Accomplishments

Our accomplishments towards preserving and promoting Conejo Open Space

Our mission is to promote and maintain the open space and trails of the Conejo Valley, and to educate people as to their roles as custodians and protectors of the open spaces and the environment. Towards that end, we collect funds from generous like-minded folks and help recruit volunteers. We are proud of our accomplishments, some of which are listed here.

To help us continue to improve the Conejo open space areas for everyone to enjoy, please consider making a charitable donation or volunteering some of your time to help. We give a hearty Thank-You to those who contribute towards making the Conejo Valley open spaces such wonderful places to visit!

Some of our accomplishments (View them all.)

An animal handler holds a large Eurasian eagle-owl. Native Plantpalooza & Eco Fest Stages a Successful Return October 7; See the gallery of photos! (10/11/2023) - Last year, COSF launched a live event as part of its popular Speaker Series: Native Plantpalooza & Eco Fest. This year Native Plantpalooza returned to Conejo Creek North Park on Saturday, October 7, an unusually warm day. Nonetheless, the free event, which featured beekeepers, butterfly experts, climate activists and other exhibitors with a commitment to the environment, drew a crowd… (read more...)
NPLD trail work at Rancho Potrero: What a success! (9/24/2023) - For National Public Lands Day on Sept. 23, about 40 people turned out to help clear weeds and invasive plants from the amphitheater and picnic area. This is where the old Olympia Farms was situated before COSCA created the Ranch Potrero Open Space Area. Some volunteers removed weeds from the amphitheater and picnic areas while other cut down fennel stalks… (read more...)
The 2023 Trails Education Days writing contest winners (6/17/2023) - The students who participate in Trails Education Days are invited to enter a letter-writing contest to describe some of the things they learned during their Trails Education Days experience. Two winners from each school and five Grand Prize winners district-wide are chosen to receive cash awards as well as recognition by the Thousand Oaks City Council and the CRPD Board… (read more...)
Conejo Open Space Challenge wrap-up and final photo gallery (6/12/2023) - The wrap-up celebration for those Challenge participants, with a prize give-away for those who completed it, was held Friday afternoon June 2. Included in the prizes were $200 of gift cards that were contributed by COSF. One lucky young woman won a mountain bike worth $1500, donated by Giant Bikes in Newbury Park. About 130 people completed all 10 trails… (read more...)
Athens Service waste bin How to do your garbage right: Tips from our Speaker Series “Trash Talk” experts, and the RECORDING of the presentation (3/31/2023) - If you took away nothing else from COSF’s March 29 Speaker Series panel “Talkin’ Trash: How to Do Your Garbage Right,” we hope you at least memorized these three numbers: 1-2-5. Those represent the types of single-use plastics that actually are recyclable. If you see a 1, 2 or 5 inside the chasing arrows on a container, it goes into… (read more...)
Repeat Winner: Randy Wagner Takes ‘Where in the Conejo’ Grand Prize Again! (12/23/2022) - This year, COSF’s popular “Where in the Conejo” monthly contest featured 12 trails or trailside phenomena, challenging contestants to identify them correctly. The previous year, we created a Grand Prize for whoever got the most answers correct. Randy Wagner of Thousand Oaks, who was last year's Grand Prize winner, answered 11 out of 12 “Where” questions correctly this year, besting… (read more...)
Sage Publishling volunteers at Conejo Canyons Trailhead Newbury Park, CA with COSF and COSCA Sage Publishing Volunteers Clean Up the Conejo Canyons Trailhead (10/30/2022) - Nine volunteers from Sage Publishing joined COSF board members Anne and Tania and COSCA rangers Joe and Ryan to clean up the Conejo Canyons Trailhead in Newbury Park on October 20. A short walk from Sage’s offices on Conejo Spectrum St., the trailhead was in need of attention not only because of windblown food wrappers and other debris, but because… (read more...)
COSCA Fall Trailwork Day 2022 John Kross Wishbone Trail COSCA Fall Trail Work Day 2022 Fixes Up the Wishbone Trail (10/28/2022) - An enthusiastic crowd of 55 volunteers turned out early on a cool, overcast morning to work on the Wishbone Trail behind the Westlake Village Community Park on October 15. The trail, which was completed a mere three years ago and is the newest in the Conejo Open Space system, needed clean-up due to hillside sloughing, as well as reshaping in… (read more...)
Board members at the COSF booth at Native Plantpalooza & Eco Fest Inaugural Native Plantpalooza & Eco Fest Draws Crowds of Plant Enthusiasts (10/26/2022) - On Saturday, October 1, COSF launched a live event as part of its popular Speaker Series: Native Plantpalooza & Eco Fest at Conejo Creek North Park. The first-year, free event, which was blessed with mild, sunny weather, featured beekeepers, butterfly experts, master gardeners, naturalists, and others.  Attendees enjoyed presentations from a distinguished lineup including master gardener and herbalist Laura Pasetta… (read more...)
View the recording of Betina Loudermilk’s talk about the plight of the Western monarch butterflies and what you can do to help them survive (6/10/2022) - For COSF’s summer 2022 Speaker Series virtual presentation on June 8, butterfly educator Betina Loudermilk of Betina’s Little Farm & Butterfly Garden gave a fact-filled presentation about the East and West Coast monarch migrations and lifecycles. She discussed the mysterious resurgence of the Western monarchs and the grave threats they still face. Loudermilk detailed her own experiences creating a butterfly… (read more...)