Taft Gardens & Nature Preserve

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Taft Gardens & Nature Preserve

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11/07/2024

Join us for Stargazing with Russell Crotty and Laura Gruenther.

Thursday, November 7, 2024
5:00PM - 9:00 PM

Taft Gardens invites you to explore the night sky with visiting artist and astronomy enthusiast Russell Crotty, along with assistance from his wife Laura Gruenther.

Perched above the renowned Gardens, the Mesa is the perfect locale for night sky observing. Take in the beauty of the site as dusk falls. Once it gets dark, we will look through various telescopes, including an 8-inch diameter Newtonian, a 9.25 diameter Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain, and a 12.5-inch diameter Dobsonian.

Tickets can be purchased by following the “Events” link in our bio or going to taftgardens.org/events.

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10/24/2024

Join us for a unique nature education experience guided by Lanny Kaufer.

This Saturday, October 26th
9am-11am

Saturday, November 23rd
10am-Noon

Saturday, December 14th
10am-Noon

Come explore the trails of the Taft Nature Preserve, only accessible through guided tours! With Lanny Kaufer leading the way, we'll identify native plants, observe birds, and examine animal tracks within our local ecology. Lanny's mission is to help people connect with the natural world, starting with plants. As the author of "Medicinal Herbs of California: A Field Guide to Common Healing Plants," he has been leading herb walks, nature hikes, and workshops in Southern California since 1976. Don't miss this chance to learn from a seasoned expert and deepen your understanding of nature. Grab your tickets now and join us for an insightful journey through our local ecosystem!

The link to tickets in our bio under "Events"

06/24/2024

Join us on June 28th 8pm for an evening of Stargazing with Russel Crotty, along with assistance from his wife Laura Gruenther. Learn to explore the relationship between humans and their environment through understanding the celestial bodies that surround us. Tickets available at Taftgarden.org/events

06/03/2024

Join us on June 5th at 8pm for an evening of Stargazing with Russel Crotty, along with assistance from his wife Laura Gruenther. Learn to explore the relationship between humans and their environment through understanding the celestial bodies that surround us. Tickets available at Taftgarden.org/events

05/18/2024

We are two weeks away from our Annual Art in Nature Fundraiser and Artist-in-Residence Exhibitions. This year, we are showing all seven artists, a first for our young residency. In the spotlight today is Amun Levy, a Motion Graphics artist who will be showing a site-specific installation in the Studio Garden.

“Digital Flora is an installation of video displays that showcases the intersection of nature and technology. Here, the past meets the future, and the artificial merges with the organic. These digital artifacts are ‘planted’ in the garden, morphing and pulsating, mirroring the natural elements of Taft Gardens. Inspired by Fibonacci patterns in flowers, creek flows, and wind through the tall grass, this experimental installation of organic explorations conveys form, movement, and a sense of this place within the digital realm.”

Tickets links for our annual Art In Nature Residency Exhibition Openings are on our website under “Events.” A link to that page is in our bio under “Events.”

Both events are June 1, 2024.

The Daytime Artist Residency Exhibition Openings (Free but Ticketed) from 11 am - 3 pm, is SOLD OUT. But we are accepting waitlist requests. Email: [email protected] to be added.

The Fundraiser Dinner, Exhibition Openings, and Performance
from 5 - 8 pm is almost sold out. If you want to join this incredible group of local artists, now is the time to get tickets!

The Exhibition will feature:

Two-person Exhibition in Taft’s Historic Art Studio by Stephanie Dotson & Madeleine Ignon

Musical Performance by Scott Hirsch

Solo Installation in the Protea Studio by Vanessa Wallace Gonzales

Site-Specific Installations in the Gardens by Rosemary Hall , Eliot Spaulding , and Amun Levy ..
Art by Amun Levy
Portrait by Marc Alt

04/03/2024

Condors were spotted at Taft Gardens! Witnessing a group of condors passing over Taft Gardens & Nature Preserve last month was exhilarating. And it was special for our friend to document this momentous occasion as we prepare for Taft Gardens' brand new event, Intro to Birding, April 6th and 13th!

Once on the brink of extinction, California condors are now making a remarkable recovery. They once ranged from British Columbia, Canada, to Baja California, Mexico. They can live up to 60 years and have a wingspan as large as 10 feet across. In 1982, only 23 condors survived worldwide. The causes of the decrease in condors included poisoning, shooting, habitat degradation, and the collection of eggs and feathers. However, by 1987, all remaining wild condors were placed into a captive breeding program in an effort to save the species from extinction. In 1992, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began reintroducing captive-bred condors to the wild. In 2004, the Recovery program reached an important milestone with the first successful chick hatched in the wild. In 2008, more California condors flew free in the wild than in captivity for the first time since the program began. Each wild condor is outfitted with a visual ID tag and at least one radio transmitter. Some birds are also given GPS transmitters. These allow biologists to track the movements and behaviors of the flock using radio telemetry and GPS mapping. As of December 31st, 2022, the total wild, free-flying population was 347, with 9 wild-fledged chicks and 31 newly released into the wild from captivity. If you want to identify or learn more about a tagged bird in the wild, visit CondorSpotter.com.

