Years of mistrust dissolved into smiles at the Oct. 20 board meeting as Orinda Union School District Superintendent Aida Glimme announced a deal for the John Muir Land Trust to acquire the Orinda Nature Area.
“You can see I’m really smiling,” said Katharine Barrett, president of Friends of Orinda Nature Area (FONA). “This is good news for all of us.”
In a written statement, Barrett said the organization “is optimistic that it will be working with the district to continue volunteer programs for youth and families. We also hope to work with the John Muir Land Trust to promote ‘Youth Scientists’ programs that encourage young people to use their inquiry skills to increase biodiversity.”
“I think 2026 will be a positive turning point for this unique and precious part of Orinda,” she added.
In recent years, as COVID-19 restrictions and storm damage closed the Nature Area and restricted FONA’s ability to continue its educational programs, the relationship between the non-profit and the district had deteriorated.
Although Glimme always said she wanted to keep the Nature Area wild and undeveloped, she also said that the district could not afford the costs of insurance, storm clean-up and continued maintenance, particularly as wildfire mitigation costs soared.
The result was an increasingly adversarial relationship between FONA and the district. Some community members began to suspect that the property might even be sold to developers.
Instead, the new agreement achieves the goal of preservation.
The contract with the land trust guarantees that some 16 acres of wildland next to Wagner Ranch Elementary School will remain undeveloped, and it frees the district from liability, maintenance and restoration costs. The land trust will take on these obligations.
A key element is the $1.5 million state grant secured for the school district by state Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan. That money was held by the City of Orinda until the district came up with an acceptable remediation plan.
With the transfer of the Nature Area to the land trust and the assurance that it will restore and maintain the property, the city will release the grant, allowing the district to use the money for development of curriculum and future outdoor educational programs.
The district will keep its ownership of the rest of the property where the Wagner Ranch Elementary School sits. Additionally, it will get two easements allowing continued access for maintenance of its solar panels and for educational field trips into the Nature Area.
Steve Danziger, a director of Moraga Orinda Fire District and a longtime supporter of FONA, said, “It’s a long and winding road. We’re hopeful that we’ll now get to work with the school board and the land trust.”
