- Author: Sophie Loeb
Augie Aguilar is a man of few words and exceptional character. His smile, cheeky sense of humor, and positive attitude are endearing; his love of UC Elkus Ranch is infectious. Aguilar, the “jack-of-trades” ranch foreman has spent two decades caring for it.
Ranching runs through Aguilar family veins. Aguilar's father grew up on a farm in Guadalajara Mexico, and sought to pass the tradition onto his son, who, too, was raised on a farm in Half Moon Bay, and by the age of eight, he was driving tractors, and by thirteen, plowing the ground. Aguilar's father taught him how to vaccinate, wean, and castrate animals, and how to work and prepare the ground.
“We had cattle, pigs, chickens, dogs, cats. We used to kill the animals and eat meat from our farm. Those days are over, now you have to go to [a grocery store] and buy meat. I miss those days! My dad used to do the whole thing,” commented Aguilar.
Before his father's passing 12 years ago, Aguilar used to bring his dad to the ranch.
“He was actually telling me how to do things. He would say ‘you're not doing it right!' He would get so mad, he would say: ‘What's the matter with you?' But he was proud,” reflected Aguilar.
Gabriel Aguilar, Augie's cousin, worked for eight years in Aguilar's current position from 1987-1995 before Aguilar continued the lineage as a part-time worker. Fast forward 20 years, and Aguilar has not lost an ounce of passion for stewarding the land and imparting his wisdom on to his own children.
When Aguilar's three children were babies, he used to babysit them at the ranch. His two kids in high school are now interested in pursuing higher education and careers in environmental sciences as a result of “growing up” at UC Elkus Ranch; his 10-year-old, too, is inspired by the outdoors.
Aguilar's eyes lit up as he talked about his family: “My daughter wants an outdoor job like this. My middle guy goes: ‘Dad, when you retire, I want to take care of your job!' Even the little guy wants to be a cowboy. They aren't meant to be inside in an office. They are lucky, not too many kids have the opportunity to have this…”
Aguilar continued, “My wife told me, 'you can retire at your other job, but not Elkus.' She likes it here... whenever I have a big cleaning on the weekend, I bring my whole family out and make a BBQ.”
UC Elkus Ranch really is a family affair; a second generation of Aguilar's may just call it home someday.
To narrow in a few words what Aguilar accomplishes in one day, is nearly impossible. From plumbing to veterinarian work, to cleaning, and construction, Aguilar's knowledge is unreplicable. Aguilar manages to find a solution to just about anything the ranch challenges him with; inclimate weather, water shortages, and oversized pipes are no match for Aguilar's work ethic.
“Sometimes I do it right, sometimes I don't, but I always try,” laughed Aguilar.
Aguilar literally knows the ins and outs of the ranch from the ground up: he witnessed the main lines of the ranch going in when he first started out at the ranch. With the limited resources available, it is amazing what Aguilar can do.
Leslie Jensen, UC Elkus Ranch coordinator, spoke to Aguilar's role on the ranch: “I feel much better when he's on site, because I know if something goes wrong, someone is there to fix it. Augie knows the ranch better than anyone. Just knowing where the pipes are, is huge...he's been places where probably no one else has been around the ranch.”
Aguilar has great appreciation for the ranch family he has cultivated over the years and consequently, fails to see what he does as a “job”. For Aguilar, UC Elkus Ranch means serenity, family, and security.
With a giant grin on his face, Aguilar summed up his experience at the ranch:
“It is the best place to be!”
- Author: Sophie Loeb
Connecting Youth to Nature Camp, organized by the 4-H Youth Development Program and sponsored by the Disney Conservation Fund and UC CalFresh Nutrition Education Program, was held at UC Elkus Ranch from July 20th-24th. The camp was 5 days of hands-on learning in the greatest classroom of all: the great outdoors! 53 young adventurers from Fair Oaks, JFK, Hatch, and El Granada Elementary Schools were able to experience life on a working ranch. Camp enrollment was geared toward CalFresh eligible schools, meaning that 50% or more of students receive free or reduced lunch.
“Connecting young people to the UC Elkus Ranch facility offers them opportunities to explore and learn in an informal, outdoor setting. The majority of the youth at the camp came from highly urbanized environments, where there is limited access to the wild, rural outdoors,” commented 4-H Program Coordinator, Jessica Guild.
Each day of camp focused on a different theme: Monday was “Habitat and Hike”, Tuesday was “Mammals and Livestock” oriented, Wednesday was all about “Insects”, Thursday was “Bird” themed, and Friday, arguably the most delicious day, was centered on “Food Systems”. A cast of 10 educators and student leaders were dedicated to curating an interactive camper experience.
