SOAR VC

05/10/2026

Ventura Hills Nature Preserve was recently opened for the public to enjoy, and now Aera Energy and Chevron are trying to close access to this 1,645-acre community treasure.

We signed on to support Ventura Land Trust and continued access to this open space. 🌿

An accredited land trust based in Ventura County, California. Conserving land for future and current generations since 2003.

04/24/2026

Learn how local partners are working together to protect Ventura County’s open space. 🌿

Watch the latest Virtual Lunch & Learn from the Ventura County Community Foundation featuring the Ventura County Open Space Collaborative, with Ventura Land Trust and Conejo Recreation & Park District.

English: heyor.ca/Xd8srz | Español: heyor.ca/kYhBF0

04/03/2026

In 1995, Ventura residents passed SOAR to protect farmland and open space. What followed was three decades of developers pushing back, legal twists, and one extraordinary opportunity that almost slipped away. The story of the Ventura Hills Nature Preserve is worth knowing.
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Read this prior article to read about controversies on Ventura’s hillside properties. The Mariano Rancho property serves as the backdrop for Ventura High School and the rest of downtown Ventura. The 1645 acres of hillside have had a long history of oil lines, cattle raising and local trespassing. ...

03/14/2026

Linda Parks has spent decades protecting our land and wildlife—and here at SOAR, we’re lucky to have her guiding our mission as Executive Director. Her passion for our open spaces inspires all of us! 🌿

This Women's History Month, we're celebrating Linda Parks, a leader whose decades of dedication have helped shape the landscape of Southern California conservation.

As a Ventura County Supervisor, Parks championed open space, farmland, and wildlife habitat protection and helped establish one of the region's first wildlife corridor zones. That early work helped lay the foundation for what would eventually become the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing.

Now, as Chair of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, she continues that mission, supporting the vision that's bringing wildlife back across the 101.

01/13/2026

Last week to see it! ⏳🎨 “Anonymous Heroes” at the Mexican Consulate in Oxnard honors farmworkers through art reflecting Ventura County’s agricultural roots and the people who bring food from the fields to our tables. Free, closes Jan. 16, 2026.

Artwork: “Man in a Blue Bandana” (2012) by Gail Pidduck.

12/31/2025

Through every season—and amid hardship and uncertainty—farmworkers feed our families and sustain our community. We are grateful for their essential labor and hope families torn apart are soon reunited. 🌱

11/12/2025

🐛Teaming up to save Monarch butterflies!🦋 Print subscribers of SOAR’s fall nonprofit newsletter will find a free packet of narrowleaf milkweed seed, thanks to the SAMO Fund! Milkweed is the only plant Monarch caterpillars eat. Not subscribed yet? Sign up now to get your seed packet with our fall issue:

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11/05/2025

This fall, every SOAR Nonprofit newsletter includes a packet of milkweed seeds — a gift Monarch butterflies will appreciate! 🌸 The only plant Monarch caterpillars eat, planting native milkweed helps these endangered butterflies. Thanks to the SAMO Fund, we can share seed packets with thousands of our print subscribers. Not a subscriber yet? Sign up: soarvc.org/newsletters

10/06/2025

An unforgettable evening celebrating 30 incredible years of SOAR! 🌅💫 Grateful for the friends, memories, and milestones shared at our beautiful sunset soirée by the sea. Here’s to the next 30! 🥂

09/25/2025

✨ Throwback to 2016! ✨ When Thousand Oaks AAUW voted to endorse SOAR — We remain ever grateful for our advocates who shaped our legacy. 🌟
Pictured left to right: Sally Hibbitts, Linda Parks, Lori Kissinger, Joan Edwards, Janet Wall, and Merrill Berge.