LNV Family Learning Day-Napa Valley Community Forest

LNV Family Learning Day

Saturday, April 5, 2025

10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Join Leadership Napa Valley and the Napa Valley Community Forest for an exclusive family friendly experience. The event will begin at 10:00AM and include a learning experience followed by a community forest hike or opportunity to assist with ground preparation or planting of trees. Carpooling is encouraged due to limited parking. The area may be muddy, please plan footwear and attire appropriately.  

This event is limited to 30 individuals, children welcome. Cost is $15 per person for Dues Paying Alumni, Sponsors, and Class 37 members; and $25 per person for General Alumni.  Funds will be shared the Community Forest. 

About the Napa Valley Community Forest

Over the past two years, the Napa Valley Community Forest has worked with the City of St Helena, Sustainable St Helena, various schools and community groups, and the general public to plant native oaks and also redwoods in the effluent spray fields at the St Helena Wastewater Treatment Plant along Zinfandel Lane.

But… why? It all started with Napa RCD Board Member Paul Asmuth, his love for redwoods, and an idea for a community forest. In 2012, Paul worked with the City of St Helena to plant 400 redwood trees as a trial run to see if the idea of using effluent spray to irrigate trees would work. It did! Then in 2021 we worked with Paul and our partners to get volunteers and crews out to plant another 400, and by the end of 2022 about 1,800 redwoods were in the ground. This spring, we held a series of planting days at the Napa Valley Community Forest, including some student groups and a Community Oak Planting Day.

So what’s the long-term plan? Eventually, this site will be accessible to the public and will hook up to other trails in the area. As the trees grow and continue to re-establish healthy ecosystems in place of a fallowed field, the site will become a shady respite in the valley, with a native oak buffer along the Napa River. Paul’s vision is for this plot of land to become a true resource for the community that can be used not just for peaceful recreation open to all, but also to showcase healthy native ecosystems, act as a living classroom for local students, and help us move forward in a world with a fast-changing climate.