In 2016, completion of the Pinole Creek Fish Passage Improvement Project at Highway 80 removed the only significant barrier to fish passage and hydrologically reconnected habitat in the upper watershed with the San Pablo and San Francisco Bay Estuaries. The Pinole Fish Passage Project is the capstone of a comprehensive, multi-year, habitat restoration effort. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on October 24th, 2016. It was a beautiful day to welcome the fish back to the I-80 culvert in Pinole!
Skills: Conservation tillage, integrated pest management, grant writing, project management, partnership building.
Fun Fact: Loves beekeeping and had a goat growing up by the name of Lady Ashley.
Emma grew up in Albemarle County, Virginia next to the Rivanna River on Monacan land. She received her Bachelor’s in International Business Administration and her Master’s in Global Business & Sustainability from Erasmus University in the Netherlands.
After spending several years in the renewable energy industry, Emma worked as the interim farm manager of a 15 acre regenerative flower farm on Maui. There, she learned invaluable lessons in ‘āina and environment from Indigenous and local leaders via Hawai’i Farmers Union United’s ‘Farm Apprentice Mentoring Program’.
Emma has experience conducting invasive species removal and designing and implementing field work plans. Additionally, she has managed an orchid nursery, a Moringa grove, and apiary. She served as a grant writer for a successful climate-smart agriculture program and enjoys working to unite stakeholders in the pursuit of shared goals.
At CCRCD Emma supports community-led watershed and agricultural conservation efforts in the interest of a sustainable and equitable future for people and planet.