2 minute read
Foundation brings agriculture expert to county
By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Las Cumbres Ranch Foundation is sponsoring a regenerative ranching workshop featuring Alejandro Carrillo to be held Saturday and Sunday at Las Cumbres Ranch near Los Alamos.
Advertisement
This is the first in a series of events hosted by the Los Alamos-based nonprofit that will bring experts in regenerative agriculture, permaculture, holistic land management and soil health from around the world to the community to help regenerate the environment, restore the ecosystem and provide sustainable food security.
Mr. Carrillo is one of the foremost experts on holistic and regenerative agriculture practices. He manages his family’s Las Damas Cattle Ranch in Mexico’s Chihuahuan desert where, together with his fellow ranchers, he has helped transform more than one million acres of desert into grassland by implementing holistic and regenerative agriculture practices.
This has resulted in both increased rainfall and has returned the desert land to lush grasslands.
Mr. Carrillo is a delegate to the United Nations to Combat Desertification and Land Degradation. Experts stress that healthy grasslands are important worldwide because they are one of the largest sources of carbon sequestration. In addition to the workshop, Mr. Carrillo will be offering a free-to-the-public talk in partnership with the Santa Barbara Wine Collective at 6 p.m. Sunday at its location in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone, 131 Anacapa St. on natural surroundings and the food people consume.
“Our family has witnessed the impact of holistic and regenerative practices firsthand on our ranch. We are excited to learn more from someone like Alejandro who has been able to inspire so many folks to make changes in their own land from large ranches to small backyards,” said Stefan Selbert, operations manager at Las Cumbres Ranch.
The talk, “Healthy Soil, Healthy Food, Healthy People, Healthy Planet, The Positive Impact of Regenerative Practices,” will focus on sharing the benefits of these practices with consumers and will highlight their impact
SANTA YNEZ — The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians’ Environmental Department will hold its annual Chumash Earth Day event on April 15 at Kitiyepumu’ Park at 100 Via Juana Road, Santa Ynez.
The event is free and runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Attendees can enjoy familyfriendly activities, including arts and crafts, special appearances by Woodsy Owl and Smokey Bearraffles, and Asian-Indian cuisine.
Registration takes place at the event. The first 150 attendees to register will receive a swag bag with a T-shirt, fruit snacks, a globe keychain and plantable California poppy seed paper.
People are also encouraged to bring their gently used clothing for a clothing swap. For more information, contact Melissa Mercer at mmercer@chumash. gov.
Wynton Marsalis Septet
Tue, Apr 4 / 7 PM (note special time) / Granada Theatre
Major Sponsor: Sara Miller McCune
Event Sponsor: Jody & John Arnhold
Jazz Series Lead Sponsor: Manitou Fund
“The work Alejandro does empower consumers to better understand the impact of how the food they choose to purchase is raised or farmed. The more we learn and implement changes as a community, the more the impact will be.” email: mmcmahon@newspress.com