2025 Q1 Volunteer
Ariana Dorticos, Associate Biologist, Rivers & Lands Conservancy
The organization that I chose to volunteer with as Pax’s 2025 Q1 volunteer was Rivers and Lands Conservancy. Originally founded as Riverside Land Conservancy, Rivers & Lands Conservancy is a private nonprofit corporation, formed in 1989 to protect southern California landscapes that provide habitat and open space for wildlife and people for all future generations. During their 33-year history, Riverside Land Conservancy has been instrumental in acquiring and preserving over 14,500 acres of open space valued at over $82 Million. Many of these lands have been transferred to other conservation organizations such as the Bureau of Land Management, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, and the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority. RLC works cooperatively with cities, special districts, and other agencies, as well as with willing property owners in pursuing common goals to preserve and protect environmentally sensitive areas.
On this volunteer day, the goal was to install wooden stakes to stabilize the sand dunes that are home to the Delhi Sands Flower-Loving fly. The Santa Ana winds blow away and erode the sandy dunes that are necessary for the fly to lay its eggs. The stakes act as wind breaks and catch the loose sand.
We ended up accomplishing a lot! Two-thousand stakes were installed into the dunes. Additionally, California Buckwheat seeds were spread, previously planted buckwheats were watered, and trash was cleaned up. The next steps are to maintain the stakes by raising them as they become buried under the sand and replace the broken ones.
I’m grateful to have had this opportunity to help my local environment through Pax’s Sustainability Volunteer Initiative and Rivers & Lands Conservancy!
To learn more about the Rivers & Lands Conservancy please follow the link below: