Save Mount Diablo opens its Mangini Ranch Educational Preserve to the public
Saturday, April 2nd, 2022
Students gather around a giant oak at the Mangini Ranch Educational Preserve. Photo: Scott Hein.
First of its kind in Contra Costa County; 207.8-acre preserve available for free to local schools, groups
By Laura Kindsvater, Communications Manager, Save Mount Diablo
On March 30, 2022, Save Mount Diablo opened its Mangini Ranch Educational Preserve to the public, the first of its kind in Contra Costa County. People gathered at a special ceremony at the preserve during which Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan and Save Mount Diablo Board President Jim Felton cut the ribbon to celebrate the opening.
The 207.8-acre preserve is situated between the Crystyl Ranch residential development in Concord and Lime Ridge Open Space in Walnut Creek.
Save Mount Diablo’s Mangini Ranch Educational Preserve is available for reservations free of charge to a variety of local schools and community groups, of all ages and backgrounds, pursuing educational purposes. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
- environmental science classes
- nature photography courses
- yoga classes
- plein-air artists gatherings
- addiction recovery groups
- acoustic music in nature ensembles
- meditation classes
- grief counseling support groups
- church groups
- homeowners association groups
- hiking, trail running, and mountain bike clubs
Interested groups can submit a request to reserve the property for a day up to six months in advance by utilizing the online form on Save Mount Diablo’s website. The size of a group must be at least three people to no larger than 100 people. The preserve is day-use only (no camping). The preserve is day-use only (no camping). Location and access will be provided upon reservation. A docent will be on-sight to provide access, an overview of the property and any assistance.
The preserve includes grassland, stream canyons, blue oak woodland, chaparral, and oak savannas.
It’s home to rare species such as the northernmost stand of desert olive, rare Hospital Canyon larkspur, and threatened Alameda whipsnake. Deer, coyote, burrowing owls, kestrels, and lots of other wildlife live here too.
The preserve’s high ridgeline provides views of most of central Contra Costa County and to Marin, Sonoma, and Solano counties.
As you move away from the staging area of the preserve and into the open space along Galindo Creek and up the ridgeline, the sounds of cars and radios fade. They become birdsong and gentle breezes rustling through trees.
Here you will find you are transported into another space where senses are heightened and connecting to nature is inevitable.
About Save Mount Diablo
Save Mount Diablo is a nationally accredited, nonprofit land trust founded in 1971 with a mission
to preserve Mount Diablo’s peaks, surrounding foothills, watersheds, and connection to the Diablo Range through land acquisition and preservation strategies designed to protect the mountain’s natural beauty, biological diversity, and historic and agricultural heritage; enhance our area’s quality of life; and provide educational and recreational opportunities consistent with protection of natural resources. To learn more, please visit www.savemountdiablo.org.
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