Solano Land Trust, state join Lester family to preserve Dixon Ridge Farms
Daily Republic | October 30, 2022 | Daily Republic Staff
DIXON — Solano Land Trust, the state and the Russ Lester family have completed the process to preserve the family owned, 913-acre farm.
The Solano Land Trust announced the partnership in a press release in which it described the property as “prime farmland.” The farm is owned and operated by Kathy and Russ Lester of Dixon Ridge Farms.
A celebration of the completion of the conservation agreement will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday at Dixon Ridge Farms.
Solano Land Trust bringing art to Patwino park entrance plaza
Daily Republic | July 3, 2022 | Todd R. Hansen
Visitors to the Patwino Worrtla Kodoi Dihi Open Space Park will be greeted by a 20-foot, stainless steel oak tree currently under construction at a workshop on Morrison Lane.
Dave George is the primary designer and builder of the art project on behalf of the park owners, the Solano Land Trust.
Building the All People’s Trail
Benicia Magazine | April 1, 2022 Edition | Photos by Luke George Photography | Samuel Adams
Before construction began on the All People’s Trail, the design team took a walk through Patwino Worrtla Kodoi Dihi Open Space Park in the company of many imagined feet, canes, wheelchairs, walkers, and strollers. They were walking through land preserved for everyone; they were designing a path for all to tread.
Organic Walnut and Almond Orchard Preserved at Dixon’s Schroeder Farm
Vacaville Magazine | January -February Edition | Page 24-25 | Samuel Adams
Working in partnership with the Solano Land Trust, Edward Kenneth Schroeder Jr. and Cheryl L. Schroeder, have preserved their organic almond and walnut farm in the Dixon Ridge area of Solano County through a conservation agreement.
“We congratulate the Schroeder Family and the Solano Land Trust for closing the Schroeder Farm North agreement and protecting the land forever,” said Lynn von Koch-Liebert, Executive Director of the California Strategic Growth Council (SGC). “We are thrilled that SGC’s Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program can support this investment that will benefit the community while providing numerous environmental benefits.”
When the Schroeders—who go by Ken and Cherie—finalized the agreement, they were two weeks into the first remodel of their home in thirty years. Amid the indoor disruption, they enjoyed the peace of mind a completed conservation agreement affords.
SLT volunteers begin building new trail
The Reporter | January 22, 2022 | Corey Kirk
Nestled into the hills of Solano County and off the beaten path Saturday, a group of nearly 20 people stood in a distant circle, ready to embark on building the Patwino Worrtla Kodoi Dihi Open Space Park’s newest hiking trail.
Heading in the direction of Harmonia Hill, the group found themselves ready to work, get their hands dirty and help prepare a trail that is destined to be ready for hiking enthusiasts-turned-volunteer slike Richard Cristo of Benicia.
“We like to work with our hands,” Cristo chuckled.
Formerly known as the Rockville Trail Preserve, the Patwino Worrtla Kodoi Dihi Open Space Park in Fairfield is a 1,500 acre piece of land that Solano Land Trust had acquired in collaboration with the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. The sole purpose of fulfilling their mission for this property and the other six properties the Solano Land Trust owns is simple: protecting it for today, saving it for tomorrow.
SLT Seeks trail crew for Patwino bridge project
Daily Republic | January 21, 2022 | Todd R. Hansen
SUISUN CITY — Anyone interested in being part of the trail crew to help construct a bridge at Patwino Worrtla Kodoi Dihi Open Space Park can register with the Solano Land Trust.
This is the second of three bridges being built at the park. It connects two trails, and leads to a larger trail and vista overlooking Suisun Valley.
“It is going to be strong enough for horses to cross over it,” said Laura Livades, a spokeswoman for the Solano Land Trust.
Work underway on all-access ‘People’s Trail’ at Patwino park
Daily Republic | November 24, 2021 | Todd R. Hansen
ROCKVILLE — Wanda Williams has a personal connection to the new half-mile All People’s Trail being developed at the Patwino park on Rockville Road.
Inspired to get involved in Suisun City politics by her children, the now vice mayor also was inspired to get involved with the Solano Land Trust for the same reason.
Two of her children had disabilities, and she felt they should have the same access and opportunities to enjoy Solano County’s natural world as anyone else.
Exploring Solano Land Trust's historic Rush Ranch
Journeys of Discovery | May 11, 2020 | Tom Wilmer
Rush Ranch is a haven for every variety of outdoor enthusiast, from hikers to birdwatchers and those who simply relish open space. Come along and join correspondent Tom Wilmer for a visit with Solano Land Trust’s executive director Nicole Braddock at the 2,000-acre Rush Ranch Nature Center on the outskirts of Suisun City, California.
