Ojai Valley Green Coalition

I did a south bound flight today from El Roblar to the "Y".

GoOjai Maricopa Hwy. Launch Dec.12, 2020

Our last day of the "Enlivening The Matilija Watershed" mural was today. What an incredible team of talented folks led by Lisa Kelly. Thank you to Ray Cirino an...d Kathryn Barron for your help today. You're brilliant. The project was made possible by grants from the Ojai City Arts Commission and Resource Legacy Fund. Special thanks to the Ojai Unified School District for their support and in-kind donations. #resourcelegacyfund City of Ojai - government Ojai Unified #onceuponawatershed #matilijacoalition The CREW - Concerned Resource & Environmental Workers

Here's a truncated version of the "Enlivening The Matilija Watershed" mural creation time lapse. I'm so very appreciative of the continued praise the mural is getting. My hope is that the inspiration is long lasting and impactful for years to come. https://youtu.be/-PCnIrjYL_o The project was made possible by grants from the Ojai City Arts Commission and Resource Legacy Fund. Special thanks to the Ojai Unified School District for their support and in-kind donations.

MOTHER NATURE’S PERFECTION. SEEDS: Form,-texture,-color, - volume,- Geometry, everything is delightful! Vangelis.

It's important that as many people as possible weigh in on the General Plan Update for the City of Ojai. This infrequent update is the document that guides policy changes and will determine the future of the city moving forward. The link has ways to get involved, a survey to let your thoughts be known and more. https://ojaicity.org/gpupdate/

Thank you Paul Jenkin of the Matilija Coaltion and Ventura Surfrider Foundation for posting a fantastic blog about the "Enlivening The Matilija Watershed" mural. It includes photos, video and narrative about the importance of this project. https://www.venturariver.org//enlivening-matilija-watershe

CALLING ALL OJAI STUDENT ARTISTS "Enlivening The Matilija Watershed" Come Paint A Mural With US... STUDENT ARTIST SIGN UP (ages 8-18) Please choose the time slot that best works for you. To honor social distancing please bring and wear a mask. We will be allowing 3 students at a time to participate in 2hr. increments. See the schedule for details. Nov.11-14 / Nov.16-17 CLICK ON THIS LINK TO SIGN UP: https://www.signupgenius.com//10C0D4BAFA72FA3F5C52-revital (Scroll to the bottom of the sign up page for signup schedule) We're excited for you to contribute your art skills to painting this mural that combines education, art and a vision for the future of the Matilija Watershed. The mural will be located in the heart of downtown Ojai at A Place To Grow Preschool on the west facing wall at the corner of N. Montgomery and E. Aliso streets. The 30’x14’ mural will depict the Matilija Creek in it’s regenerated state after the Matilija Dam has been removed. The attached painting is a draft of the mural design. MORE ABOUT THE MURAL The 30’x14’ mural will depict the Matilija Creek in it’s regenerated state after the Matilija Dam has been removed (see attached photo) The waters flow clear, the wildlife abundant, the flora and fauna vibrant and renewed. The beaver will be featured prominently as it is a keystone species whose presence affects the entire whole of the ecosystem. The steelhead move unimpeded upstream to spawn where once they numbered into the thousands. This pristine and rejuvenated landscape will be framed by the cobbled remains of the Matilija Dam which once held back the waters and marred the mouth of the canyon. It’s removal signifying the steady return of the natural cycles of life. The underlying theme of the mural is our role in bringing back the balance of these natural cycles in our ecosystem. The inherent relationship we have as stewards of the land requires reciprocal altruism. Our ecological behavior and tendencies need to shift to insure the survival of all the native species, which in turn will provide the resources we need to thrive. Thank you in advance for your artistic contribution. Best, Ray Powers This project is made possible by grants from the City of Ojai Arts Commission and the Ventura Resource Legacy Fund. Thank you to the Ojai Unified School District for their in-kind donations and partnership.

Grandpa explaining to Luke and Mika why it is so difficult to get new thinking into mainstream science and how vital it is that our ecologists be scientists, NO...T academics, which is what they have become. Science is supposed to be a mix of observation, deduction, interpretation and experimentation built on a desire to understand nature. All the plants, birds and animals that were domesticated to make civilisation possible was done by ordinary people observing, experimenting and learning long before any scientists. Since we have had academics in agriculture (wildlife, crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries) we are rapidly losing animal species and plant varieties. We are even losing our cultures and languages in the name of science and today our society belittles the vital observational powers and common sense of farmers and land managers. We are jeopardizing our children’s futures. That’s why I teach Holistic Decision Making and Ecological Literacy to school children as a subject - so they understand how earth’s ecosystems function and that our global physical and financial stability depends entirely on those ecosystems being healthy and giving them the ability to always make decisions that reflect this fact. They will always be empowered to make sure their decisions will have the best possible ecological outcome while simultaneously considering the unique social/cultural and financial circumstances that the decision is being made in at any given time. Allan Savory

This happened yesterday. It's many decades in the making. The first concert I played when I was 16yrs old for the Nuclear Freeze organization. At long last a milestone has been reached. The U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) has been ratified by 50 countries. The TPNW makes it illegal under international law to develop, test, produce, manufacture, otherwise acquire, possess, or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. There's more to this that can be read in the full story below. Thanks to Dr. Bob Dodge, local Ojai resident and co-chair of Physicians for Social Responsibilty has been working towards this for 40 years. https://www.psr.org//some-good-news-for-a-change-nearly-5/

Brock Dolman has been one of the folks spearheading the research and reintroduction of the beaver into the California watershed.

Dear Friend of the Ojai Valley, The Ojai Valley Green Coalition (OVGC) is excited to announce a new beginning a re-imagining of our efforts to foster a sustainable, climate-resilient, and healthy Ojai Valley. Since 2006, OVGC members have been designing, planning and working to enhance the health, safety and quality of our environment by creating opportunities for the community to be socially connected and communally proactive. In Fall 2019, after two consecutive Executi...Continue reading

Paul Jenkin, of Ventura Surfrider and Matilija Coalition sent me this wonderful overview and resource list he created that explains the vital role Beavers play in our ecosystem and the benefits if they were to be reintroduced into the California watershed. https://www.venturariver.org/2020/10/beavers.html

The Ojai Valley Green Coalition was influential in the city wide plastic bag ban. There are more steps to take to reduce plastic consumption. The trash island in the ocean and micro plastics in even our water are two good reasons to fast track this.

This is a subject I brought up several years ago. When we jump right to "green" tech solution without asking the right questions that lead to cultural change in lifestyle we end up with more waste stream to contend with. Wind and solar are clean energy but the manufacturing and disposal currently create collateral damage.