Open Stories

Through a thoughtful, culturally relevant, well-designed and passionately executed outdoor program, Vida Verde offers opportunities such as 3-day camps for 4th-6th graders and week-long summer leadership camps for teens. Currently serving as the Executive Director for Vida Verde, Laura's experiences in open space have given her a deep appreciation for the land that she infuses into her work every day. "Nature is healing," believes Laura. "We know this now more than ever."

Vida Verde is an active grantee in Midpen’s Grantmaking Program and has used their awarded funding to expand their immersive, multi-day experiences in nature for students from low-income communities. For more information about the vital programming taking place at Vida Verde, visit their website vveducation.org.

After Cindy moved to staff housing on Midpen’s very first conservation grazing property, she began to learn even more about the complex ecosystems of the Santa Cruz Mountains. “By the time I moved there, I had close to 20 years of natural land management experience, and I thought I knew the preserves so well… But just living out on that piece of land for 10 years, spending entire weekends walking the property, being there every night and seeing the changes through the seasons, I saw a level of detail that I had not gotten the chance to see before.”

Though she has 15 years’ worth of projects under her belt, by far the most memorable for Cindy was her role in the discovery of a population of red-bellied newts in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Red-bellied newts’ range was originally described as four counties: Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake and Sonoma. “It was a big puzzle,” she said. “How did this salamander make a home in Santa Clara County, 80 miles away from its main population? That’s a long way for a little salamander to walk.” You can read about the saga of the red-bellied newt on Cindy’s blog: dipperanch.blogspot.com.

“Lennie has been effective because she is able to identify what’s important, when to draw a line in the sand, and where to compromise or negotiate,” retired California Assemblymember Rich Gordon said when he was a member of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.

Without Lennie’s work, the Coastside would look very different today: luxury subdivisions, golf courses, a multilane freeway over Montara Mountain. Lennie was the author and cosponsor of Measure A, which voters passed in 1986. This “Coastal Protection Initiative,” gave 38 policies in the county’s 1980 Local Coastal Program the force of law that cannot be changed without voter approval.

Other achievements Lennie takes pride in are helping to create Midpen in 1972 and expanding its boundaries to San Mateo County in 1976. Green Foothills was about 10 years old, and Lennie had joined its board of directors in 1968. She and other Green Foothills leaders led the drive to collect 5,000 signatures to qualify Measure R for the ballot. Voters passed this “Room to Breathe Initiative” by nearly 68%, establishing Midpen.

Lennie and Green Foothills members were also instrumental in expanding Midpen’s boundaries to the Coastside in 2004 and helping to pass Measure AA to fund Midpen’s Vision Plan in 2014. She led advocacy efforts to stop suburban sprawl on lands that later became Midpen’s Russian Ridge, Purisima Creek Redwoods and Bear Creek Redwoods public open space preserves.

Sharyl explains how she’s seen the preserves change in more ways than one, “For years, I have taken pictures at Vista Point. I have noted that the trees have grown taller and obscured my view of San Francisco.  Today, I continue to go to Rancho San Antonio, and other Midpen preserves to renew my physical and mental strength, ponder life, assess my fitness and just be in the moment. I appreciate that this is home to many plants and animals and we get to SHARE these beautiful places. We are visitors in their home.”

Rust went on to a successful career in national fundraising for Yale University, Stanford University and eventually the Sierra Club. While Rust was honing her fundraising skills, Midpen’s first general manager, Herb Grench, proposed forming a private land trust that could work more nimbly with sellers, and raise money to supplement public funding for land conservation. This resulted in the creation of POST in 1977.

“Working at Stanford, and later Yale and the Sierra Club, helped me connect with many people on the Peninsula,” Rust said.

While working for the Sierra Club, Rust also got to know POST by serving on their citizens advisory committee, helping to plan for what is now Midpen’s Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve. POST’s first executive director, Bob Augsburger, approached Rust twice over the course of nearly a decade suggesting she consider taking the lead at POST.

“I thought I would be there three or four years and I was there 24. It was the absolute best fit for me. We were accomplishing great things with really lasting benefits for the greater community and world.”

During Rust’s tenure as president, she led POST in raising millions of dollars and preserving 53,000 acres of open space land in the Bay Area, much of which has since been transferred to Midpen and POST’s other public agency partners to steward in perpetuity.