Rockville Trails Preserve gets new heritage-rice name
Daily Republic | November, 2020 | Todd R. Hansen
ROCKVILLE — The 1,500-acre Rockville Trails Preserve is now the Patwino Worrtla Kodoi Dihi Open Space Park.
The Solano Land Trust, in partnership with the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, has renamed the preserve to more closely identify with the area’s native heritage.
Introducing Patwino Worrtla Kodoi Dihi
Evistas | November, 2020
In California, the many Spanish and English place names tell a story of conquest, of places taken from people and names imported from elsewhere—the hometowns they pined for (Inverness, Fairfield, Newark), the saints and sisters they revered, and the stray impressions they immortalized (like comparing Mt. Tamalpais to a camel’s back). Some names stuck because they fit; others just get stuck. Most names were imposed on places once named something else. Continue reading...
Rush Ranch to add amphitheater, improve accessibility
Daily Republic | October, 2020 | Todd R. Hansen
SUISUN CITY — David Williams loved grabbing the reins and steering the horse-drawn carriages at Rush Ranch.
Restricted to a wheelchair due to muscular dystrophy – a disease that would claim his life in August 2018 at the age of 23 – Williams was always drawn to the outdoors.
“David loved riding the horses, and he loved being out there with his friends and the opportunity to be outdoors with them,” his mother and Suisun City Vice Mayor Wanda Williams said. Continue reading...
Solano Land Trust helps their community
Good Day | August, 2020
Learn how to get fresh veggies! Farm to Community Food Program
Solano Land Trust switches gears
Times~Herald | Richard Freeman | July 8, 2020
New food relief program.
It wasn’t in Solano Land Trust’s original mission statement in 1986 to get into the butchering business.
But COVID-19 has thrown a monkey wrench into the Land Trust’s usual role in conservation.
The nonprofit organization’s intent has always been to keep ranching and farming families on their properties. So, with an eye on the roller-coaster needs of the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, the Land Trust initiated “Farm to Community Food Connection,” designed to put the meat and produce Continue reading...
Land Trust buys local livestock, produce to help farmers, families
Daily Republic | Todd R. Hansen | July 2, 2020
SUISUN CITY — The Solano Land Trust has gotten into the food biz.
“With donations from the community, the Land Trust has begun purchasing livestock animals at auctions, canceled their in-person events and moved online,” the nonprofit said in a statement released this week.
Horsing Around - Muir scion helps bring ‘access’ to Suisun Marsh setting
Discover Solano 2020 | Daily Republic Insert | Spring 2020
Michael Muir has not let a diagnoses of multiple sclerosis stop him from enjoying the outdoors, even if it is from his wheelchair.
The 68 year old's love of horses keeps him ticking along just fine. Over the last 55 years, he has represented the United States for times in world and international competitions, winning medals and championship honors in Germany, Austria, France and Great Britain. Continue reading...
Solano Land Trust offers compelling docent-led hikes
The Reporter | Matt Sieger | March 8, 2020
They hold the keys to the kingdom.
And what a beautiful kingdom it is.
Solano Land Trust docents Jim Walsh and Peter Dickinson have to unlock a couple of gates the first Saturday of every month to allow their fellow hikers entrance into the Vallejo Swett property high in the hills behind Hiddenbrooke Golf Club in Vallejo. Continue reading...
Brazeltons : Forever ag
The Reporter | Richard Rico | February 26, 2020
WHEN you drive the gravelly road through the prune orchard, past a rusted Cletrac tractor sitting squat in a thicket of hollyhocks, and coast to the Brazelton Ranch fruit stand for the first flat of this year’s Royal apricots, it may seem nothing has changed. Ah, but it has. For the better. The long-pondered, life-changing plan to place the 2,204-acre ranch in a forever conservancy easement became a done deal last week. Solano Land Trust brokered it, a host of federal and state agencies with impossible names (Calif. Strategic Growth Council Sustainable Ag Lands Conservation Program) funded it, and the Brazelton family signed off on it. Continue reading...
Brazelton Ranch - Protected for Agricultural use forever
Press Release | February 19, 2020
Brazelton Ranch farm and fruit stand in the Vaca Valley has been in the Brazelton family since 1915. As the story often goes, the farm was split so that two siblings could each have their own land. Over time, rural-ranchettes sprouted up in the Valley, replacing and breaking up the historic farms and ranches. When a portion of the original Brazelton Ranch was placed on the market, the family reached out to Solano Land Trust, to “put Papa Mac’s ranch back together” and keep it in agriculture forever. The fruit stand on the farm sells peaches and other stone fruit directly to customers from June to late September, providing a true farm-to-fork experience. Continue reading...
Second-generation, award-winning Suisun winemakers tell story
The Reporter | Todd R. Hansen | February 13, 2020
SUISUN CITY — Cliff and Lisa Howard and their children were living a good life in Arizona.
