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Advisory Board Carolyn Battaini
Christa Bigue Diane Centoni Roger Hoppes Joyce James
Gordon Ray MD Tracey Walsh
Staff
Marilyn Johns Director
Leslie Jensen Coordinator Kathi Baxter
Environmental Science Educator
Augie Aguilar
Ranch Foreman
Bruno Acosta Groundskeeper
Wendy Rotchstein Ranch Talk Editor
Program Staff
Denise Kelly Amy Kruckewitt Julie Mathiasen Terri Pacheco Nancy
Poss
Elkus Ranch Land Sale
Thank You Volunteers!
News from the Board: Carolyn Battaini
Flora & Fauna - The Bobcat
What’s New at the Ranch?
Master Gardener Report
The Importance of Playtime
Wish List & Calendar
Sale of Surplus Property Benefits Elkus Ranch Submitted by Cindy
Barber, UC Director of Development Services
Q u a r t e r l y N e w s o n E l k u s R a n c h P r o g r a m
s F a l l / W i n t e r 2 0 0 9
In This Issue
F ollowing years of preparation, UC sold a 450-acre portion of
the Richard J. Elkus Ranch in San Mateo County. The university will
retain the 150-acre lower parcel, including the conference center,
barns, gardens and other facilities. The popular outdoor
educational programs of the Ranch will continue.
The property was sold to Midpeninsula Regional Open Space
District (MROSD) to create an endowment to help sustain the Ranch
and it’s programming. This particular parcel was important to MROSD
as it was the final link in the District’s attempt to create a
corridor of public open space from Skyline Ridge to the coast.
Ultimately, a continuous hik-ing trail will be developed to realize
the District’s dream of a “Purisima to Sea” trail.
The sale provides a financial benefit to the ranch. Founded in
1975 as a gift from the late Richard J. Elkus, the ranch pro-vides
environmental and agricultural education programs to approximately
6000 youth and adults each year, with an emphasis on youth from
city backgrounds or with disabilities. In accordance with Elkus’
wishes, the sale proceeds established an endowed fund for the
benefit of the programs and activities of the ranch and 4-H
programs in San Mateo and San Francisco counties.
Marilyn Johns, County Director for San Mateo and San Francisco
counties, em-braced this sale, saying “Midpeninsula’s goal is to be
a good steward of the land, and our goal is to do environmental
education and develop youth as good stewards of the land.”
University of California Cooperative Extension Richard J. Elkus
Ranch Environmental Education Center
We would like to thank all of the volunteers who came to help
spruce up the ranch on Sept. 19th: The Mukai family, Lisa Gray,
Jacob and Damian, Bobbie Benson, the Landens, the Webers, Jake
Bowman and Ethan Williams.
Also a big thanks to our faithful volunteers who come on a
weekly basis; Deb Hedger and Jessie, Carole Fahy, and the Meadow’s
family.
—submitted by Leslie Jensen
Map of Elkus Property Sale
Thank you!
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News From the Board by Carolyn Battaini, Advisory Board
Member
H ave you visited the Ranch lately? It continues to get better
all of the time. Thank you to everyone for contributing your time
and effort to make Elkus such a special place. And thank you
Advisory Board members for donating your time on Saturday
mornings and weekday evenings to contribute your ideas and help
support this wonderful place!
I’d like to share some of the recent successes at Elkus
Ranch:
Programs are booked through the Fall and Spring. Programs are
correlated to CA Dept of Ed. Academic content standards.
Plans are being discussed to increase the usability of the Elkus
Conference Center to provide increased financial support for the
great programs. Upgrading the conference center will enhance
usage.
Land sale endowment has been created, and more information will
be shared as available.
Successful outreach efforts continue to the communities that we
serve, our partners, government agencies, and our many
constituents.
Grants have been received to acquire a tractor and utility ATV
to assist ranch staff with daily ranch chores.
Strategic Plan for 2009-2012
We’d like to keep up the momentum of great activities and
therefore the Advisory Board has been discussing strategic goals
for the next three years. We’ve come a long way in our almost 30
years, and we continue to focus on the future. The discussion is
focused in three areas, from which our action plans will be
derived:
Promote educational programs to discover and experience
meaning-ful, hands-on activities that are both complementary and
integrated with the classroom curriculum.