“In the current educational climate, most students do most of their learning inside classrooms, seated and quiet, which is pretty much the opposite of the natural state of youth...getting kids outside and letting them run around and get their hands dirty, while at the same time giving them an opportunity to learn or make something, helps to affirm that while school might be boring, learning and education is not,” commented Healthy Living Ambassador Program Coordinator, Phil Minnick, who was involved as one of the camp educators.
Each day, everyone gathered in the barn area to hear the rules, tend to chores, and enjoy a snack before starting the day's lessons. From 11 to noon, the day's topic leader introduced the theme of the day and proceeded with the lesson. On “Hike and Habitat” day, Guild led a hike on the Dean Trail where she highlighted elements of water, open space, and the concept of habitat versus ecosystem. During the hike, one 8-year-old Fair Oaks child exclaimed: “The air is so fresh up here!”
Throughout each daily lesson were three principles: water education, technology, and journaling. The Disney grant allowed for technology in the form of Galaxy 4 Tablets to be incorporated in novel ways that helped students engage with the environment. The kids looked at pictures of native and local plants, and using the Foraging App on their tablets, identified those plants on Monday's nature hike. To balance out the activity, the educational hike was followed by a reflective journaling lesson about home habitats.
Water, technology, and journaling continued to be integral concepts throughout the week. For the “Mammal and Livestock” lesson, stethoscopes, pictures, and videos of the animals satisfied the tech aspect of the plan. During UC Elkus Ranch educator Robin Tierney's bird expedition, the children learned about the drought's impact on avian habitats, thereby accomplishing the water education goal. Kevi Mace, an Extension researcher, and Dr. Virginia Bolshakova, UCCE SM/SF Director, provided instruction on insects, teaching about edible insects and basic insect ecology.
“Unstructured time outside is a valuable learning tool in and of itself, in that it engages a young person's creativity, imagination, and problem solving skills - valuable skills that are necessary in childhood development,” commented Guild.
The week of camp was capped off with a delicious meal at the conference center where campers learned the importance of sourcing their food locally. Following a fun physical activity and a quick round of “Name that Spice,” the campers unleashed their inner Julia Childs. The students split up into teams of three and prepared yummy dishes like Turkey Tacos in Salsa Roja, Jicama and Carrot Slaw, Corn Salad, and Black Bean Brownies.
"The food we made has a rainbow of flavors!" said a 10-year-old from Half Moon Bay about the lunch.
The recipes were prepared using ingredients from the Elkus garden and with recipes from EatFresh.org. Each group of students presented their dishes and said what ingredients they used and how they made the dish.
“It was adorable,” reflected Minnick.
To digest their culinary masterpieces, the kids went on a nature walk where they learned about edible plants and flowers. Phil then led the kids through a seed planting activity, and each child was able to go home with his or her own seeds to start a home garden.
The kids left camp feeling empowered to make positive changes in their own habitats. The collaborative effort between all interacting elements of the camp ecosystem, from the leaders, to the volunteers, to the campers, is evident in the camper's responses to the survey question, “How will you protect the environment?”
“I would take care of the animals and plants. I would also pick up trash.” – 9 year old camper.
“I will try to participate in things of nature to learn more and know what way I can help in”-10 year old camper.
“I would do the 3 R's: Recycle, Reuse, Reduce” -13 year old camper.
“Try to walk more instead of driving”- 9 year old camper.
“I will take short showers”-10 year old camper.
And finally: “Whatever it takes!”-12 year old camper.
IMG 8499
- Author: Sophie Loeb
Bay Area Science Festival “Insect Respect” Tour at UC Elkus Ranch
UC Elkus Ranch offered its first ‘Insect Respect' tour this past Sunday, October 25th as part of the Bay Area Science Festival's Explorer Days sharing the facility with new visitors from across five counties. Children and adults (30 total) from across the Bay Area came to share a unique hands-on experience gaining a better understanding of the insect world and the many ecosystem services our six legged neighbors provide. Ranch Director Dr. Virginia Bolshakova kicked-off the event with a discussion about what traits make an insect an insect. Live Madagascar hissing cockroaches offered entomological diplomacy as children and adult participants jumped at the chance to hold them! Despite much tummy (or abdomen) tickling, the cockroaches refused to make a hiss!
Virginia and Casey Hubble then led an interactive tour of the Purisima Creek that runs through the Center and provides the life water for the ranch. Everyone was ready to get their feet wet on the topic of stream invertebrates. We learned that many kinds of invertebrates can be found in the stream, and that biologists use certain species as indicators in determining the overall health of a stream. Families participated in a ‘catch and release' survey, collecting invertebrate fauna from in and around the flowing waters to measure the biotic index.
