tunnel. This 10-year project has pioneered new partnerships with diverse organizations to create safe passage for our county's wildlife - particularly the Santa Cruz Mountain Lion! Together we&apos...

Well, hey there, Land Trust Listeners! In today's episode, we're trying something new and exploring the history of one of our most beloved properties - Byrne-Milliron Forest.  We're joined by former Land Trust Stewardship Manager (and unofficial Byrne historian) Lynn Overtree to learn more about the property's fascinating history. About Byrne-Milliron Forest: This magical, 400-...

Hey there Land Trust listeners! This month’s episode of Learning the Land brings you a special interview with Lauren Snyder, PhD. of the Organic Farming Research Foundation. Together, we’ll explore how preserving open spaces and adopting organic farming practices can help mitigate climate change...and even potentially prevent future pandemics.  

In this episode, we conclude our three-part working lands series by interviewing Land Trust Conservation Director Bryan Largay about the Land Trust's efforts to preserve the Pajaro Valley's nutrient-rich ag land. Together, we'll learn about why we must protect this invaluable resource as well as how the Land Trust stewards its own working ranch - Watsonville Slough Farm! 

In this episode, we meet again with Natural Resource Manager, Matthew Timmer, to continue our conversation about the Land Trust's working lands. In this conversation we focus on "Conservation Grazing" - a beneficial practice we use to maintain endangered species habitat at the Glenwood Open Space Preserve.  But it's not all rolling hills and sunshine - running a small cattle op...

In this episode of the Learning the Land podcast, we’re kicking off a three-part mini-series about our working lands! Specifically, how we integrate timber harvesting, cattle grazing, and farming into our land management plans. Working lands can sometimes seem at odds with conservation goals, so we’re interviewing our Natural Resources Manager, Matthew Timmer, to get a better understanding of why...

CONNECTING WILDLIFE TO NATURE In our first episode of the Learning the Land podcast, we go a little batty for bats while speaking with Bat Ecologist and Acoustics Specialist, Bethany Schulze. We learn more about our local bats and the impact Bethany’s research could have on shaping urban boundaries and wildland conservation policy. Research, like Bethany’s, on local ecosystems and wildlife, is cri...