“We prioritized protecting land that connected to other open spaces for wildlife and trail corridors, not just because it was beautiful. If we’re asking people to contribute, it has to have a direct public benefit.”

Today, Rust is very concerned about the effects of climate change on people and the natural ecosystems that she and others have worked so hard to protect. She continues enjoying open space, along with her lifelong love of native plants, as part of a weekly hiking group she formed just before retiring from POST. Her favorite local trails to explore depend on the time of year.

“If you get to know the seasonality of places, you can get the best of them. It’s all about the weather in conjunction with nature. For example, when you walk out in the Monte Bello Open Space Preserve, that vista down the valley is breathtaking, especially when it’s slightly misty.”

Despite his years of experiences in the preserves, Bill describes what brings him back year after year; “There are so many surprises in our preserves. I love the diversity of the plants, insects, birds, reptiles, and animals.” Bill said, “we love to share what we have learned and the more we learn the more we want to know.”

He painstakingly planned each event, motivating hundreds of community members to take to the trails week after week including walks at Rancho San Antonio, Windy Hill, St. Joseph’s Hill, Fremont Older, and Bear Creek Redwoods open space preserves. For each new trail, Sameer would first hike them with his wife Sunita, to get a feel for the terrain, elevation, distance and expected time to commitment so he could equip and engage others to join him. One participant fondly recalls, “Unlike all the others who were telling us to go do something, Sameer said something quite different, he said ‘Come with me. Together we will become more physically active and healthy.’”

Sameer passed away in March of 2021. This year his family and friends dedicated a bench at Rancho San Antonio County Park and Open Space Preserve in honor of his passion, inclusion and impact on the health of the community.

The next time you’re out on the open space trails keep an eye out for fellow hikers in vivid orange and maroon Chale Chalo t-shirts, and perhaps, take a moment to walk together.

He started his career in public service in the 1980’s as a community-minded homeowner and was eventually elected to the San Mateo City Council in 1991. Hill was elected to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors in 1998, where he served for 10 years. He was elected to the California Assembly in 2008 where he served for 4 years until his election to the California Senate in 2012 and re-elected in 2016. During his time in Sacramento, Senator Hill authored numerous bills that included protection for mountain lions and legislation to help Midpen better manage its natural and working lands. He was always a steadfast supporter of the state’s environmental goals.

Senator Hill’s impact on Midpen has been significant. While on the county Board of Supervisors, he worked with fellow Board and Commission member Rich Gordon to enable the extension of Midpen into the San Mateo County coastal region in 2004 as commissioners for the San Mateo County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo). Since then, the majority of Midpen’s land acquisitions have been within the Coastal Service Plan area that was adopted at that time.

In 2019 Senator Hill secured the appropriation of $2 million in budgeted state general funds for the District for the purposes of acquiring 587 acres of coastal grazing land and natural habitat at Gordon Ridge.

As to why Midpen open spaces and nature are important to him, Hill responds, “Midpen is an important part of my DNA in San Mateo County. When you think of the beauty and excellence of our open space and the preservation of our natural environment only one word comes to mind and that word is Midpen.”

He continued by saying, “As I reflect on my years of public service there is one decision that is probably the most impactful, sustainable decision I ever made. That decision was to advocate and support the inclusion of the entire San Mateo Coast into the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.  I felt the significance of that decision then and still feel it today.”

As an ordained zen priest, for many years, Remington lived and taught at the Jikoji Zen Center surrounded by the Long Ridge Open Space Preserve. For decades he held a master key to the preserves, exploring and documenting the unique flora and fauna he discovered. He would share his findings with Midpen staff, providing helpful information for examining potential land acquisitions in a time before Midpen had a robust natural resources department. 

Although he no longer lives at the zen center, he still teaches 3-4 classes a year, primarily about reconnecting with nature, which he says many people have lost. His first piece of advice, he explained is to, “turn off your phones and put away your guidebooks.” With the abundance of open space in the area, “you have to commune with the land,” and spend time in nature without an agenda.  

“If you sit quietly without others in these mountains, you will hear the voice of the mountains. It calls out from deep within you. When you hear this voice, you cannot help but want to know the land better and to take care of it. That is why we want to take care of these mountains. They are precious.” 

