Our Programs
The Santa Ynez Valley Natural History Society is a general interest natural history organization focused on education. As a result, its field trips and lectures cover a wide variety of subjects: botany, ornithology, geology, and ecology, to name just a few. You can check out our past offerings under the drop-down menu of Programs. You can also view past lectures that have been recorded; links are within the lecture posts.
Since its inception in 2000, the Society has offered six to eight field trips per year, with the trips roughly divided into fall and winter/spring. In addition, the Society offers approximately six lectures per year supplemented by workshops when applicable. Lectures are free to the public.
Field trips are one of the primary ways we fulfill our mission. In order to take advantage of ideal outdoor weather in the valley, the field trips tend to be clustered in the months of March through May and October and November.
The vast majority of field trips have been located within an hour’s drive or less from towns in the valley. The Society does offer trips that venture outside the Santa Ynez Valley region, although these have been limited in number.
The SYVNHS announces its field trips on this website, via emails to members and friends, and in its bi-annual programs bulletin, Magpie Calls, which is published online after the new year and in September. Members may sign up for email notice of publication.