Regional Rendezvous 2017

Click on the image for a printable PDF flier.

Announcing the first California Naturalist Program Regional Rendezvous on October 8 in the North Coast and Bay-Delta Bioregions! We are excited to work with long-time partners at Pepperwood Preserve to offer a one day gathering for California Naturalists and interested friends. Naturalist updates, field walks with experts, keynote speakers, book exchange, lunch, and a final gathering and reception will all be included in this fun day. We'll rendezvous under the oaks to feed our curiosity, inspire each other, and build community!

Located in eastern Sonoma County, approximately 25 minutes from downtown Santa Rosa and a 90 minute drive north of San Francisco, Pepperwood manages a 3,200-acre nature preserve located in the heart of a globally-recognized biodiversity hotspot. The preserve is an important refuge for over 750 varieties of native plants and 150 species of wildlife including birds, reptiles, and mammals representing California's diverse climates. Want to carpool? We have a spreadsheet you can fill out here to try to find/give a ride.

Please contact Brook Gamble, phone: 707-744-1424 x108 with questions.

Download the Regional Rendedvous Program

View Rendezvous Lightning Talk Presentations

Schedule
Plenary Speakers
Lightning Talks
Science Communication Workshop
Field Excursions & Art Workshop
Natural History Book/Information Exchange
Camping

Schedule (subject to minor changes)

Plenary Speakers

Omar Gallardo

Stu Weiss

Looking for our Roots

Omar Gallardo is the Outreach and Diversity Director for LandPaths, a community-based land stewardship organization in Sonoma County. LandPaths creates ways for people to experience the beauty, understand the value, and assist in healing the land in their local communities. Omar oversees the monthly Vamos Afuera family outing series, Inspired Forward teen program and the Bayer Farm community garden as a continuing effort to expand the diversity and relevance of the organization’s programs.

After 39 years of chasing butterflies, what have I caught?

Stu Weiss is Chief Scientist of Creekside Science, which provides scientific and conservation expertise to diverse organizations as they cope with the rapidly changing 21st Century environment. He has researched the Bay checkerspot butterfly and serpentine grasslands since 1979, and has authored numerous scientific papers concerning climate change/microclimate, population dynamics, nitrogen deposition, and conservation ecology.

Science Communication Workshop: Communicating for Change

Every day we learn more and more about how the landscapes we love are being altered. Communicating our beliefs and ideas around conservation is essential, yet the complex terrain of human relationships is almost never addressed in conservation work. Learning to transcend anger and engage effectively in emotionally laden topics calls for significant subjective and emotional skills.

Faith Kearns will lead discussion on a framework for growing individual “comfort with discomfort” and enhancing our ability to effectively interact in this rich, relational world through practices like deep listening. We will practice these skills in this interactive workshop.

Faith Kearns is a scientist and communications specialist with the California Institute for Water Resources at the University of California. Trained as a freshwater ecologist, she has had an eclectic career spanning academia, the non-profit world, and government, and topics ranging from wildfire to sharks to streams.

Lightning Talks

If your topic is of interest to a wide range of people and you would like your presentation to lead to an extended conversation with others afterward, consider a lightning talk. The lightning talks give a low pressure, quick-and-clean review of important highlights of your naturalist experience. They provide a fun and lively forum for attendees to share and inspire with information about their California Naturalist programs and volunteer efforts. Naturalists will be split into one of two lightning talk sessions (AM/PM) depending on which excursion is chosen (AM/PM). Please head to the Lightning Talk page to learn more.

Field Excursions & Art Workshop

Do you love butterflies? Are you interested in cultural history? An iNaturalist enthusiast or an artist who wants a new medium? We have something for everyone at the rendezvous! All field excursions will take place at Pepperwood Preserve. Each attendee may choose from one of five field excursions or a cyanotype art workshop. We're also offering an optional early morning bird walk. Space is limited- be sure to register early to get your first choice! Read about your options here.

Natural History Book/Information Exchange

If you'd like to participate, please bring an old field guide or two, natural history fiction or non-fiction book, a great map, brochure to a neat place you visited, a magazine or article, poems, a nature-inspired recipe or craft, flier for an upcoming event etc to share and plan take something fun home with you in return! We'll collect your item(s) at registration and lay them out for you to peruse during the final reception.

Camping

We have room for 18 individuals to tent camp on site at Pepperwood the night before the Rendezvous (October 7). Please secure your spot through the registration form now. You must bring your own camping gear. There is a bathroom nearby. Every camper must also be registered for the Rendezvous (sorry, no unregistered guests). Alternatively, Sonoma County has many camping options: start by exploring the Regional and State Parks.