Herb began by helping Midpen set up headquarters, develop a basic policy and master plan, collect a modest property tax, and begin buying land for open space. “Although the District was created by the voters in 1972, we had no tax revenue for a year and a half,” said Herb. “Our supporter’s expectation (or our own) seemed to be that we’d start saving open space on Day One. My challenge was to build an organization and make some progress as soon as possible.

Herb counts the creation of the Peninsula Open Space Trust and its partnership among the high points of his career at Midpen. “Aside from the 30,000 acres of land preserved during my tenure, the accomplishment I’m most personally proud of is conceiving of POST and getting it going. It has been instrumental in not only saving land but also in building important public, political and landowner support for open space protection.”

When asked what he believes is the biggest shift in public perception about open space since the 70s, Herb says, “I think the general public has grown to appreciate more than ever the importance of open space simply as relief from our increasingly congested urban environment. ‘Room to Breathe’ is more than just a slogan; it’s a necessity.”

Throughout his time in office, Assemblymember Gordon consistently demonstrated his commitment to the environment and the agencies that support the mission of open space preservation and conservation through active support of environmental legislation.

In 2004, as a member of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo), he worked with fellow Board and Commission member Jerry Hill to help enable the extension of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District into the San Mateo County coastal region. With the approval of the expansion, Midpen grew by almost 40 percent and in the 18 years since that approval, Midpen has acquired and manages over 13,000 acres of land in the coastside area.

As to why Midpen open spaces and nature are important to him, Gordon responds, “These open spaces define our place on the San Francisco Peninsula. They keep us connected to the land and all of its natural resources.  Spending time in these open spaces renews us and provides a respite from the hectic pace of our daily lives. 

He continued by saying, “It has been said that ‘the earth is not given to us by our parents, it is lent to us by our children.’  I believe that we are the stewards of this time and this place and, as such, we are responsible to leave this fragile planet better than we found it. That means that we must conserve our open spaces and restore them so that we enhance biological diversity, improve water quality, and allow the natural carbon cycle to protect our air. Stewardship is our imperative.”

The crucial work Gabbie does at the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory (SFBBO) centers around documenting the abundance and diversity of waterbird species to track changes through time and inform plans for the conservation of these animals. Her primary focus is birding lands that is included in the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project and surrounding areas.

Gabbie loves the protected salt marsh lands around the San Francisco Bay where she finds a wide variety of waterbird species due to the diverse habitat characteristics designed to sustain a wide variety of waterbirds, from summer breeding birds to winter migrants.

“They need and deserve to thrive on this planet every bit as much as we do,” she says. “It is our responsibility to protect space for them to do just that.”

Aitken was a founding member of Green Foothills, serving on their Board of Directors from 1963 until 1967 and was the organization’s second board president. In 1969, along with David Brower, he co-founded Friends of the Earth, which is now the largest grassroots environmental federation in the world.  

Next, Aitken established the Environmental Studies Department at San Jose State University in 1971, making SJSU the first to offer this degree in the California public university system. One of Donald’s first students in the new Environmental Studies program was Midpen Board Member Larry Hassett.

“It was exciting to be a part of the new program,” Hassett remembers. “Don inspired everyone that was in his classroom to go on and do really important things. He told us ‘Don’t just sit on your hands and listen to me, go do it.’” It changed my life completely around.

Hanko was born and raised on the Peninsula where a love of music and time spent in nature shaped her childhood. An aspiring concert pianist, she studied music at San Francisco State University before marrying and moving to Palo Alto in 1950.

In the late 1960s, a recall of Palo Alto City Council members and Stanford University’s proposed development of Coyote Hill began drawing Hanko out to public meetings.

“I’d lost the wild places I had as a little girl. In Palo Alto there were NO TRESPASSING signs all the way to Skyline. Coyote Hill was one of the few places I could go and hear nothing but bird song,” Hanko said in recalling why she’d wanted to create Midpen.

Palo Alto Times reporter Jay Thorwaldson published an editorial on February 16, 1970, proposing that if conservationists really wanted to preserve land on the rapidly developing Peninsula, they should follow the lead of the East Bay community in creating an agency capable of acquiring land in the public trust. After reading it, Hanko cried herself to sleep and awoke the next morning inspired to take action.

