Volunteering

 

Pie Ranch welcomes volunteers onto the farm every week to help with harvests, land restoration, and more.

Volunteers have been an essential part of our repair and regeneration efforts after the CZU August Lightning Complex fire burned through Pie Ranch in 2020 and continue to be of immense help! We welcome volunteers onto the land:

Tuesday from 1pm to 4pm

Thursdays from 9am-12pm

The third Saturday of the month 2pm-5pm

Types of volunteer work depend on what needs to get done on the farm each day. Volunteers help the farm team with weeding, harvests, culling and irrigation, emphasis on the weeding! There is also maintenance work to be done— cleaning up areas that have been damaged by the wildfire, removing debris, and renovating living and working spaces for staff. The majority of our volunteer opportunities are hard but gratifying physical labor on the farm. Most jobs require heavy lifting, squatting and bending, lots of walking and a full day out in the sun, wind, or other coastal weather.

Be ready for your volunteer shift by bringing the following gear with you to Pie Ranch:

  • Water bottle

  • Sun hat

  • Sunscreen

  • Work clothes (ones you don’t mind getting dirty or worn out)

  • Sturdy shoes for field work

  • Gloves

  • Lunch and snacks

Volunteer tasks are weather-dependent, but we work on the farm rain or shine. If you are sensitive to harsh weather, please check the weather before your visit and plan accordingly.

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Weed ‘Em Outs at Cascade Ranch

In partnership with the Amah Mutsun Land Trust (AMLT), we host regular Weed ‘Em Out events at neighboring Cascade Ranch. Come join us in our efforts to restore Cascade Creek through removing invasive eucalyptus plants!

Invasive, non-native plant species threaten the health of natural ecosystems by outcompeting native plants and disturbing animal habitats through limiting biodiversity and available resources. Weed ‘Em Out was created as a response to persistent eucalyptus sprouting in Cascade Creek, which lies in an area of high biological richness and represents an important habitat connection for a wide variety of flora and fauna, as well as a culturally significant food source. Pie Ranch and AMLT have been working to restore the riparian corridor to heal this ecosysytem. Their work is based in compassion for and solidarity with the land, through conscious stewardship efforts, and we invite you to join to find out more!

The next Weed ‘Em Out is on Saturday, March 9th. Stay tuned for more info.