Sequoia Riverlands Trust Protects The Land We Treasure

Volunteers pause for a moment atop a morning's worth of work at Kaweah Oaks Preserve, one of SRT's monthly stewardship days open to community members of all ages and abilities.

The drive to Kaweah Oaks Preserve takes you deep into the Central Valley, past peach trees and grapevines, surrounded by mountains and a big blue sky. It’s where the Sierra Nevada snow melts into rivers, where farms feed the world and where generations of families have built their lives.

The land's overwhelming beauty and ruggedness make it easy to understand the passion of those who protect it. People like Logan Robertson Huecker, PhD, Executive Director of Sequoia Riverlands Trust (SRT), a nationally accredited regional land trust. SRT’s mission is to conserve the lands and waters that define this extraordinary place.

“This land connects us all. We don’t just live on the land, we belong to it,” Logan said. “Part of belonging to the land is responsibility to care for it. That caring creates connection, which benefits both the land around us and the people who call it home.”

An aerial view of the Kings River winding alongside productive Central Valley farmland, a landscape made possible by the kind of voluntary conservation partnerships that keep working lands in agriculture for generations to come.

SRT cares for the land in many ways, protecting both natural habitat and agricultural land. They own and manage eight nature preserves throughout the Central Valley. They educate children and adults about why the land matters and how to care for it. They partner with farmers and ranchers through voluntary conservation agreements that keep working lands productive and ecologically healthy. 

They also operate the Dry Creek Nursery. The native plant nursery enables SRT to grow drought-tolerant plants that conserve water, support wildlife and protect the land.

Dry Creek Nursery is open to the public. You can view and purchase their plants here. 

SRT was awarded a catalyst grant through the Sierra San Joaquin Jobs (S2J2) Initiative to support the Dry Creek Native Plant Nursery. S2J2 is a four-county initiative aimed at fostering an inclusive, resilient and sustainable economy that creates quality jobs and provides equitable economic access to all across the Sierra San Joaquin region (Madera, Fresno, Tulare and Kings counties). The Central Valley Community Foundation serves as the fiscal agent for S2J2.  To learn more about S2J2, visit s2j2initiative.org.

Community partners and SRT staff celebrate the grand re-opening of Dry Creek Nursery, a working conservation space and living classroom where native plants, green careers, and habitat restoration grow side by side, made possible through the Sierra San Joaquin Jobs First Initiative.

To learn more about Sequoia Riverlands Trust, the Dry Creek Nursery, conservation, agricultural partnerships and their land preserves, visit sequoiariverlands.org.

This story is part of the Central Valley Community Foundation’s “Sixty Stories That Shaped Us” initiative to help mark 60 years since our founding. We invite you to join us in celebrating this milestone and this special place we call home. To learn more, visit centralvalleycf.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn @centralvalleycf.