She planned a meeting at her house, inviting everyone she knew who might be able to help create a local open space district. Over homemade blueberry coffeecake, Hanko galvanized a movement that has shaped our region.

“It’s a dream come true, being able to do something about saving our open spaces for people and animals. There is still land that needs to be acquired and trails we need to connect. When you’re building something important, and we’re still building it, you never lose that joy.”

“Nature is where I go to reset,” says Poe. “Living in such a fast-paced part of the country, walking through the parks is like a dose of therapy. It lets you shake off the stress of the day and catch your breath.”

Even in her day job, Poe stays connected to nature. As a trail writer for Weekend Sherpa, a publication that connects Californians to local nature, Poe Casavant spends a lot of time writing and thinking about the Bay Area’s greenbelt. Her stories about  St. Joseph’s Hill, Rancho San Antonio, Picchetti Ranch, Russian Ridge, Skyline Ridge, Sierra Azul and more  highlight the unique features of each preserve, and show how easily accessible beautiful views, great hikes and protected wildlife areas are from the Bay Area’s busy suburbs and urban cores.

“I love Midpen’s mission of putting aside these natural spaces to help protect our wildlife. We’ve managed to surround a huge tech hub with protected land — a feat I hope other cities will strive for.”

For Poe, it is important that everyone feels like nature is for them. “You can find all walks of life on the trails: young, old, rich, poor, newbie or hardened athlete, and almost everyone will slow down to say hello and chat about the sights.”

Check out Poe’s Weekend Sherpa articles if you want to learn more about the greenbelt in your backyard.

Rusmore was the San Mateo County Advocate for Committee for Green Foothills in the 1960s. “Her enthusiasm, warm smile and laughter were tremendous assets in convincing decision makers to protect the Skyline and coastal areas of San Mateo County.” said Green Foothills’ Legislative Advocate Lennie Roberts.

While raising her family in Ladera in the early 1970s, she started a hiking group called the Walkie Talkies that still meets monthly. Later, she turned her attention to documenting the area’s trails. Between 1982 and 2008, Rusmore – along with friends and co-authors Frances Spangle and Betsy Crowder – hiked miles of trails as research for a series of local trail guides. The first book published, Peninsula Trails, was one of the early guides to Midpen trails. “These were hidden gems,” Rusmore once said. “Nobody knew about the trails. They didn't tell anybody.” The book can still be found on the shelves of long-time Midpen staff.

Bad decisions as a youth had him stuck in a seemingly hopeless situation. He altered his path when he began fishing in Santa Clara County Parks – immersing himself in nature to escape his troubled past and surroundings. The time spent outdoors inspired him to return to school, eventually graduating cum laude from San Jose State University with a B.A. in environmental studies and a minor in sustainable water resources. He also began sharing his love of nature with the community in roles at a host of local organizations: Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, Santa Clara Valley Water District, Environmental Volunteers and California State Parks.

Tejada founded Saved By Nature in 2018, with the goal of introducing and connecting people of all backgrounds, ethnicities and abilities to the natural wonders and recreational opportunities of the outdoors. He has been recognized by the Santa Clara County League of Conservation Voters as 2020 Environmentalist of the Year and as Bay Nature’s 2022 Community Hero. He’s clearly blazing a trail for others to follow.

Funds provided by the Midpen grantmaking program will allow Saved By Nature to provide field trips to Midpen preserves for students from Davis Jr. High, Stipe Elementary, and Edenvale Elementary.

Imagining a scenic corridor along Skyline Boulevard, Britton led Midpen in connecting a greenbelt of open space preserves in the Santa Cruz Mountain region. He liked to be in the thick of things and his favorite memories are of the tough negotiations, where he could find a bargain price or leverage grant funding for a purchase. “Some of the toughest negotiations were not the external one, but internal ones,” he remembers, “to decide that [a property] had a high enough priority and a need as we looked at a whole network of trail connections and habitat values.”  

Britton also led Midpen to work with the local Coastside community to extend the district boundaries to the San Mateo County coast in 2004. The Coastside Protection Area has now protected over 11,000 acres of natural and agricultural lands that contribute to the area’s rural identity, natural beauty and quality of life.