Repair and improve essential facilities- barn roofs, road
upkeep, and ranch house repairs. We are working to create a
sustain-able water management plan for treatment, water testing,
and to purchase a new 10,000 gallon water tank in the near
future.
Financial solvency to fund the vision and keep the programs
relevant which support the mission of Elkus Ranch.
You can pass along your values to your children, and their
chil-dren, by considering a donation to Elkus Ranch. Here you can
see and feel the good works that your donation supports.
Whether your cause is children’s education, the environment,
ani-mals, nutrition, or health services, we are involved with these
causes here. Please consider a tax deductable donation by sending a
contribution now to help us keep Mr. Elkus’ vision funded.
Ranch Talk Fall/Winter 2009
Flora & Fauna
T he Bobcat is a North American wildcat and is often seen at
Elkus Ranch during the early morning hours high in the hills above
the ranch. Bobcats are generally most active at twilight and dawn
and are very shy, avoiding people whenever possible. They stand
about 15 inches high at the shoulders and are 25 to 30 inches long
with a short “bob” tail. Their coats are pale tan to reddish-brown
with scattered dark spots. Bobcats usually live in wooded areas or
brushy ravines. At Elkus Ranch there are plenty of California quail
and cottontail rabbits for them to eat. They also eat snakes,
lizards, and small rodents. Bobcats are solitary animals with
individual hunting ranges that vary in size to the availability of
prey. Caves, hollow logs and rocky ledges are used as denning sites
by pregnant females. Kittens are usually born in the spring.
submitted by Julie Mathiasen, Elkus Ranch Educational Staff
The Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
W e welcomed a new horse to our Elkus family in November. Her
name is “Scenic Ms. Hustler”. She was donated to the ranch by Ian
Lafoon, DVM. She is a 16 year old registered Paint. Scenic Ms.
Hustler was a broodmare, a female horse used
for breeding. She is tall and has a black and white spotted
coat. She has one blue eye and one brown eye, common in Paint
horses.
Sadly, last winter we lost our 20 year old mare, Glory. This
left our other horse, Suzy Q, without a friend. Although Jack, our
ram, tried be that friend, Suzy Q was not interested. That’s when
we decided to adopt Scenic
Ms. Hustler, since horses do much better when they have a
companion. Suzy Q is still letting Scenic Ms. Hustler know that she
is in charge. The two of them have been hanging out together and we
now rarely see one without the other. They walk up to their
hillside pasture and like to boss around the sheep.
We would like to thank Dr. Lafoon for his generous donation of
such a beautiful horse.
—submitted by Leslie Jensen, Elkus Ranch Coordinator
What’s New at the Ranch?
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O n October 19th representatives from Elkus Ranch and UC
Cooperative Extension were pleased to host San Mateo County
Supervisor Carole Groom (District 2) on her visit to the Ranch. The
group met at the Conference Center where Marilyn Johns, UCCE County
Director, had the opportunity to explain UCCE’s history, structure,
and educational mission. Marilyn outlined the specific ways UCCE
uses information to enrich the lives of Supervisor Groom’s
constituents.
Elkus Program Coordinator Leslie Jensen described the Elkus
curriculum for school children which serves kids from all
backgrounds; giving them a chance to see open space, learn hands-on
how we grow and raise the food we eat, and become aware of the
importance of good stewardship of our land and natural
resources.
Master Gardener Coordinator Shannon Gibbs presented a slideshow
about the thousands of volunteer hours and the many outreach
projects Master Gardeners have created to teach and assist home and
school gardeners throughout the county. Master Gardener Carol
O’Donnell talked about the current Master Gardener project at San
Mateo County Hospital. This project will transform a large area of
lawn into an active edible garden. The garden’s produce will be
used to prepare meals at the hospital.
Following the presentations, there was a discussion about
funding challenges, particularly UC cuts and County government
limitations. Supervisor Groom voiced her admiration and support of
the work that Master Gardeners and the UC Cooperative Extension
does in the county, recognizing the tremendous challenges ahead for
us all in the arena of public funding.
