San Ramon expands nature programs at Crow Canyon Gardens, launches teen stewardship and birding offerings

Elise Lightfoot, recreation coordinator for historic properties and nature programs, told the Parks and Community Services Commission on June 11 that San Ramon has substantially expanded its nature-based recreation offerings since the city adopted the Parks, Trails, Open Space and Recreation Master Plan in 2020.

Lightfoot said the city added a full-time nature-focused recreation coordinator position in December 2022 and moved from a few seasonal offerings to a program portfolio that now includes summer nature day camps, a spring break day camp, preschool story time in parks, a teen environmental stewardship program, birding classes, letterboxing treasure-hunt events, volunteer workdays at Crow Canyon Gardens and a speaker series.

The coordinator said the department increased nature camp weeks from three weeks to six in 2023 and expanded to as many as 14 program types in 2025. "We went from three program offerings in year one to eight in year two and up to 14 this year," Lightfoot said. She added that by year's end the program count could reach about 20 offerings. Lightfoot also described partnerships with local organizations including Headwaters Science Institute, UC Master Gardeners, Contra Costa Resource Conservation District and Plantify.

Why it matters: the expansion responds to a stated community desire—captured in the 2020 master plan—to balance stewardship and public access to natural areas. Commissioners repeatedly pressed staff for enrollment detail, cost-recovery metrics and outreach plans for harder-to-reach groups such as teens.

Key details and follow-up

- Participation and repeat enrollment: Lightfoot said program registration counts are presented as total registrations (people may appear in multiple program counts). She told commissioners 52 children had returned for multiple weeks or years of nature camps, and several children attended programs five or six times.

- Teen programming: Lightfoot launched a teen environmental stewardship program in April 2025 that enrolled five teens in its first run. "I didn't have a goal for the first offering; I just wanted to see if any teens would sign up," she said. She said the fall target is about 20 teens.

- Birding and field biology: a recent birding class filled 27 of 30 spaces; staff cited San Ramon's location on the Pacific Flyway as an asset for expanding birding programs. Headwaters Science Institute has provided field-biology programming that draws participants from outside the city.

- Crow Canyon Gardens: staff reported revitalization work, volunteer growth, a Wassail event celebrating heritage apples, and partnerships (including a local 4-H club) that helped harvest fruit and process produce for educational programs. Staff said volunteers helped produce a quart of olive oil from trees planted in 2015.

- Cost recovery and marketing: Lightfoot said program cost recovery is modest now and that the department balances affordability with revenue needs. Outreach channels include a nature-program landing page on the city's website, the recreation guide, the City newsletter, San Ramon Patch and Peachjar school notices; word-of-mouth has also been important.

Commission reaction and next steps

Commissioners praised the expansion and urged continued outreach to boost teen enrollment, deeper engagement with schools, and stronger promotion in the recreation guide and through city channels. Staff said they will share age-breakdowns and registration detail on request and will pursue volunteer and partner recruitment to scale offerings.

Lightfoot described longer-term goals including urban nature programs, heritage-skills workshops (wool working, basketry), more birding dates, and expanding school field trips to Crow Canyon Gardens. She asked commissioners for feedback and remained on hand to provide follow-up data as requested.