“The natural world is what sustains us,” Britton, reflecting on his time at Midpen, said. “Even if you never step foot on the land, there’s a feeling that you get when you see open space, especially if it’s preserved. And you think 'that’s my open space, I’m one of the owners of that.' And you want to see that it’s cared for and it’s retained and it’s enhanced.”

When he worked for the Ridge Trail, Gartland partnered closely with Midpen staff. “I was consistently impressed,” he said. “We did large trail events and numerous volunteer trail workdays with the District.” One annual event he organized, Ridge Trail Cruz, organized hikers, bicycle riders and equestrians to travel along the Ridge Trail through Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve, Skyline Open Space Preserve, Long Ridge Open Space Preserve, Castle Rock State Park and multiple county parks.

The Ridge Trail and Midpen work collaboratively to form a network of regional trails to connect people to preserves and a variety of other open spaces, improve access for bicyclists and equestrians and enable visitors to explore farther without having to leave the trail system. With over 400 miles of completed Ridge Trail, there is no shortage of breathtaking views and sections. However, when pressed to name a favorite, Gartland hesitated, “I just love the concept…there are so many beautiful sections here; Russian Ridge, Long Ridge, Purisima Creek Redwoods…”

Trail interconnections can improve safety by reducing the need for trail users to walk or ride on roads between preserves and parks. The Ridge Trail and other regional trails exemplify the big picture of land conservation efforts in the region. Protecting the natural environment and preserving open space is a collaborative effort between land-management agencies, regulatory agencies, non-profits like the Ridge Trail Council, private landowners and the public.

“I look forward to new open spaces and being able to ride from one end of the District to the other on the Ridge Trail.”

After growing up and spending the majority of his career in the East Bay with lengthy stints at East Bay Regional Parks and the East Bay Municipal Water District, Abbors moved across the bay and finished out his career as Midpen’s general manager from 2008 through 2017.

While at the helm of Midpen, Abbors led the District in the creation of a public vision plan, working together with the public to chart a 40-year course forward. This plan helped Midpen realign our focus to equally embrace all elements of our braided mission: preservation, protection, education and enjoyment. The subsequent passage of Measure AA, a $300 million general obligation bond approved by voters in 2014, followed, and allowed Midpen to complete, among many other projects, the long-awaited opening of the Mount Umunhum summit in 2017.

In one of his final acts as General Manager, Abbors oversaw the creation of a conservation easement over the Mount Umunhum summit with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. Mount Umunhum is a sacred site to the Amah Mutsun people and is central to their creation story. “We view the conservation easement a unique opportunity, and a responsibility, to help reconnect the Amah Mutsun people with their culture. That connection, to their culture and the land that supported it, was severed centuries ago,” Abbors said when the agreement was first approved.

When asked to name his favorite preserve or trail, Steve hesitates before calling out the former PG & E Trail in Rancho San Antonio Preserve – now named the Stephen E. Abbors Trail. During his time at Midpen, Steve hiked this trail nearly every day after work. “You get a lot of exercise, but it’s also a place where you can see wildlife…rabbits, deer and pale swallowtail butterflies,” Steve remembered.

Once a naturalist, always a naturalist.

As the population has grown and suburban communities have become more urban in character, “these preserves have been an important element of the quality of life that we have enjoyed,” Weden said. He believes one of the keys to Midpen’s success over the years has been the quality and professionalism of the staff, both in its offices and out in the field. “That quality and the high standards they have set has given residents a system of outstanding open space preserves that they – and future generations – can use, enjoy, and be proud of.”

Although he retired nearly 20 years ago, Weden continues to stay be involved in the development of the region. He served on the advisory committee for Midpen’s 2014 Vision Plan and has given hundreds of lectures and presentations on the future of the county and region advocating for smart growth and preparing for an aging county.

When not in front of a crowd, he’s often visiting his favorite open space preserve, Rancho San Antonio, hoping to spot his favorite animals, newts. Visiting usually once a week, he marvels that every time is a new time, whether it’s a spotting new wildflower bloom or observing wildlife – something his late wife Kim often remarked on. “We live in a wonderful place with such a treasury of landscapes, waterscapes, the Bay the Ocean, creatures and critters of all shapes and sizes," he said. "It’s a fantastic setting for human settlement.”