With hope for her future support of UC Cooperative Extension
programs, we look forward to a continuing positive relationship
with Supervisor Carole Groom.
submitted by Charlene Landreau, UC Master Gardener
Ranch Talk Fall/Winter 2009
W e like to joke that summer camp at Elkus Ranch is legalized
child labor. Our barns get cleaned, wool gets washed, garden beds
are weeded and seedlings are transplanted. Fences get painted,
rocks hauled, mulch spread, and compost gets sifted. And that’s all
before lunch. You would think the kids would like to spend the
afternoon resting under the shade of a big tree or relaxing by the
cool of the creek. Instead, they often choose to head into our
continually evolving play area and work even harder. They build
forts and teepees, create straw mazes and pyramids, hold weddings
and funerals, create and perform original plays, negotiate peace
treaties between neighboring villages, and swing from the
trees.
We are learning to value this time spent in the play area as
much as the time spent with the more structured, adult led
experiences and instruction. There is a lot of discussion today
about how little time children spend in unstructured play. Even
less playtime occurs in natural, outdoor spaces. Outdoor play areas
like ours provide children with diverse, multisensory
experiences, opportunities for physically active, noisy and
boisterous play, physical, mental and emotional challenges, and
opportunities to test their strength and courage. Play is so
important to children’s development that its significance in
children’s lives is recognized by the United Nations as a specific
right. Benefits of outdoor play have been shown to include
increased concentration after contact with nature, improved
coor-
dination, balance and agility, improved reasoning and
observational skills and reduced stress
(www.whitehutchinson.com/children/articles/benefits.shtml). Perhaps
the best part of outdoor play is that it requires no special
equipment, materials or supplies. Go outside and play!!
submitted by Kathi Baxter, Elkus Ranch Environmental Science
Educator
Pictured (l to r): Carole O’Donnell, Director Marilyn Johns,
Charlene Landreau, Leslie Jensen, and Supervisor Carole Groom
Green Fact If 10,000 people spent an hour mowing their
lawn with a reel mower instead of a gas pow-ered one, we’d avert
the pollution caused by driving a car about 10 million miles, plus
it's great exercise!
UC Master Gardeners
The Importance of Playtime
County Supervisor Carole Groom visits Elkus
Carolyn B
attaini
http://www.whitehutchinson.com/children/articles/benefits.shtml�
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Thank you to our most recent donors!
Augustine Aguilar, Carolyn & Steve Battaini, Kathi Baxter,
Bothin Foundation, Diane Brosin, Victoria Fuller, Dr. Ian Lafoon,
Jeanne Letsinger, New Leaf Community Market. Please consider
donating to Elkus Ranch. Your donations have helped us provide
camperships, classroom trips, a display for water education, and
complete the Enabling Garden. We are a designated non-profit agency
and all donations are tax deductable. Please make all checks
payable to: UC Regents and mail to :
RanchTalk 80 Stone Pine Road, #100 Half Moon Bay CA 94019
[email protected] http://cesanmateo.ucdavis.edu
University of California, in compliance with Titles VI and VII
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972. Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, does not
discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national
origin, sex mental or physical handicap, or age in any of its
programs or activities, or with respect to any of its employment
policies, practices, or procedures. Nor does the University of
California discriminate on the basis of ancestry, sexual
orientation, marital status, citizenship, medical condition (as
defined in Section 12926 of the California Government Code) or
because individuals are special disabled veterans or Vietnam era
veterans (as defined by the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act
of 1974 and Section 12940 of the California government Code).
Inquiries regarding this policy may be addressed to the Affirmative
Action Director, University of California, Agriculture and Natural
Resources, 1111 Franklin St., 6th Floor, Oakland, California
94607-5200. (510) 987-0097.
Elkus Ranch Administration Office 80 Stone Pine Road, #100, Half
Moon Bay, CA 94019
Phone: 650-712-3151
Fax: 650-712-3153
Elkus Ranch Wish List Donations towards new barn roofs 4" plant
pots Bed sheets Foam camping mats (not air) Garden tools such as:
pruning shears, gloves, trowels Deck furniture for conference
center Cloth napkins and tablecloths
2009-2010 Calendar Winter camp December 21, 22, 2009
Spring Preschool Days March 3,4,5, 2010
Sheep to Shawl June 12, 2010
Discovery Day Camp session 1 June 14-18, 2010
Range Camp June 20-25, 2010
Discovery Day Camp session 2 June 28-July 2, 2010
Discovery Day Camp session 3 July 12-16, 2010
Discovery Day Camp session 4 July 26-30, 2010
Discovery Day Camp session 5 August 9-13, 2010
Fall Preschool Days September 22,23,24, 2010
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