For our Winter ‘Four Seasons’ contest the challenge subject is Conejo Valley wildlife (i.e., birds, reptiles, bugs, mammals, etc.). Deadline for entry is February 28, 2026. If you would like to enter future contests, here are the rules: Every season, we’ll identify a specific item (e.g., “an oak tree”) for Read more
On November 19, Jaclyn DeSantis, education program manager at the Ojai Raptor Center presented “Wild Neighbors: Raptors, Rehabilitation, and the Human Connection” as the final talk of 2025 in COSF’s popular Speaker Series. DeSantis is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator and she has seen at lot of injured birds during her 15 years Read more
Native Plantpalooza & Eco Fest is returning for a fourth year! Please join COSF for our free educational festival featuring dozens of eco-related exhibitors and fun activities for kids. The community event will be held rain or shine on Saturday, October 11, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Lakeside, Read more
Congratulations are due once again to Mike Moessl, who submitted this photo of a sunrise seen from the Lang Ranch Open Space for our Summer “Four Seasons” photo contest. Mike also won the Spring wildflower challenge with his photo of woolly blue curls. For Autumn ‘Four Seasons’ contest our challenge subject is Read more
Visit China Flat, Conejo Canyons, Rancho Sierra Vista or Satwiwa as the sun is rising. Watch in anticipation as it casts delicate morning light on the open canopy of the oak savanna, the frosted tips of wild oats and desiccated sagebrush—and wait. You just might see the unmistakable glimmer of Read more
Isabella Lee is COSF’s new 2025 Environmental Studies scholar. Isabella, who graduated from Thousand Oaks High School, replaces Greceldy Hau as the recipient of one of COSF’s two scholarship awards because Greceldy will be pursuing a college major other than environmental studies. Isabella says that her determination to work toward Read more
The 2025 Trails Education Days provided lessons on open space for 1,080 Conejo 4th grade students from all 17 CVUSD elementary schools during the week of April 28. Writing Contest The students who participate in Trails Education Days are invited to enter a letter-writing contest to describe some of the things they Read more
On May 2, an enthusiastic team of 15 Amgen staffers joined COSCA Rangers Joe and Kari and COSF President Bill Miller and board member Anne Russell for a morning clean-up at the Arroyo Conejo. The video of the work can be seen below. The Amgen group removed about one ton Read more
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 16. Having served with Cal Fire for the past 17 Read more
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 guest, Stangel presented “Coyotes Among Us.” Scroll down to watch Read more