A farm tour changes the questions people ask. A flooded field becomes something more specific: a place where a grower manages water, prepares for the next crop, and makes room for wildlife. Visitors can see the connections that disappear when agriculture is discussed only in acres, yields, or water deliveries.
Davis Ranches in Colusa has made that kind of encounter part of its public outreach. Its Bird Day brings people onto a working ranch to learn about birds and the landscape that supports them. The ranch describes the event as a February gathering with birdwatching, a restoration presentation, lunch, and a ranch tour. Visitors should check with the ranch for current dates and arrangements. Davis Ranches outreach programs (opens in a new tab).
A working farm as a classroom
Bird Day gives the public an entry point into decisions farmers make throughout the year. Why is one field flooded while another is dry? How does a planted field edge fit into the operation? What must happen before equipment can return in spring?
Those questions are useful because they connect habitat to management. Seeing birds is the beginning of the conversation; understanding the work behind the landscape is what makes the visit memorable.
The ranch's outreach also includes farm tours, Colusa County Master Gardener activities, and participation in the Center for Land-Based Learning's SLEWS program. Together, these activities offer different ways to learn about the same place, from orchard care to student involvement in restoration. Davis Ranches community activities (opens in a new tab).
SLEWS gives high school students repeated contact with a restoration project. Its model combines three field days with hands-on work and ecological learning, bringing students together with educators, landowners, and project partners. Returning to a site helps students understand that restoration requires follow-through: a planting day begins a process that continues as plants establish and conditions change. Center for Land-Based Learning (opens in a new tab).
John Brennan and public conversations about farming
John Brennan's involvement in outreach is also documented through Robbins Rice Company. In November 2014, he joined UC Davis researcher Carson Jeffres for a presentation to Woodland Rotary about the Nigiri Project, which investigates seasonal rice fields as habitat for juvenile salmon. The event brought a farming partner and a scientist into the same conversation with a local community group. Robbins Rice Company's account of the Rotary presentation (opens in a new tab).
School visits offered another route into that work. A 2015 Robbins Rice report describes Davis's Willett Elementary sixth graders visiting the Knaggs Ranch project and helping gather field information during the preceding winter. A research question that might sound abstract in a classroom became something students could investigate outdoors. Students at the Nigiri Project (opens in a new tab).
These examples show why outreach belongs alongside the practical work of land stewardship. Farmers explain operating constraints. Researchers explain what they are testing. Students and neighbors bring questions that specialists may overlook.
Making stewardship visible
For landowners considering an educational visit, a clear purpose helps. A short walk focused on one water-management decision can be more informative than a tour that tries to cover everything. Explain what visitors can observe, what remains uncertain, and how the activity fits the farm calendar.
Davis Ranches Bird Day and the outreach around Robbins Rice show the value of that approach. They create opportunities to understand a working landscape through the people who manage and study it.
Explore our approach to land stewardship and the relationships between agricultural operations, habitat, and community.