- Author: Igor Lacan
On Aug. 23, UC ANR leaders visited UC Elkus Ranch and UCCE San Mateo/San Francisco offices to meet with our county partners and local stakeholders, and learn about the research, education, extension and outreach programs offered to residents of the two counties.
Brent Hales, associate vice president, led the visit alongside Vice Provost Daniel Obrist, Director of Cooperative Extension Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty, and Director of Workplace Inclusion and Belonging Elizabeth Moon.
The visit started at the CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE offices in South San Francisco where the leaders met with our federally funded nutrition education program staff and learned about the impactful projects in school cafeterias and early education centers.
The visit continued at Elkus Ranch, where ANR leaders toured the grounds, learning about the school visit programs – the mainstay of the Elkus mission – but also learning about the ranch facilities and our other activities. Our UC Master Gardener and Master Food Preserver program volunteers were on hand to introduce their respective programs and impacts – and to share some wonderful, preserved food.
Our guests then settled into a working lunch, meeting our local partners from county agencies, elected officials, community groups and local stakeholders, for whom we organized multiple tours of the ranch.
In the early afternoon, the visit continued at the Phoenix Garden at the San Mateo Juvenile Justice Facility, where the educators from our Youth Development program and our county partners described the groundbreaking work with youth in gardening, food production, and even beekeeping – followed by honey tasting!
The tour concluded at the Gardening Education Center at the San Mateo County Event Center. Here our Master Gardener program volunteers were once again the tour guides, showcasing not only the unique GEC facilities that they have constructed in partnership with the San Mateo County Fair to propagate plants and offer hands-on classes, but also demonstrating their ability to grow some truly impressive tomatoes!
With honey and tomatoes in hand, and having connected with our many partners, stakeholders and friends, our guests departed, impressed with the reach, impact and breadth of services that our Cooperative Extension office provides to the residents of San Mateo and San Francisco counties.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
The New Year's Eve storm ushered in 2023 and took out the bridge crossing Purisima Creek to Elkus Ranch Environmental Education Center. On June 1, Elkus Ranch reopened to the public with a new bridge.
Igor Lacan, interim director of UC Cooperative Extension in San Mateo and San Francisco counties and UCCE Bay Area environmental horticulture and urban forestry advisor, is grateful to everyone involved in getting Elkus Ranch's bridge replaced.
“Our construction office folks – Jeff Couture, Luzanne Martin and Alexander Cain – were hands-on from the first day to the bridge opening,” Lacan said. “I think they are now familiar with every square inch of our bridge, every pipe connection in our water system, and every idiosyncratic little detail of Elkus!”
For the five months until the bridge was completed, Elkus Ranch staff had to ride a bucket lift daily to get into the ranch to feed Sassy the donkey, the goats, sheep, rabbits, cats and other animals that live at Elkus Ranch, as well as do their other work.
“Our two ranch maintenance staffers, Augustine Aguilar and Bruno Acosta, waded the stream, cleared debris, carried water and hay bales for the animals, and in general did everything that needed to be done in order to both keep our animals alive AND to get everything ready for construction,” Lacan said.
“Our educators Beth Loof, Terri Pacheco, Holly Bono and Doug Meyer, and ranch manager Leslie Jensen ensured that both the animals were cared for and that our school clients were up-to-date on our repair progress.”
While the bridge was out, the local schoolchildren couldn't visit Elkus Ranch. Led by ranch educator Beth Loof with support from 4-H youth development advisor Sally Neas, the educators took their show on the road directly to the schools.
“Our office manager, Kathleen Stewart, kept everyone apprised of the situation, day-to-day, and ensured everyone's safety,” Lacan said.
In addition, Brian Oatman and David Alamillo in Environmental Health and Safety were instrumental in liaising with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies to secure support for repairs.
Tu Tran, associate vice president for business operations, stepped in several times not only to facilitate high-level discussion and ensure funding, but also to help resolve some unexpected issues on the ground, Lacan said.
On June 10, the team welcomed visitors to the annual Sheep to Shawl at Elkus Ranch to see sheep being sheared, watch wool spinning and try dying wool.
Coastside Magazine interviewed Jensen and other Elkus Ranch employees about the reopening: https://www.hmbreview.com/coastside_magazine/page-m-001/page_6437e17a-0a55-59d6-b468-1b27bb09ade5.html.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
As 2023 roared in like a lion, ushering in a series of storms, many Californians experienced some impact from flooding, power outages, fallen trees, road closures and even evacuations.
UC ANR colleagues at Elkus Ranch are continuing to deal with fallout from the storms, which swept away the bridge crossing the creek at the entrance to the property and knocked out the water pump.
“The New Year's storm washed out our bridge and severely restricted our access to Elkus Ranch,” said Frank McPherson, UCCE Bay Area director, by email on Jan. 11. “We currently have no vehicle access to the ranch and a few critical team members are only able to cross the stream via a bucket lift.
Staff members – as well as the goats, sheep, rabbits and other animals that live at Elkus Ranch – are fine, McPherson said. However, all events at Elkus Ranch for January and February events have been cancelled. McPherson is concerned not only that the facility isn't available to the San Mateo County community, but also because fees charged for events are used to pay for animal feed, veterinary services and some staff salaries.
He has been directing people who want to help to the donation button on the Elkus Ranch website.
As of Jan. 30, the power has been restored, but Elkus Ranch staff members are still slowly crossing the 30 feet over Purisima Creek by bucket lift to feed and care for the animals and tend to critical ranch operations.
“If all goes well, we should have a bridge in six weeks,” said Leslie Jensen, Elkus Ranch coordinator.
After the bridge is replaced, McPherson hopes to bring in portable toilets and bottled water while the water system is being repaired to reopen Elkus Ranch and resume programs by April.