Open Space Speaker Series

We invite you to enjoy our selected guest speaker series – Free to the public!

Join the fun and enhance your knowledge of our Open Spaces, learn amazing facts about our local wildlife, regional geology, and our human connections to the land. You are sure to come away with a new appreciation of our region’s natural wonders!

All speaker presentations are held online via Zoom. If you have registered for an event, you will receive email instructions in the days leading up to the event on how to join the presentation.

To ensure your place in the audience, you must fill out our online sign-up form for this event!

Recordings of previous events will be accessible by way of the articles below. The event record is generally available a few days after the live event.

Forest expert Kim Corella discusses new threat to our Conejo Valley oaks—see her recorded presentation - Kim Corella, who is Cal Fire's Forest Pathologist with the Forest Entomology and Pathology Program for Southern California, addressed what could be a slow-moving disaster for our Coast Live Oaks in her Speaker Series talk "Oaks in Peril" on April… (read more...)

Wildlife educator Dana Stangel examines how humans and coyotes can peacefully coexist—see her recorded presentation - Dana Stangel, founder and executive director of Teranga Ranch Wildlife, shared her expertise and advice about how to live side by side with our most visible urban canid, the coyote. On January 29, 2025, as COSF’s first 2025 Speaker Series… (read more...)

Dana Stangel Speaker Series ‘Coyotes Among Us’ POSTPONED to January 29 - We sincerely apologize, but widespread power outages today mean that we need to reschedule the online presentation, “Coyotes Among Us,” to Wednesday, January 29. The presentation will starts at 7:00 pm as previously planned. If you have already registered, the Zoom… (read more...)

Third Annual Native Plantpalooza & Eco Fest Drew Enthusiastic Crowds - COSF launched Native Plantpalooza & Eco Fest in the fall of 2022 with the goal of producing a free outdoor live event to celebrate and support the Conejo Valley’s rich biodiversity. The community festival’s goal is to educate and inspire… (read more...)

Dr. Thom Davis Reveals the Conejo Valley’s Explosive Geologic History. See the Recording Here - Dr. Thom Davis, a California State registered geologist and founder and director of the nonprofit Geologic Maps Foundation, was the second guest in COSF’s 2024 Speaker Series on September 18, with his presentation "Trail Geology: A Look at Rock Formations, Faults and Landscapes in… (read more...)

Hummingbird expert Dr. Julie Morley explains how you can help these tiny birds—view her recorded webinar presentation here - Dr. Julie Morley's talk focused on understanding hummingbirds’ biology and habits so people can cultivate safer and more welcoming habitats for them. (read more...)

Landscape Expert Shares Guidelines for Gardening with Natives—and Why. See the Recording Here - Erik Oberg, owner of native-plant landscape design company Acorn Design Studios and chair of the Conejo Valley Audubon Society's Conservation Committee, gave a talk in December 2023 about native plant gardening to a group of COSF open space enthusiasts. He… (read more...)

Water expert Jennifer Lancaster explains ‘weather whiplash’ phenomena –plus a recording of the presentation. - On June 28, Jennifer Lancaster, MS, appeared as COSF’s second guest in the 2023 Speaker Series as part of our special “Sustainability” theme. In “Water: Where it comes from, how we use it, where it goes—and why it matters” Lancaster, who… (read more...)

How to do your garbage right: Tips from our Speaker Series “Trash Talk” experts, and the RECORDING of the presentation - 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… (read more...)

Inaugural Native Plantpalooza & Eco Fest Draws Crowds of Plant Enthusiasts - 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… (read more...)