After a fun family day at EarthPlay on April 24th, join us at 8pm for Howling at the Moon, an outdoor evening concert featuring the Household Gods and Friends on the St. Thomas Aquinas Church on the meadow’s edge.  Have fun under the light of a full moon with great music, spiced with a little comedy, and a spirited live auction for great getaways!    This promises to be a wild and crazy evening, and at only $25 per person (in advance, $30 at the door), it’s an affordable one too!  There will be fine wine and decadent desserts on sale. Show your support for the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, buy a table for 8 and get preferred seating for you and your guests. Click here to get your tickets today!

To kick off our MAY MEMBERSHIP drive for 2010, the OVLC will co-host EarthPlay on the Meadow, a community Earth Day celebration, Ojai style.  In partnership with Oak Grove School, both Ojai Rotary Clubs and the Ojai Valley Green Coalition, a FREE family event will be held on the Ojai Meadows Preserve on April 24th from 11am till 5pm.

Enjoy fun and games for all ages, great eco-education presentations, good food, and Oak Grove UnPlugged, a free concert on the meadow.  Start the day at 10am at Rotary Park where you can ditch the car and join EarthWalk to the Meadow.  Bikes are welcome too. 

See more info on the EarthPlay Event page or Click here for event poster.

The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy is pleased to announce the permanent protection of 36 acres of ecologically important and stunningly beautiful land in Ojai.  Long time Ojai residents generously entered into a land preservation agreement called a conservation easement with the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy.  Although the land remains in private hands and is not open to the public, the landowners’ gift guarantees that their land will forever provide habitat for important plants and animals, and gorgeous scenery for Ojai Valley residents and visitors.

“Conservation easements” are voluntary land preservation agreements in which the landowner agrees to maintain their land in its natural condition.  Tax benefits can accrue to the donor of conservation easements.  The conservation easement is permanent, “running with the land” and binding all future owners.  Land placed under easement remains the private property of the owner, and no public access is allowed.  The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy pursues easements on land in both natural condition and in agricultural use, seeking to perpetuate both these land uses which are so important to the Ojai Valley.

The newly protected 36 acres is lovely pastureland and oak woodland featuring waterways important to the protection of the San Antonio Creek, the largest tributary to the Ventura River.  This land’s relatively rare intact riparian woodland provides a home for a variety of animals including bobcat, coyote, mule deer, mountain lion, California quail, least Bell’s vireo, southern steelhead trout, southwestern pond turtle and Pacific tree frog.

This new conservation easement provides a quick start for the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy as it pursues its ambitious new goal to protect 2,020 acres of the Ojai Valley’s views, trails, water and wildlife by 2020, more than doubling the 1850 acres already protected by OVLC.  In addition to the San Antonio Creek, the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy has set three other priorities for the next ten years:  saving the Ventura River, protecting important agricultural lands, and preserving signature lands and views in the Ojai Valley.  On the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s four preserves which are open to the public, OVLC maintains dozens of miles of hiking and riding trails, guides hundreds of hikers, and hosts thousands of visitors – school kids, hikers, bikers and equestrians – every year.

The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy is honored to be able to preserve such a magnificent piece of Ojai’s natural heritage thanks to this generous gift to the people of the Ojai Valley. “The donors have demonstrated how private landowners can permanently protect the land they have cherished for the benefit of Ojai’s future generations,” said Roger Essick, President of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy.  “It is our hope that other Ojai Valley landowners will follow their lead.”

For information about Ojai Valley Land Conservancy preserves that are open for recreation please contact the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy at 649 6852 or see ovlc.org.  Take visiting family and friends for a hike this spring and show them a view of Ojai they will never forget.  Happy New Year to Ojai from your generous neighbors and the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy.

The following opportunites may be of interest to you or someone you know.

Mitigation Opportunities

Business Sponsorship Opportunites

The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy is a community-based nonprofit organization working with partners to permanently protect the Ojai Valley for the benefit of current and future generations.

Our vision statement is meant to help our audiences visualize the future condition of the Ojai Valley when the goals of this plan are achieved: Ojai Valley Land Conservancy success will enable future generations to enjoy the Ojai Valley’s remarkable views, extensive trails, and abundant water and wildlife.

In order to achieve success throughout the next 10 years, the following organizational goal and four objectives are proposed: In the next 10 years,  the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy will protect an additional 2020 acres with partners  while simultaneously building an enduring organization that is financially sustainable,  that attracts and retains talented professionals in staff and volunteer roles, and that is the leading community organization in the Ojai Valley.