February Newsletter
2026 DNATL Seed & Plant Exchange
Get ready for a jam packed day of gardening goodies: It’s almost time for the 5th annual Seed & Plant exchange (and scions too) happening March 21st at the Del Norte County Fairgrounds in the main building from 11-4pm . Delight your senses and get yourself and your garden ready for the growing season. With educational workshops, kids activities, raffles, art, plants and SEEDS this free event is sure to blow your galoshes off! Save the date! See you there!
Did you know that choosing seeds that have been grown and harvested in your own region is one of the best ways to ensure healthy, vigorous plants and a successful harvest?
You are invited to come receive seeds, free of charge, for an overflowing garden in the coming year. Thanks to donations from local community partners and seed savers, we have seeds of all kinds to share with our community.
Over successive generations, plants acclimate to the environment where they are grown in many ways. They adapt to things like day length, temperatures, rainfall, soil composition, and pests. All of these factors combined lead to more resilient, disease-resistant, productive plants.
And there aren’t just free seeds–there are free plants, too! Come check out our outdoor Plant Swap–no need to bring anything, but you are most definitely welcome to! Houseplant cuttings, potted plants, trays of seedlings–the more the merrier.
We Are Hiring
Find the full job descriptions and application instructions on our website at:
www.dnatlfoodcouncil.org/employment
Operations Director
This role ensures strong internal operations, financial and HR systems, and compliant grant management to support staff, partners, and the Board. Working closely with the Executive Director, the Operations Director strengthens organizational infrastructure and supports sustainable growth, allowing programs to focus on farmers, families, and community resilience. This is a leadership role for someone who enjoys building scalable systems and bringing clarity and accountability to a growing nonprofit.
Food Hub Manager
This role leads the launch and operation of a new aggregation and distribution facility, building systems and stewarding relationships across the local food economy. The Food Hub Manager oversees logistics including cold storage, transportation, Harvest Boxes, and institutional sales, helping ensure local food reaches schools, Tribes, institutions, and families. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone excited to shape infrastructure, support producers, and strengthen a resilient, community-driven food system.
We are Moving
The DNATL CFC team is moving to a larger space that will help us gather & grow. We are moving to:
510 E. Washington Blvd, Crescent City.
Our new mailing address is:
Del Norte & Tribal Lands Community Food Council
900 Northcrest Dr. PMB #79
Crescent City, CA 95531
We’re still getting our office space set up and don’t have regular office hours just yet. If you have gently used furniture—such as desks, bookcases, chairs, or couches—that you’d like to donate, we would gratefully accept it as a tax-deductible contribution. Please contact us at:
info@dnatlfoodcouncil.org
or call our office phone:
707 460-1606 and leave a message.
Taa-’at-dvn Chee-ne’Tetlh-tvm’Crescent City Food Forest
The Food Forest team has planned a Fruiting Perennials Workshop Series to be hosted at the Food Forest. This four part workshop series features two workshops on grafting techniques and two workshops on pruning. Terry Alloway is the instructor for three of these workshops and the other workshop will be instructed by Del Norte Master Gardeners.
The first workshop of the series was earlier this week. It was well attended by 24 adults and 3 Del Norte High School students!
The Food Forest stayed active throughout the winter months with the weekly Tuesday Garden Parties, a seasonal Swag Workshop, and a well-loved New Year’s Eve Celebration for families.
Volunteers supported hugelkultur beds with soil, compost, cover crop seed, and straw, transplanted celery from the hoop house, planted donated bulbs along the fence line, and helped prepare beds for winter rest. Despite rainy days, community members showed up consistently, welcoming new volunteers and youth into the space.
In December and January, 108 visitors engaged with the Food Forest, 127 items were harvested, and many generous donations were received, including fig trees, rose bushes, a blueberry bush, potatoes, and flower bulbs. Intern Hannah also completed her hours at the Food Forest.
As winter continues, work is underway to prepare the soil for the next growing season, organize upcoming workshops, expand learning stations, and strengthen compost systems.
School Gardens Programs
Crescent Elk Middle School and 'O Me-Nok Learning Center students planted more than a 1,000 seeds that are sitting right now in the Crescent Elk greenhouse, on the seed tables that Joe Gillespie helped build a year ago . Who is Joe Gillespie? The teacher who built this garden decades ago! These seeds will grow to provide food to 7 of our public schools. We would like to share what Aiden, our 7th-grade Garden Leader said: “It’s satisfying to work here. I work hard and see the results right away.”
New partnerships brought engaging workshops into classrooms. The Tolowa Dee~ni’ Nation’s Education and Natural Resources Departments presented to Smith River Elementary students on acorns and their importance in local Indigenous cultures, sparking interest from other school sites now hoping to host the same presentation. Collaboration with the district’s Title VI Program supported additional acorn lessons at Pine Grove and Bess Maxwell Schools, taught through the Yurok knowledge.
Our Junior Master Gardener pilot program is nearing completion, helping students learn about plants, soil, composting, gardening, and healthy eating, while giving us valuable insight into delivering this curriculum locally. This was done thanks to the Master Gardeners volunteer educators. Thank you!
28 students will graduate as Junior Master Gardeners!
Hands-on cultural learning continued at ‘O Me-Nok Learning Center through a guided lesson with the Yurok Tribe Sovereignty Program, while students at Smith River enjoyed making tamales during the ELOP after-school program using a family recipe shared by the school’s Family Engagement Liaison.
Family Resource Center of the Redwoods Food Bank
Contact Marina for new updates
As this 2025 Impact Report shows, the Pacific Pantry & Mobile Market have made a big difference in the well-being of our community.
As we face these uncertain times, please consider joining us to take action against hunger. Together, our actions help ensure our community has the food needed to thrive.
Help make a difference by donating today.
2026 California Small Farm Conference
Registration is officially LIVE for the 38th annual California Small Farm Conference.
Join us for our 38th annual gathering, a week of learning, inspiration and community featuring over 50 online workshops followed by a dozen in-person events around the state. Whether you’re a beginning farmer or a seasoned grower, a local food advocate or a farmers market manager, you’ll find something here for you.
To keep this event accessible for everyone, admission is on a sliding scale. When you register, simply choose the amount that works for you. If you’re able, consider giving a little more to help others attend.
CHECK OUT THE FULL PROGRAM HERE
Digging In Together: Small Farms, Deep Resolve
Our 2026 theme, “Digging In Together: Small Farms, Deep Resolve” celebrates the age-old perseverance of farmers as well as the collaboration we need now more than ever to ensure a just, sustainable, and abundant future for all.
What’s in store for 2026?
A full-day Spanish-language track, a full-day Farmers’ Market professional track, and various topic tracks for farmers including farm production, sales & marketing, business management, organics, ag policy & more.
Workshops include:
Agroforestry Across California
Urban Farming
Maximizing Farmers Market Sales
Cooperative Tool Lending
And so many more!
Tune into the first four days of virtual programming anywhere you can find an internet connection–at home, on the farm, while seeding trays in the greenhouse!
Then, join us for one of ten in-person gatherings around the state to connect with your local farm community, from San Diego to Humboldt, from the San Joaquin Valley to the East Bay.
Native Plants of the Klamath Mountains
Rework-Put retreat info in text box here to be more readable
Join Botanist Linda Ann Vorobik for a weekend retreat at Sandy Bar Ranch on the Klamath River in Orleans, CA. https://www.sandybar.com
For more information email mail@sandybar.com