The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority teamed up with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area to raise awareness of the importance of irreplaceable landscapes at a community celebration in Morgan Hill this past weekend.
The event took place Oct. 14 at the newly opened Máyyan ‘Ooyákma – Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve, located off Malech Road.
Attendees and families of all ages spent the day enjoying short hikes, making butterfly wings (which the younger participants donned later in the day), safely viewing the annular eclipse and learning about the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and the OSA’s efforts to preserve the Coyote Ridge lands.
A number of activity booths were set up throughout the preserve parking lot, including presentations of rescued, unreleasable wild animals by the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center.
Located at the base of the Diablo Mountain Range, the Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve is the newest OSA property opened to the public.
“We really want the public to know, these lands belong to them,” said OSA General Manager Andrea Mackenzie. “We and our partners have preserved over 1,800 acres of beautiful hillside serpentine habitat, home to many, many species, some of them found nowhere else on the planet.”
Mackenzie noted that the OSA named the new Coyote Ridge preserve in honor of the native people who stewarded the lands for generations, long before the region was settled by outsiders.
The 1,859-acre preserve includes about five miles of new walking trails for public use. The preserve connects to more than 1 million acres of surrounding lands that have gained permanent preservation status through the efforts of OSA and other organizations.
For more information about the Máyyan ‘Ooyákma – Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve, including how to visit the property, visit tinyurl.com/2nr97ue7.