Judy began volunteering for Midpen in the mid-1990s as a Nature Center and an Outdoor Education Docent. In 2002, David and Judy felt the role of Nature Center Docent was meaningful volunteer work to pursue as a couple and did so together for 13 years.  The Daniels were remarkable people and deeply committed to open space conservation and enriching the experiences of others.

Supporting opportunities for contemplation, education and recreation was always precious to David and Judy. It was their hope that people will become inspired by visiting open spaces and it would foster an appreciation for, and stewardship of, the natural environment.

“My experience led me to attending many more docent hikes over the years, and I was inspired by the many docents I hiked with – their knowledge, their love of nature, and their willingness and enthusiasm to share this with the public. With each hike, my horizons widened, my appreciation of the world around us grew, and I eventually decided to apply to the program myself – to deepen my own understanding as well as to be able to give back and share this beauty and wonder with the public.”

Since 2016, Jayita has been an indispensable member of Midpen’s volunteer and docent-naturalist programs. She was also inspired to take care of nature, not just as a hobby but as a career.

“My involvement with Midpen through its hikes and the docent program, and learning about California’s natural and cultural history, eventually led me to change careers, to focus on using technology for social good,” says Jayita. “I left the high-tech world and now work for a non-profit that assists others with technology and mapping, in the fields of conservation, recreation, education, public health, and social equity. I will always be grateful to Midpen…for the inspiration and encouragement.”

According to Karen, “painting Bay Area landscapes – Midpeninsula Regional Open Space Preserves, County parkland, community gardens and more – [is] part of who I am as an artist.” She first discovered Midpen’s preserves not as a painter, but as a parent. 

“As one of several field trip drivers for students at Duveneck Elementary School, I had the chance to visit Deer Hollow Farm at Rancho San Antonio Preserve,” says Karen. “The goats, of course, were a highlight with the children!  At Los Trancos Preserve, we saw the shifted ground during fascinating ranger-led earthquake hikes along the Nonette Hanko San Andreas Fault Trail. I discovered the fantastic views from Skyline overlooking La Honda Creek Preserve all the way to the Pacific.” 

Later, she would return to these spots that she had discovered in order to paint them. Monte Bello Open Space Preserve has become one of her go-to painting spots. She especially appreciates the “amazing views at every point along White Oak Trail.”  

“While hiking or painting in our open spaces, I feel peace, the freedom of being part of our natural world.  Overlooking expansive vistas of rolling hills as far as the eye can see brings a sense of calm, as well as endless artistic inspiration.” 

Since then, he has captured sunset rays streaming through the tree line on Black Mountain ridge, shadows falling across the rolling hills of Monte Bello, and California poppies en masse as they rise to greet the day.  “After a busy work week, I look forward to going on hikes,” says Raja. “I am able to stay fit by hiking...and taking nature photographs in local areas without traveling 4-5 hours to Yosemite or the Sierra Nevada region.”   

“To me, nature is the best healer,” says Raja. “[It] provides a meditative effect. I mostly do solo hikes without headsets or electronic devices, which allows me to recharge by just listening to my footsteps and the sounds of nature.” 

With such a beginning, it’s not surprising that Thorwaldson played a key role in the formation of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. Working as a reporter for the Palo Alto Times, he created a beat for himself covering the region’s parks, open spaces and baylands. When Nonette Hanko, a Midpen founder and former board director, expressed to him her concerns about losing the wild places she knew as a child, he sparked an approach she hadn’t considered. “I told her environmentalists needed to do what they did in the East Bay in 1933, in the depths of the Great Depression, and form a park district to buy the land at fair market value in order to safely preserve it in perpetuity,” Thorwaldson recalled.

Thorwaldson shared that conversation with his editor, Alexander Bodi, who asked him to draft an editorial on the subject, which ran on February 16, 1970. That editorial, in turn, gave Hanko the path she needed to organize others toward a lasting solution.

“For me there are three takeaways,” Thorwaldson said. “A knowledge of history is important in mapping future choices. The press has a vital role to play in terms of presenting information and ideas that can generate the all-important responses from individuals and, as Margaret Mead once observed, one person working with others can make a huge difference – in this case a 65,000-acre difference — for many generations to come.” Thorwaldson retired in 2011 after a 50-year career in journalism. He now lives in El Dorado County, still surrounded by open space and exploring the trails.

