Become a Certified California Naturalist

The 19th Amendment to the Constitution - granting women the right to vote - was certified on August 26, 1920. In commemoration of this, in 1973 Congress designated August 26 as "Women's Equality Day" to remind us of the heroic women who advanced the Women's Suffrage movement. In recognition of Women's Equality Day, Tuleyome is highlighting three women who are dedicated to conservation: Sheila Pratt (Cache Creek Conservancy), Corky Quirk (NorCal Bats and Yolo Basin Foundation), and Cathy Little (Yolo Habitat Conservancy). Please share in a round of applause for our friends for their passion and dedication to conservation.

The 19th Amendment to the Constitution - granting women the right to vote - was certified on August 26, 1920. In commemoration of this, in 1973 Congress designated August 26 as "Women's Equality Day" to remind us of the heroic women who advanced the Women's Suffrage movement. In recognition of Women's Equality Day, Tuleyome is highlighting three women who are dedicated to conservation: Corky Quirk (NorCal Bats and Yolo Basin Foundation), Sheila Pratt (Cache Creek Conservancy) and Cathy Little (Yolo Habitat Conservancy). Hear about Cathy's journey below and learn about Sheila here and Corky here. Please share in a round of applause for our friends for their passion and dedication to conservation. I received my Bachelor’s Degree at UC Davis in Plant Biology and immediately moved into environmental consulting when I graduated. For the next few years, I had the opportunity to botanize and see lands throughout California. I was working on large river projects and became interested in restoration of riparian habitat and decided to go back to school and get my master’s degree at Chico State. I continued working on restoration projects and started to be more interested in conservation work. I spent the last 16 years working for the Center of Natural Lands Management where I directly managed and acquired lands with listed species and sensitive habitats and led the northern California group. Recently I made a career move to the Yolo Habitat Conservancy where I am now contributing to conservation work in my local County. Through growing up in California I have been able to spend a large amount of time in vast beautiful wilderness areas, but have also witnessed conversion of many lands to development. I have always had a draw to natural lands and observing the amazing intricate ecosystems that they support. When I was working in environmental consulting on designing, building, and monitoring restoration sites, I saw these lands being transferred to entities that managed them in perpetuity, and I knew that I wanted to be part of the effort. I have spent most of my career now doing just that. Throughout my time working in conservation, I have had so many long-term field ecologists inspire me to continue doing this work. Watching others work tirelessly over many years to manage and protect natural lands, and collaborate and share their knowledge, has been so motivating. There is nothing more enjoyable than spending a day in the field with other ecologists and sharing enthusiasm about some small moment of observation, and always learning some new tidbit of information about a certain species or behavior or management tool. My advice to young women starting their career in the environmental/conservation/non-profit sector would be to just get out there and start gaining experience in whatever seems interesting and then collaborate and talk to as many people to learn about all the different opportunities. There are so many aspects of conservation and environmental work and the more time you spend working in it, the more you will be able to figure out how you want to contribute to the community as a whole. I would suggest taking as many opportunities as you can and working with as many different people as possible. Listening to people’s backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can be valuable in navigating your path. I would recommend always advocating for yourself, being open and honest about your abilities, and committing to and communicating your beliefs regarding your work.