After lunch many kids tested their pallets by eating barbequed insects. These crunchy mealworm snacks are a tasty way to add some protein to your diet, and are a valuable food source in many cultures around the world. Entomophagy, the practice of consuming insects, has served as a nutritional, tasty and safe food source for people for tens of thousands of years all over the planet!
UC Berkeley graduate students, Madison Dipman and Lisa Treidel, led the afternoon tour through the gardens of Elkus Ranch - exploring the micro world of decomposers and pollinators. After learning about the Waggle Dance in bees, both children and adults buzz-waggled around the garden in a tag team game that simulated the foraging behavior of honey bees. A trip through the barn yard led to compost piles where kids were able to sift through the decomposing layers and discover the diversity of insects required to break down organic material. Once fully decomposed, this material becomes Elkus Ranch's ‘Black GOLD' soil amendment feeding our lush gardens. Finally, the tour wrapped-up with some chicken love and goat hugs – an important part of this amazing adventure! Many thanks to our courageous and enthusiastic visitors who made this Bay Area Science Festival Explorer Day a great success! Hope to see everyone back at the ranch one day soon! - Elkus Ranch BARF (Beneficial Arthropod Research Farm) Team
SUMMARY BASF Insect respect tour 25Oct2015
- Author: Sophie Loeb
To say Sheila Barry, Natural Resources and Livestock Advisor for the University of California Cooperative Extension San Francisco Bay Area, knows a thing or two about natural resource and livestock management, is an understatement. Barry's passion for her work developed during her time at Mission Viejo High School in the Future Farmers program, a vocational agricultural training program. Barry paved her trail from Southern California, to UC Davis for her undergraduate degree, then to Texas A and M for her Master's degree, and finally back to Northern California, where she has spent 20 years serving the Bay Area as an Extension Advisor.
It was by a little bit of luck, and a lot of California dreamin' that Barry ended up at UCCE.
“I was at an Extension research center in Texas, looking for a job, and on the desk was a directory of all the extension offices in the whole US, so it was a handy list to begin sending out my resume,” commented Barry, who added: “I started in Extension in Colorado and was only there for a year and a half because I wanted to go to California.”
Barry's work encompasses applied research and outreach in the areas of livestock production and associated landscapes-rangeland and open space. In the Bay Area, that means primarily beef cattle production, with a few new things like pork production, some poultry and horse pasture management. Barry is also involved in many outreach projects to educate her clients, park managers and interpreters for example, on the value of beef cattle production and the use of rangeland.
“There are some really important values provided by beef cattle grazing” commented Barry. She continued: “This is a really unusual thing, how many times is someone providing you a service and paying to provide you a service?”
One of Barry's current projects is a publication series on working rangelands for park managers and interpreters, peer reviewed through UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.
“An important first step is to get people to understand the beef cattle production system, so there's support for it and policies that support its continuation and sustainability. Livestock grazing is providing food, and environmental management,” commented Barry.
With Barry's interest in processes, systems- and generally “things that make sense,” it only makes sense that she employs a holistic vantage point to problem solve. Proper rangeland management is valuable in terms of fire fuel management, water yield, carbon sequestration, and endangered species conservations, according to Barry. Barry noted that contrary to widely held beliefs, grazing can increase water yield by mitigating changes to the landscape that actually reduce water, such as brush encroachment. To coincide with the drought concerns that have swept California, Barry and her colleagues have been working on a project to define value of rangeland in terms of water use and yield.
Barry is constantly seeking ways to inform landowners of the value livestock grazing and the ecosystem services they provide. The goal is to figure out if there are opportunities for landowners to create those values, so that they are sustainable as landowners, and avoid the pressure to sell land to other interests.
With a knack for problem solving and solution building approaches to livestock and rangeland management, Barry is a valuable asset to a number of interests on a wide array of projects. On one occasion, Barry worked with the San Francisco Water Department, AIDS activists, and ranchers, to outline a grazing management plan addressing concerns to minimize the risk of Cryptosporidium parvum in the water supply. AIDS activists were particularly concerned with such a pathogen since it is not killed by general chlorination, and posed a health risk to those with compromised immune systems. Barry had just worked with her colleagues to complete a statewide survey centered on the shedding of Cryptosporiduim parvum in beef cattle, and had a clear indication of the incidence of the pathogen. Their collective strategy was to inform the issue from a risk management perspective and control the risk of the pathogen by focusing on pathogen-vulnerable young calves, as well as the location of the animals in relation to drinking water.
“To me that was the project that most exemplifies what extension can do because we had a community problem, we had research that would guide us with solutions, and we had the ability to work with all of the stakeholders to come up with solutions that made sense,” commented Barry.
Barry noted that the key to her success has been in establishing relationships with her clients, and informing them of ways to become more resourceful with rangeland. She is mindful of educating others about the importance of being resource conscience.
Sheila Barry enjoys a day on the range!
