Sonoma Ecology Center

Sonoma Ecology Center The mission of the Sonoma Ecology Center is to work with our community to enhance and sustain ecological health in Sonoma Valley.

Sonoma Ecology Center works to address challenges related to water supply and quality, open space, rural character, biodiversity, energy, climate change, and a better quality of life for all residents. Since 1990, we’ve worked to increase appreciation and stewardship of Sonoma Valley’s natural heritage and create measurable benefits in areas of land, water, climate change and biodiversity. We envi

sion a future where people, land, water, and wildlife thrive. Our programs include—

Research to understand the condition of Sonoma Valley and the Sonoma Creek watershed, which informs projects and priorities for the ecological health of the region. Education to support sustainable practices and create future leadership for Sonoma Valley. Restoration to repair damage to waterways, natural habitats, and publicly accessible open spaces. Preservation to protect our natural heritage and public lands. We manage Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, Sonoma Garden Park, Van Hoosear Wildflower Preserve, Montini Open Space Preserve and Sonoma Overlook Trail. Data & Mapping (GIS) Services using technology to manage and share environmental information for greater efficacy and impact.

Building resilience in Sonoma Valley—and beyond! What a joy to gather with advocates working across housing, agriculture...
08/21/2026

Building resilience in Sonoma Valley—and beyond! What a joy to gather with advocates working across housing, agriculture, and environmental sectors countywide at Greenbelt Alliance's Sonoma County Advocacy Happy Hour last week.

The evening built on over a decade of work and collaboration by the Sonoma County General Plan Ad Hoc Coalition, which is made up of organizations like the Greenbelt Alliance, Sonoma Ecology Center, Mobilize Sonoma, and the Sonoma County Chapter of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers.

Want to join the conversation? Attend the County of Sonoma Board of Supervisors meeting on September 15 to learn more about the General Plan Update process and make your voice heard! Learn more at https://permitsonoma.org/generalplan

Photos courtesy of Greenbelt Alliance

We’re proud to introduce Sonoma Garbage Collectors as a sponsor of our 2026 Harvest Festival, happening Saturday, Octobe...
08/20/2026

We’re proud to introduce Sonoma Garbage Collectors as a sponsor of our 2026 Harvest Festival, happening Saturday, October 3 from 10:00am-3:00pm at Sonoma Garden Park!

Family-owned and operated since 1954, Sonoma Garbage Collectors provides residential and commercial waste, recycling, and organics services while keeping Sonoma clean, green, and thriving. Deeply rooted in the community, the company also gives back by supporting local schools, neighborhood cleanups, community events, and organizations throughout Sonoma Valley.

We’re grateful for their support of this year’s Harvest Festival and their continued commitment to caring for the community we all call home.

Come celebrate the harvest season, connect with your community, and enjoy a day of fall fun at the Sonoma Garden Park. Thank you, Sonoma Garbage Collectors, for helping make this special community event possible.

See the full lineup of Harvest Festival events and activities at https://sonomaecologycenter.org/harvestfest/

For our Restoration Team, fire resilience is a throughline of their work year-round, long after "fire season" ends. Grou...
08/19/2026

For our Restoration Team, fire resilience is a throughline of their work year-round, long after "fire season" ends.

Grounded in the understanding that healthier ecosystems are more resilient to fire and better able to protect their surrounding communities from the most severe impacts, the team is tackling decades of fuel buildup through ecologically informed restoration—from prescribed burns to a 60-acre fuel break effort now underway at Bartholomew Park.

Read the full story on The Ecology Blog at https://sonomaecologycenter.org/living-with-fire-2/

Photos by Amanda Hubbard

We’re excited to recognize Sonoma Water as a sponsor of our 2026 Harvest Festival, happening Saturday, October 3 from 10...
08/17/2026

We’re excited to recognize Sonoma Water as a sponsor of our 2026 Harvest Festival, happening Saturday, October 3 from 10:00am-3:00pm at Sonoma Garden Park!

Sonoma Water provides essential services that help support a thriving community and healthy environment, including reliable water supply, water management, and flood protection. Sonoma Water’s commitment to environmental stewardship and resilient water resources for future generations connects with our work to care for our local environment and build a more resilient Sonoma Valley. We’re grateful to have their support as we bring our community together to celebrate the land, water, wildlife, and people that make this place so special.

Come celebrate fall in Sonoma Valley with a day of local music, games and crafts, hands-on nature experiences, local food and beverages, and more family-friendly fun at Sonoma Garden Park.

See the full lineup of Harvest Festival events and activities at www.sonomaecologycenter.org/harvestfest

Photo by Melania Mahoney

Let's hear it for the Education Team! 7 weeks of camp, more than 100 campers, and too many special moments to count! All...
08/09/2026

Let's hear it for the Education Team! 7 weeks of camp, more than 100 campers, and too many special moments to count!

