11th Annual Gardens Gone Native Plant Tour 4/27/2024

April 27, 2024, 9:30am – 4pm

The Gardens Gone Native tour is a free garden tour featuring thirty plus California native plant home and school gardens in the Sacramento region. Gardens are comprised predominantly of California native plants in the urban landscape. These gardens feature a variety of ways in which native plants can flourish in the home garden. Some are professionally designed while others are more functional and are a mix use of natives, food production, and living spaces. You will find delightful and sustainable gardens that harness water, create habitats, and add a sense of place. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask garden hosts about their choices and challenges. After registration you will receive the map and tour brochure information the week before the tour begins.

Registration: https://www.sacvalleycnps.org/gardens-gone-native-tour/

Video: 2023 tour https://www.cbsnews.com/gooddaysacramento/video/gardens-gone-native-plant-tour/#x

Contact: gardensgonenative[at]gmail[dot]com

Website: https://www.sacvalleycnps.org/gardens-gone-native-tour/

FB/insta: gardensgonenative

The Sacramento region has approved too much sprawl already; a reckoning is here

By Tom Philp | March 6, 2024 | The Sacramento Bee

The politics of the Sacramento region have long been fueled by its expansion, with land speculators, developers, builders and trade unions funding political campaigns. But the extraordinary power of this political bloc needs to be checked before they cost the region hundreds of millions of dollars in state funding and blow up Sacramento’s climate goals.

Click here to read the full article: https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article285860766.html#storylink=cpy

Related to inhibiting sprawl, SACOG is tasked with developing a new 25-year housing plan that lowers GHG emissions in Sacramento’s six-county region. The Land Use and Natural Resources Committee of SACOG will receive important new information on the region’s future housing demand on March 7, 2024. To watch a recording of the meeting, go to https://www.sacog.org/meetings/meeting-agendas; Advanced Search – insert meeting date, then see Item History.

Protecting and Enhancing the Cosumnes Watershed 3/26/2024

Join us Tuesday, March 26, 2024 from 6:00 – 7:00 pm on Zoom for this presentation, followed by the ECOS Board meeting at 7:00 pm.

Protecting and Enhancing the Cosumnes Watershed

The Cosumnes Watershed is an integral component in our Region’s water supplies. The Cosumnes River and its tributaries play a critical role in preserving the south county ecosystem, agricultural base, and rural lifestyle. The river also plays a critical role in regional groundwater management.

Join ECOS on March 26 from 6 until 7 pm to learn about this Iconic Watershed’s geography and values. Melinda Frost-Hurzel, Cosumnes Coalition Coordinator, will discuss the open space, habitat and working land preservation/stewardship initiatives underway. She will also describe the work being done along the Cosumnes River and its tributaries to preserve and enhance these resources as well as the groundwater subbasins that are supported by the system.

Michael Wackman, General Manager of the Omochumne-Hartnell Water District which is also a Groundwater Sustainability Agency in both the South American and Cosumnes groundwater subbasins will highlight how the sustainable Groundwater Management Act is being implemented in the region. He will outline the status of Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems, progress being made on the projects and management actions to maintain or restore the two subbasins to sustainability; and the role of groundwater modeling and monitoring, and the partnerships that are forming to carry out these important actions.

Melinda and Michael will conclude with a summary of the issues and hurdles the South County faces regarding water resources and what ECOS can do to help. Bring your issues, questions, and ideas. Please join the conversation.

To Join

Link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6656164155
To phone in: 669-900-6833, Meeting ID: 665 616 4155

ECOS Orientation 4/9/2024

Come learn what ECOS is all about! Attend our monthly orientation session on Tuesday, April 9, 2024 from 6:00 – 6:30pm via Zoom to get a broad overview of what ECOS does, why it matters and what you can do to help! This orientation can also help anyone wanting to learn more about environmental issues in the Sacramento region. We will cover our current goals that involve climate change prevention, promoting infill over sprawl development, transit, habitat protection and the wise use of water resources, among others.