Mirella Ramos
Bilingual Youth Programs Manager, Sonoma Land Trust

Throughout my career, my passion to serve our community, create spaces of belonging, and foster connections with nature has been at the heart of everything I do. As the youth programs manager for Sonoma Land Trust, I have the opportunity to invest in what I care about most. With support from Ag + Open Space, we facilitate programs that inspire, educate, and deepen relationships with nature.

Ag + Open Space continues to invest in our school field trip program, SLIME (Students Learning in Marsh Environments). The moments when I’m out at San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge – teaching children and their parents about our salt marshes, their role in climate resilience through the Land Trust’s restoration efforts, and exploring together to identify insects, flowers, and birds – keep my hope alive. As daunting and frightening as climate change and habitat loss may be, I am part of a community that persists in taking action and invests in our younger generations.

Access to outdoor spaces remains challenging and fraught with barriers – cost of entry, transportation, distance, and language accessibility, to name a few. The ongoing support from Ag + Open Space enables us to ensure that SLIME remains free, culturally relevant, and accessible by offering language-inclusive programming and full transportation scholarships.

Whether Ag + Open Space is partnering with Sonoma Land Trust to acquire and conserve land or funding community programs that ensure more equitable access to nature, they are answering the call of our community. Together, we are investing in nature and healthy communities while striving to cultivate a deep, reciprocal connection with both the land and each other. I’m proud to live in a county that values nature so deeply that it voted to create an Agricultural and Open Space District and continues to support its renewal.