Dear members and friends of the Valley Women’s Club (VWC),

The Valley Women’s Club Board wishes you a joyful and healthy Holiday Season! 

Behind the masks, social distancing, isolation, and vaccines, your dedicated Board and volunteers have been working to keep the VWC on track. Here is an update of the work of the Committee, Programs, Scholarships, and information on a new grant program. 

This past May, we granted two scholarships to students continuing their education at Cabrillo College. We have also begun preparing a new grant in honor of Fred and Roberta McPherson. This program will make small grants to teachers, individuals, children’s camps, and other small groups who have specific projects to improve the environment and educate others about the development and preservation of our Valley; details will be forthcoming. 

The Chair of the Education Committee is Board Member Wendy Sigmund. She is working on a new Education Programs. These programs support the education in Ecology and Native Habitat. In addition, the VWC continues the tradition of providing Kinder Bags to the T-K and K students.

Planning for the Recycle to Art Contest, co-sponsored with the Senior Center, has just started. We are looking forward to this event on April 30, 2022

The Women’s Solution Committee is Co-Chaired by Roger Wapner and Sheila De Lany. The Respite Support Programs are updated; when it is safe to gather in groups, Barbara Hudson and Rainne Belanger will announce and advertise the new events. Sheila represents the 5th District in the Santa Cruz County Women’s Commission. The Project, Masks4SLV, has finished after making and distributing over 3,000 free masks. We have also been involved in pop-up Vaccination Clinics.

Connie DeNault, Emeritus Board Member, brought the Isadora Duncan Dance Workshop back in October to the delight of dancers. Connie plans a ”freedom of movement“ workshop for children in 2022 and another ‘Duncan Adult’ workshop. 

Environmental Committee, chaired by Nancy Macy, with ten members, meets the first Saturday of the month, some in person and by Zoom at the VWC office. They address environmental concerns impacting the Valley, including water, pollution, UCSC growth, transportation, Hwy 9 safety, post-fire rebuilding, and adapting events like the River & Road Cleanup and Environmental Town Hall to Covid-times. 

PG&E Sub-Committee: The ongoing effort is to mandate PG&E to do comprehensive modernization of its dangerous antiquated distribution and transmission systems, and to cease promoting the mythology that trees are the primary cause of wildfires that ‘justifies’ the removal of healthy, mature trees, even old-growth redwoods – while its wildfires only worsen. We continue to include working with the Sierra Club Wildfire Prevention Taskforce, supporting many trying to fend off PG&E, and making sure PG&E faces criminal prosecution and civil fines for the six CalFire Notices of Violation clearcutting strike-trees without permits after the CZU fire.

The Native Habitat Restoration Committee is Co-Chaired by Linda Skeff and Jane Mio. This past spring, the AmeriCorp, Team Fire 5 created a meadow under the solar panels of the Felton Water Treatment Plant abutting the Felton Library Discovery Park. The initial stage was completed, but labor-intensive work will be needed to continue for at least the next three years. In 2022 AmeriCorps teams will not be available, but the work on the meadow will continue coordinated with Carly Blanchard at the Water District. 

We have two major projects coming up. First, we will create new native-plant-pollinator gardens at the Senior Citizens Center at Highlands Park and then at the SLV Museum in Boulder Creek. A Kiosk at the Senior Center will serve to provide educational information on native habitat restoration about the unique ecosystem of the SLV. These gardens will also benefit the migrating birds and butterflies. 

Linda Skeff and Laurie Becker are developing a new website, near completion, for the SLV Native Habitat Restoration Program. Information in the new site will focus on how individuals can restore the habitats within the unique ecosystems of the San Lorenzo Valley. In addition, an extensive list of the plants found in the SLV will be a part of this website. 

Estuary Project under the guidance of Director Jane Mio and volunteers, many of them “houseless,” have been continuously working on the Estuary. The San Lorenzo River and its ecosystem is constantly under assault from humans, erosion, water, and weather. However, Jane and her crews have been able to bring some areas back. Jane has reached out to the City entities and leaders, nonprofit organizations, and community activists, as well as native plant nurseries, to create a site that sets the standard for community involvement and restoration. Rain or shine, Jane and her volunteers meet to weed, water, and plant sustainable native plants to restore the Estuary. The Project has also been working to reduce the lighting on the river bridges to restore and provide the nocturnal animals and birds their natural habitat.

We hope you feel your Valley Women’s Club is meeting your expectations. We will try to have the Annual Meeting in March; it will depend on Covid and its variants. We also hope to have our regular events: The Redwood Mountain Faire, June 4th and 5th, Hammer Marcum Awards, Environmental Town Hall, The Scholarship Rummage Sale, and the River and the Road Clean-up. There will be many opportunities to volunteer and be involved. We are developing an updated Volunteer list, so please let us know in the enclosed envelope if you are interested. 

This time of year, many organizations ask for donations; instead, we invite you to please update or renew your membership. And, thank you so much to our Legacy of Trees generous donors; the support and membership of all means we can continue our work supporting and nurturing our beautiful Valley. We look forward to seeing you soon! 

Most Sincerely, 

Alisan C. Andrews
President, Valley Women’s Club of the San Lorenzo Valley