In 2003, Claudia joined Midpen’s Volunteer Trail Patrol program. Visitors to Windy Hill Open Space Preserve may have encountered her as she does her twice-weekly patrol of the trails there. Claudia hikes over 10 miles during each patrol as she answers questions from visitors, and reports hazards like fallen trees.  “Claudia has over 7,000 hours of service in her more than 20 years with Midpen” said volunteer program manager Jen Williams. “She is such a wealth of knowledge. She knows exactly which trails to hike after storms to immediately report trail repair needs.”

As a Midpen volunteer, Claudia has worn many hats. In addition to Trail Patrol, she has also assisted at community events, volunteered in our office and served as a Land Steward (formerly known as Preserve Partners), removing invasive species from the preserves. However, her favorite project has been documenting the memorial benches and markers throughout the preserves and researching the people they commemorate.

Over the past 20 years, Claudia has hiked all 247.5 miles of trail at Midpen, but Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve will always hold a special place in her heart because of the many memories that she made while hiking there with her late husband.

Claudia hopes that everyone finds the same joy that she does in open space: “Whenever I can, I try to introduce others to these wonderful spaces and share what I have learned.”

Never one to back down from a cause she believed in, Crowder was known for her passionate spirit and unabashed candor. Crowder was appointed to the Midpen board in 1989, serving until her death in 2000. During her tenure Midpen increased its holdings of open space on the Peninsula from 29,000 to 43,000 acres and expanded to the San Mateo County coast. Crowder was an active and a contributing member of the California Native Plant Society, San Mateo County Trails Committee, Bay Area Ridge Trail Council, Bay Area Open Space Council and Committee for Green Foothills. 

Her legacy lives on through the Betsy Crowder Trail in the Windy Hill Preserve. The half-mile trail runs past Sausal Pond where you may be treated to sights of egrets, blue herons, wood ducks, dragonflies or even the western pond turtle.

Before becoming a ranger, Frances enjoyed other careers but quickly realized that this was where she belonged. “Being a ranger is a total life highlight,” she says. “The mission of the District jived so well with what is important to me, and it was something to wrap my life around.” Frances had so many unforgettable experiences that she decided to write about them in her memoir, Ranger Chick, which features many exciting tales of her life in green pants.

“I’ve lived in places with little park or open space lands — when you don’t have open space, you miss it,” says Frances. She believes there is a part of every person that loves the feeling of looking out into open land and only seeing vistas and nature. Frances knows firsthand how overwhelming it can feel to care for open space but is not ready to throw in the towel yet, “we need to do our best to make the land healthy for the future.”

Even though Frances is now retired, she still spends her time at Midpen volunteering as a docent naturalist. For many years, Frances has dreamed of leading a series of 24 hikes in the preserves. This year, as part of Midpen’s 50th anniversary, Frances has made her dream a reality with the All Preserves Great & Small hike series. “I will feel very proud when this has been accomplished,” says Frances “what better way to honor the district than to visit these preserves and talk about what makes them special.”

In his letter he wrote:

Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed…if we pollute the last clear air and dirty the last clean streams and push our paved roads through the last of the silence. We simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in. For it can be a means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a part of the geography of hope.

Today, Midpen visitors can rest on the Wallace Stegner stone bench in the Long Ridge Open Space Preserve, a favorite perch. The landscape opens here, allowing sweeping views of the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, allowing one of our greats indeed room to breathe, and maybe even, room to dream. 

After earning her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Horticulture and Urban Forestry from UC Davis, Perez began her career in the SF Bay Area with positions at the National Park Service, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and Marin Water.

Her first introduction to Midpen came at a wildflower walk led by Latino Outdoors at Russian Ridge in 2019. “It was such an awesome welcome!” Perez recalls. “I got to learn and identify lots of beautiful wildflowers with the Latino Outdoors community and make connections to people, plants and the open space.”

Perez now helps share her knowledge about recreating responsibly in the outdoors as the SF Bay Area Regional Coordinator for Latino Outdoors. You can see her in some of the videos and virtual presentations we’ve produced with LO. If you see her out on the trail be sure to say hello!