All year-round, Sonoma Ecology Center's Environmental Educators bring the wonder of nature and science into school classrooms through our Watershed Education Program, reaching over 1,500 students—at no cost to schools.

During the summer, the Education Team gets to invite students to THEIR classroom, 5 days a week, and the result is pure joy. Free from the distraction of screens, empowered to explore, let loose, and challenge themselves, children thrive outdoors at Creek Camp and Earth Explorers Camp. After all, it's hard to keep your guard up when your camp counselor is wearing a cabbage leaf as a hat.

Big thanks to our incredible volunteer photographers, Eddie Ramirez () and Lisa Rani (), for helping document the magic of Summer Science Camp!

Learn more about Sonoma Ecology Center's Watershed Education Program:
https://sonomaecologycenter.org/watershed-education/

Gain meaningful visibility with your community as a 2026 Harvest Festival sponsor!Sonoma Ecology Center's Annual Harvest...
08/08/2026

Gain meaningful visibility with your community as a 2026 Harvest Festival sponsor!

Sonoma Ecology Center's Annual Harvest Festival at Sonoma Garden Park is an inspiring, community-centered celebration of sustainable farming, environmental education, and the beauty of Sonoma Valley. It's an ideal platform to showcase your commitment to sustainability, environmental education, community enrichment, and the preservation of public green spaces—and it's a fun event your staff will actually enjoy tabling at!

If you'd like to secure a spot for your small business or organization at the 2026 Harvest Festival, reach out! Explore partnership options at https://sonomaecologycenter.org/harvestfest/

Harvest Festival at Sonoma Garden Park
October 3, 10:00 am-3:00 pm

Photo by Marielle V Chua

When children are so immersed in nature, you can barely spot them...that's what Creek Camp is all about!Stay tuned for m...
08/07/2026

When children are so immersed in nature, you can barely spot them...that's what Creek Camp is all about!

Stay tuned for more photos and videos from the Summer Science Camp 2026 season—one for the books. In the meantime, THANK YOU to everyone who made this special season of camp possible:

— Our amazing Education Team who brought the magic!

— Our generous donors who brought the sponsorships, ensuring that no camper was turned away for lack of funds.

— The incredible camp families, who entrusted Sonoma Ecology Center with their child's summer.

— Most importantly, the spectacular, one-of-a-kind CAMPERS who showed up each day ready to learn, ready to grow, and ready to show us what it looks like to be a good friend—to the earth, to each other, and to ourselves.

Photo by Conor Hagen

See what's growing at the Native Plant Nursery!Native Plant Sale tomorrow, 12:00-3:00 pm.
08/06/2026

See what's growing at the Native Plant Nursery!

Native Plant Sale tomorrow, 12:00-3:00 pm.

The recent Ledson Fire and the Woodside Fire make it clear: this is shaping up to be a dangerous fire season.We're grate...
08/06/2026

The recent Ledson Fire and the Woodside Fire make it clear: this is shaping up to be a dangerous fire season.

We're grateful to CAL FIRE, local districts, mutual aid networks, volunteers, and groups like Sonoma Community Animal Response Team for their quick action protecting communities and evacuating people and animals. As of today, the Woodside Fire is nearly contained.

Both incidents reinforce the same truth: the broader pattern of longer, drier seasons and more volatile fire weather that we’ve seen over the past decade remains the new normal. A predicted moderate to extreme El Niño could intensify storms and create even more extreme conditions.

We delve deeper into what this reality means for ecological stewardship in Living With Fire in Sonoma Valley, a new series told through multiple lenses, exploring how a multi-benefit approach—from prescribed burns to habitat restoration—helps our landscapes and communities live with fire. Read the full story on The Ecology Blog at https://sonomaecologycenter.org/livingwithfire1/

Photos by Conor Hagen

When you need help clearing trash from Sonoma Creek, who are you going to call? THE ENVIROLEADERS!Last week our Summer E...
08/03/2026

When you need help clearing trash from Sonoma Creek, who are you going to call? THE ENVIROLEADERS!

Last week our Summer EnviroLeader Cohort took a break from being Soil Scientists and Garden Guardians, and transformed into Watershed Wizards to help Sonoma Ecology Center's Research Program Manager Steve Lee clear debris from along Sonoma Creek. When trash becomes tangled in the roots and tree branches along the creek bed, it can be incredibly difficult to remove—but our intrepid EnviroLeaders were not deterred! In just a few short hours they managed to wrangle several chairs and trash bags of debris from the creek, enough to fill a truck bed.

The EnviroLeaders are mighty, but they can't do it all! If you'd like to lend a hand in stewarding our watershed, head to https://sonomaecologycenter.org/creekhealth/ to learn more and join a future Community Creek Cleanup!

Photos by Steve Lee

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461 7th Street W
Sonoma, CA
95476

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