The Calypso Orchids are Blooming

Calypso orchid (Dianne Fristrom — CalPhotos)

I rode Bittner Road out of Occidental with my family last weekend on our way to Doran Beach and spotted Calypso orchids (Calypso bulbosa) blooming under the redwoods. I love spotting them at this time of year — and all the more so because I never knew any of these beautiful little orchids grew in Sonoma County until very recently even though I grew up traveling these roads (I developed my botanizing skills after college even though I liked plants and flowers from an early age, so perhaps I just didn’t know what to look for at the time).

I spotted my first Calypso orchids only last year, on Harrison Grade Road, west of Graton and enjoyed seeing them again as I cycled to catch up with the rest of my family. I’ve been surprised by a number of interesting plants that I likewise never noticed until returning to Sonoma County, such as pussy ears (Calochortus tolmiei), which also favors the redwoods, another Calachortus, golden globe lillies  (C. amabilis — also known as golden fairy lanterns) around Lake Sonoma, and the showy canyon larkspur (Delphinium nudicaule) – which we also spotted on our ride as we returned on Coleman Valley Road. 

Pussy ears (© Br. Alfred Brousseau, Saint Mary’s College — CalPhotos)

Golden fairy lantern (© Br. Alfred Brousseau, Saint Mary’s College — CalPhotos)

Canyon larkspur (© Br. Alfred Brousseau, Saint Mary’s College — CalPhotos)

 

Complete Streets Advisory Committee Appointed

After a very long wait, the Sebastopol Complete Streets Advisory Committee is a reality and the City is the first . After interviews with the City Council, I was among the seven members appointed at the May 1st City Council  meeting:

Larkin Morgan

Jim Fain

Lynn Deedler

Walter Muelken

Carmen Sinigiani

Jeffrey Diamond

Geoffrey Skinner

Some of the new members are members of Bike-Walk Sebastopol, but we’ll have other voices as well. Since the ordinance provided the basic framework, but not the details, our first order of business will be setting a meeting schedule and venue. The City Council will provide some issues for the Committee to look and a number more will come from past Bike/Walk Sebastopol discussions. I will continue to serve as the liaison to the Sonoma County-wide Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. I’m very pleased to serve in an official capacity.

We are the first official city Complete Streets advisory group in Sonoma County, and likely in the State. California requires all cities with 10,000 or more residents to the have a Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory group; an advisory group for smaller cities is option. Sebastopol is not only taking the initiative to take the option, but stepping up as a leader in looking beyond the relatively narrow pedestrian and bicycle issues. The Complete Streets Coalition notes:

The streets of our cities and towns are an important part of the livability of our communities. They ought to be for everyone, whether young or old, motorist or bicyclist, walker or wheelchair user, bus rider or shopkeeper. But too many of our streets are designed only for speeding cars, or worse, creeping traffic jams.Now, in communities across the country, a movement is growing to complete the streets. States, cities and towns are asking their planners and engineers to build road networks that are safer, more livable, and welcoming to everyone.Instituting a Complete Streets policy ensures that transportation planners and engineers consistently design and operate the entire roadway with all users in mind – including bicyclists, public transportation vehicles and riders, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.

Thank you, Sebastopol City Council.

Related articles

• Complete Streets Advisory Committee Gets Final Approval (Finally!) (socolife.wordpress.com)