As a local land trust, Greenspace is committed to ensuring the environmental and cultural well-being of Cambria and San Luis Obispo County’s beautiful North Coast for residents, visitors and future generations. We have three primary tasks: land preservation, environmental education, and resource and ecosystem advocacy.
Greenspace acquires ecologically important land by purchases or gifts and we restore and protect it as preserves and pocket parks. We provide education about the North Coast area’s environmental resources, history and challenges through an Environmental Education program funded by the Harold J. Miossi Charitable Trust, monthly newsletter, Speakers Series, guided walks, a quarterly newspaper column, forest and creek workshops and special events. We also advocate publicly for the health of our natural resources and protection of local native plant and wildlife habitats.
Greenspace is a proud member of The Hub - ECOSLO's Coalition of environmentally minded organizations and groups in San Luis Obispo County.
John Seed, President
Amanda Gowdy, Vice President
Dewayne Lee, Treasurer
Robert Reid, Secretary
Mary Webb
John Zinke
Wayne Attoe
Ellen Leigh
Bob Fountain
Scott Anderson
Ali Wolman is a marine biologist and educator from San Diego, Ca and the newest addition to the Greenspace Cambria team. Ali is assisting the Greenspace staff and board of directors in office operations, support raising, digital communications and education programs.
Before joining Greenspace, Ali worked at the Coastal Discovery Center at San Simeon Bay as an educator and volunteer coordinator for 3 years. Before that, she worked as a research assistant in the Ruttenberg lab at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She earned her B.S. in Biological Sciences in 2018 with concentrated studies in marine biology, ecology and conservation. Ali lives in San Luis Obispo with her roommates, her frog, and too many houseplants.
Rick Hawley was Greenspace’s founding executive director, retiring from that role in 2014.
Rick served as a founding member of the statewide Pitch Canker Task Force, which included scientists and public policy experts from universities, agencies and the private sector, in addition to being a past member of the California Oak Mortality Task Force. He helped organize the fight against pitch canker and sudden oak death (SOD) and their devastating effects in California.
He was a founding board member of the San Luis Obispo Fire Safe Council and the Cambria Forest Committee. He also served on the boards of the Planning and Conservation League and the Land Ethic Action Foundation and has been a member of the San Luis Obispo County Water Resources Advisory Council.
Rick has a background in construction and project management. He supervised fish passage restoration projects in Santa Rosa Creek and restoration of the Greenspace Creekside Reserve’s historic Chinese Temple.
Rick also organized numerous neighborhood fundraising campaigns to purchase and permanently protect over 15 properties in Cambria.
Robert S. Cichowski has devoted most of his professional career to helping to ensure that young and old alike become scientifically and mathematically literate citizens.
Since becoming Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and Science Education from Cal Poly State University (aka retired), his focus has been working with Greenspace to share with K-12 students the uniqueness of Cambria’s Monterey pine forest and helping them to understand how they can participate in the preservation of this marvelous environment.
His career at Cal Poly spanned 40 years. In 2004 he served as the first Director of the University Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education (CESaME). He served as Associate Director of Teacher Education and Public School Programs at the California State University Office of the Chancellor. He has been Chair of the Cal Poly’s Liberal Study Department, the department housing the major taken by future elementary school teachers. He has been director of the Cal Poly site of the California Science Project, a state-wide summer teacher professional development program. He and his students have received four National Science Teachers Association awards for tying children’s literature to science. With colleagues he shared a Christa McAulliff Excellence in Education Award for a teacher preparation program called S.E.E.D.S. (Science Enrichment and Educational Demonstration School). He has received Cal Poly’s Distinguished Teacher Award.
He started his career as a research chemist for Philips Petroleum Company and holds 12 patents. He has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering (Purdue University) and a Ph. D. in Ceramic Science (Alfred University).
Learn more about Greenspace Cambria's environmental advocacy programs including environmental education, reforestation and land acquisition.
Get to know Greenspace's conservation work and explore the network of preserves and pocket-parks we have acquired.
Want to know how you can get involved in Greenspace's environmental advocacy efforts? There are many ways to support our environmental work! Whether you share our backyard or our values, we welcome you to join our growing community.
Copyright © 2018 Greenspace - The Cambria Land Trust - All Rights Reserved.
PO Box 1505, Cambria, CA 93428
805 - 927 - 2866 | info@greenspacecambria.org