August 19, 2026

G R E E N J O B S

How to Make Conservation a Career

On a warm, sunny, and breezy Saturday morning in June, two bright-eyed young men who happen to share the same name and passion — Johnathen Carmona (below) and Jonathan Lopez — lead a group of about a dozen volunteers through a stewardship workday at Cypress Grove Preserve on Tomales Bay. Carmona and Lopez are completing a six-month stewardship apprentice program with All Hands Ecology, a nonprofit that manages four North Bay preserves. Hoping to build careers in land management, they represent a growing sector of California’s economy. As climate change necessitates adaptation and restoration, the state is pouring billions of dollars into resilience projects and workers. Photo: Andrea Salazar/All Hands Ecology

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A School for Inclement Weather?

A day of study at the School for Inclement Weather typically begins with the sprinkling of bird seed on a community altar surrounded by the redwood and evergreen forests of Kaishia Pomo land in northwest Sonoma County. About 40 students spent much of the last year here participating in the second season of Attune, an earth stewardship immersion program. Facing major economic and environmental shifts, they’re seeking out a space where they can build community and develop climate resilience skills, both spiritual and practical. Participants can earn a Firefighter Type II and wilderness first aid qualifications — but the program offers much more than just training for “greener jobs.” Photo: David Hage

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R E C R E A T I O N

Raft of Resilience Projects Keeps Tahoe Blue

Long an outdoor haven for millions of Northern Californians, the Lake Tahoe area has been at the forefront of conservation and restoration efforts for decades. But few may know just how innovative the people tasked with taking care of this land can be. Today, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency — Team Tahoe — unites dozens of nonprofits and private partners, 21 state agencies, 12 federal agencies, five counties, and three conservation districts. Collectively, they have completed 909 projects costing $3.2 billion, with 100 more in the works. From beach-cleaning robots to the reintroduction of native trout, these efforts show how much collaboration can accomplish. Photo courtesy TRPA

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H E A T

Community Heat Clinic Helps Santa Rosa Residents Rethink Trees

As the sun broke through the morning fog in southwest Santa Rosa earlier this month, two dozen local residents convened in the gravel picnic ground of Bayer Park and Gardens to learn about monitoring and mediating heat. Their neighborhood — called Roseland — has been recognized by state officials as one of California’s most heat-burdened communities, which is largely attributable to its dearth of street trees and urban canopy. Now, it’s due for a climate mitigation makeover. To carry out this upgrade, the community planning group Greenbelt Alliance, along with Latino Service Providers, is facilitating the use of a $473,115 grant recently awarded by the state to develop an “extreme heat action plan.” Photo: Sadie Wilson

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C H A T T E R

Feds Meddling With Protections For California Coast

Activists and lawmakers packed a hearing room in Santa Monica last week to protest a relentless federal (Trump + NOAA) campaign to strip California’s authority over its natural resources and environment and allow new offshore oil drilling. KneeDeep’s Alex McCutcheon spent a recent afternoon along the Embarcadero asking people for their thoughts on the California coastline and this federal review. Art: Liana Finck

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Green Jobs Training

How Can I Get Clean, Green, Climate-Forward Job Training in the Bay Area?

With so many barriers to entering the green-jobs space, and so much hype about AI intruding on opportunities, KneeDeep created a list of regenerative job training, internships, apprenticeships, and fellowships in the Bay Area that pay you for your work and learning.