“I told Lisa that yes, we had a good life in Arizona, but we could have a great life in California,” Cliff Howard told the crowd at the Solano Land Trust’s 2020 Business Partner Breakfast held Thursday in the Rush Ranch Nature Center.
More than 50 people attended the annual event, likely the largest ever, and certainly far greater than the gathering that sat around four small tables 11 years earlier. Continue reading...
Restoring the marsh for future generations in Solano County
The Reporter | Joel Rosenbaum | January 10, 2020
Slogging through thick mud may not be everybody’s idea of a rewarding morning, but for a handful of dedicated volunteers, it meant helping Mother Nature thrive.
The Solano Land Trust’s “Citizen Science Volunteer” program was at Rush Ranch Friday to plant native plants around an area that has undergone major tidal marsh restoration project that has been going on for over a decade, according to Jasmine Westbrook a project manager with the land trust. Continue reading...
Muir, his horses provide outdoor adventures for disabled
Daily Republic | Susan Hiland
SUISUN CITY — Michael Muir has not let a diagnoses of multiple sclerosis stop him from enjoying the outdoors, even if it is from his wheelchair.
The 67-year-old’s love of horses keeps him ticking along just fine. Over the past 55 years, he has represented the United States four times in world and international championship carriage driving competitions, winning medals and champion honors in Germany, Austria, France and Great Britain. Continue reading...
Solano Land Trust Yoga Hike
Good Day Sacramento | Dina Kupfer
Dina Kupfer is finding out more about Solano Land Trust! Their goal is to share open space with the community by offering outdoor activities to learn about nature, get disconnected and showcase Solano Land Trust offering Yoga hikes through Rockville Trails Preserve. View the videos to find out more. PART 1 | PART 2
Supervisors to Consider Countywide Park District
California Native Plant Society | November 2019 Chapter Newsletter
Solano County voters who support formation of the countywide park district are encouraged to attend the November 19th meeting of the County Board of Supervisors when the Administrative and Finance Plan for the proposed Solano County Park and Open Space District will be discussed. Supervisors Erin Hannigan and John Vasquez, sitting as the Board’s Park District Subcommittee last month, requested this plan be discussed by the full Board. Continue reading...
The Great Solano Outdoors - Jepson Prairie Preserve
Discover Solano | Fall/Winter 2019
Jepson Prairie Preserve is one of California's best remaining examples of a vernal pool ecosystem and native grassland prairie. Dry and dormant most of the year, the prairie is transformed each spring by winter rains into a tapestry of stunning colors, and its vernal pools host a rich diversity of rare aquatic life. Enjoy an easy guided walk which may include portions of the preserve that are only accessible with a Jepson Prairie docent.
Continue reading...
Land trust launches Rockville Trails project, financial campaign
Daily Republic | Glen Faison | September 18, 2019
FAIRFIELD — The stage was set Wednesday for the most-visible work yet at an expansive woodlands preserve – and a campaign to make it all happen.
The Solano Land Trust and its partners pulled together a multimillion-dollar fundraising effort early this decade to secure 1,500 acres of hills and woodlands in rural Fairfield as open space for the community. Now the organization and its partners hope to do something similar to develop the site for community use. Continue reading...
At Rockville Trails Preserve, 'Awesome isn't even the best word'
Solano Land Trust officials, elected leaders break ground and unveil details of new park design
The Reporter | Richard Bammer | September 18, 2019
With the crunch of shovels slicing into beige dirt Wednesday, the groundbreaking ceremony for Rockville Trails Preserve reached its high point.
Shortly afterward, District 2 Solano County Supervisor Monica Brown, looking out at the hilly, oak-studded, boulder-strewn landscape, summed up the ongoing effort to preserve and enhance the 1,600 acres for public use. Continue reading...
Taking a 'nature bath' in Lynch Canyon
Times-Herald | Richard Bammer | September 2, 2019
On Labor Day, Solano Land Trust's first fall 2019 Kids Hike, led by docents in open space park in rural Fairfield, proves to be a healthy, educational adventure.
While there were many different ways to enjoy Labor Day, hiking with children in a rural Fairfield park proved to be not only educational but also therapeutic, a sort-of “nature bath,” reducing stress and anxiety while boosting an overall sense of well-being. Continue reading...
Solano Land Trust to carve out 2-mile trail at Rockville preserve
Daily Republic | Todd R. Hansen | August 25, 2019
FAIRFIELD — Eldrith Gosney has been involved in trail racing for about 35 years.
Gosney said she spends more time hiking than running these days – on the headlands in Marin County and at Rockville Regional Park and on trails throughout her native Bay Area – so she is excited about the prospect of a new trail coming to the Rockville Trails Preserve. Continue reading...