Condor facts from www.fws.gov and www.nps.gov

03/19/2024

New Event Alert! Join us for our newest event offering, Intro to Birding guided by local avian biologist Peter Larramendy! We kick off this new event with two opportunities to attend: April 6th in the Taft Nature Preserve and April 13th in the Botanical Garden. Tickets at www.TaftGardens.org/Events

The male Hooded Orioles, pictured here, are just beginning to settle in and we are counting on the females following closely behind. You can find Taft Gardens & Nature Preserve on E-Bird.org where members of Ventura Audubon recorded 39 species on their March 16th visit!

Participants will learn the basics of birding, such as common birds of the Ojai Valley, diagnostic field marks, important habitat types of the Ojai Valley and those around Taft Gardens, and much more! Peter has over ten years of professional experience working in avian studies around southern California. Whether you're new to birding or a seasoned enthusiast, our event will deepen your connection to nature and enhance your understanding of bird conservation. Join us for an informative and enjoyable adventure through the Taft Gardens Nature Preserve as we explore the diverse avian life that calls it home.

03/12/2024

Join us for our first guided event of the season with Lanny Kaufer's Spring Equinox Walkabout this Sunday March 17th!

"Walkabout" is a term rooted in traditional Australian culture, symbolizing a temporary return to a simpler way of life, often undertaken during intervals between modern societal obligations. This is the essence of what Kaufer has orchestrated for you in observance of the spring equinox. Commencing in the Australian section of Taft Gardens and ascending into the Nature Preserve towards a vista point adorned with a four-directions stone circle, you will embark on a three-hour respite from contemporary existence to embrace nature, bask in the sunlight, and reconnect with the timeless wisdom of our forebears.

Tickets at www.TaftGardens.org/Events

03/10/2024

The grass is green, the flowers are blooming and March guided event tickets are up on our website! Go to www.TaftGardens.org/Events to get your tickets for our guided event offerings for the month of March.

Pictured here, a blooming ceanothus with the T**a T**a mountains in the background! 📸.nicklin

02/12/2024

We're back open this week! Another storm is on its way this weekend, but in the meantime, we've got beautiful weather so come see us while the sun is shining! Remember to use coupon code: ALOE2024 for 50% off your Self-Guided Visit through February.

Santa Ana Creek does still have a couple inches of water flowing over the road but it's safe for cars to pass VERY SLOWLY over the crossings. We recommend vehicles with 6 inches of clearance or more from the ground. Feel free to reach out with your vehicle details and we can walk you through our current conditions, protocols and restrictions. Remember we're open to visit by reservation only and Taft Gardens is not navigable by GPS, you need the directions and temporary gate code provided after booking your reservation.

It may be harder than usual to get here, but this Aloe Season is well worth the effort.

See you in the garden!

01/22/2024

Each year, Taft Gardens chooses one Invitational Artist-in-Residence for a one-month residency. That person is either at a peak in their career or uniquely compatible with the program, and we are interested in what they might create, given special access to the gardens.

This residency season, we invited multidisciplinary artist Vanessa Wallace-Gonzales , whom we first discovered through her cover story in LUM Art Magazine and then in a group show at the where she was working with plants that we grow here at Taft.

Wallace-Gonzales uses elements of mythology to explore her multiracial identity and connections between body and nature. Her visual language encompasses vibrant self-portraits created from clay, cyanotypes, paper, plants, resin, and various natural pigments, which she then incorporates into small and large-scale installations.

She has spent the last month exploring the grounds for plant specimens and sculpting her likeness in blue porcelain. These components will be part of an installation she will share with us at the end of the residency season.

Save the Date: Wallace-Gonzales will mount a solo exhibition in the Protea Studio for our annual fundraiser on June 1, 2024...

All Photos by

Graphics by ..

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01/15/2024

Join us this Sunday at the Ojai Valley Museum for a Town Talk with Taft Gardens Founder, John Taft!

Town Talks are an ongoing event series featuring moderated cultural conversations with fascinating locals. Sunday’s conversation will center around John’s love of nature and how it became the springboard for the creation of Taft Gardens. Moderating the discussion will be John Taft's granddaughter and President/CEO of Taft Gardens, Jaide Whitman along with founder of the Taft Artist Residency program, Cassandra C. Jones. This Town Talk will kick off a series of events this year in celebration of Taft’s 90th birthday!

See you there Sunday Jan 21 from 4:30-6pm. Free to museum members and $5 for the general public. Buy your ticket at the door. More information here: https://www.ojaivalleymuseum.org/town-talks

Address

Ojai, CA
93023

Telephone

+18056492333

Website

http://www.taftgardens.org/

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