Día brings community members together to celebrate children and encourage literacy

By OLIVIA HOKR — city@theaggie.org 

Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros, also commonly referred to as Día, will be celebrated by various Yolo County Library locations throughout the month of April. Día is a nationally recognized holiday that aims to honor children and recognize society’s next generations while promoting literacy and cultural diversity. 

On April 6, the Yolo Branch Library held the first of many celebrations. The festivities began with storytime and interactive children’s songs led by Ana, an employee from the West Sacramento Branch and an organizer of the Día celebration. Books and songs were spoken in both English and Spanish to highlight the origin of Día.

This was followed by various activity stations for children and their families to enjoy, including coloring, crafts, bubbles and building blocks. The grand finale was a performance by Nā Keiki O Hawaiʻi Dancers. A display of books was available for families in attendance to choose from and take home with them. 

Hundreds of children’s books were donated and fundraised for the library in honor of late community member, Violet Hansen, who is remembered for her love of reading. The Violet Hansen Memorial Funds were created by her family to provide thousands of books for the library and for the expansion of Violet’s Corner in the library. They hope to encourage reading and literacy in children. To honor Violet, books were donated for giving away at the Día celebration. 

A Yolo County Library employee from the Davis branch and an organizer of the events, Gaby, shared why they bring these Día celebrations to their communities every year and how it aims to educate and entertain families and their children. 

“The events are to celebrate youth, celebrate books, celebrate literacy and make [literacy] accessible for the children in Yolo County,” Gaby said. “We like to bring culture into it and bring in performers for families to enjoy.” 

A significant part of the celebration is to provide the opportunity for families to engage with others from their community. At the Yolo Branch event, nearly 20 families were in attendance and were able to enjoy a welcoming and interactive space. Children played and sang together while learning about the importance of education. 

Family Yolo County Literacy Organizer Leticia Flores is a community member and mother who attended Día on April 6. She emphasized the importance of promoting early literacy and of spreading knowledge of the available local library services, especially in small rural areas.

“I think it’s important to bring the community together and, especially with kids, have these types of hands-on events to bring people together,” Flores said. 

Flores was one of many women who were there to celebrate Día with her family but also to share information with the community regarding the organization. Yolo County Library provides many services and resources for literacy and education. This includes classes to improve reading and writing skills for both children and adults and provide overall more accessible reading materials. 

To celebrate Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros and engage with the community, people can attend an event at your local Yolo County library. Each celebration will include a special performance and offer free take-home children’s books. 

Written by: Olivia Hokr — city@theaggie.org 

Davis now owns part of a $960,000 agricultural conservation easement primarily facilitated by a parcel tax intended to protect open space

By HANNAH SCHRADER — city@theaggie.org

The city of Davis has made a concerted effort to protect its natural landscape through the Open Space Program, which was established in 1990 to protect farmland and habitats in and around Davis. The city now has 240 acres of protected land after its most recent 120-acre land purchase, which closed on March 15.

Measure O, a parcel tax in Davis that funds the preservation of open space, was passed in 2000. This tax enabled the city to create the Open Space Program Strategic Plan, which is an extensive plan that outlines land the city seeks to preserve and manage through 2030.

This most recent agricultural conservation easement purchase was made in partnership with Yolo Land Trust, an organization that helps landowners obtain long-term farmland protection.

Tracie Reynolds, the real property owner for the city of Davis and manager of the Open Space Program, spoke on the unique agricultural situation of Davis.

“Davis is really kind of at the forefront of [agricultural conservation],” Reynolds said. “There are not very many cities in California that have a special tax like that to support conservation easements. Davis is visionary in that regard.”

Reynolds then talked about the most enjoyable parts of working with the Open Space Program.

“Over the last 10 years or so, [I’ve enjoyed] just seeing how native grasses and native plants and everything have really taken hold much more than they used to,” Reynolds said. “I enjoy working with these property owners that are around the city […] to try to do these easements. I really enjoy […] looking at that map and trying to help implement […] that vision that a lot of people had way back […] in the 60s and 70s.”

John Currey, the executive director of Yolo Land Trust, spoke about some of the organization’s goals and priorities.

“I would say that our primary goal, first and foremost, is to protect agricultural land, [specifically] primary cultural land in Yolo County,” Currey said. “The protection of farmland against the encroachment of urban sprawl is really the thing we do in partnership with the county and our urban centers: the city of Davis, city of Woodland, city of Winters and the Esparto-Madison area.”

Currey spoke about some of his favorite aspects of working with Yolo Land Trust.

 “What’s most important to me is the relationship that we have with the farmers and the landowners,” Currey said. “These are relationships that have to last forever because these easements are forever.”

Tracy Ellison, the conservation manager at Solano Land Trust, talked about the factors that go into landowners’ decisions to sell their development rights.

 “To be a landowner means many, many things,” Ellison said. “So when landowners choose this conservation easement tool, they’re taking their ownership, and we call it in our world a ‘bundle of sticks.’” 

A bundle of sticks refers to the rights landowners have to do various things with their land including the right to: develop on their land, allow others to use their land to develop, or allow others to farm on their land and so on.

Conservation easements occur when landowners voluntarily give up the right to ever develop on their land. Ellison then referenced the fact that landowners are entirely in control of whether they sell the development rights to their land or not.

“They have an opportunity as landowners to make a decision about what to do with those rights,” Ellison said. “Some of those rights are free and clear. There’s no policy, there’s no requirements or restrictions against them, and they can do what they want with them.”“They can retire on the money [or] they can send their family to college if that’s what they need,” Ellison said. “But typically, we see landowners doing infrastructure upgrades for their irrigation, going from open ground to tree ground […] That would pay for them to put trees in the ground and buy new equipment. And so this is a landowner owning their rights and making a choice to agree to a value and the time and that space to preserve their property for all of those agricultural values with an opportunity to use the funds because of their land ownership.”

Written by: Hannah Schrader — city@theaggie.org 

The initiative is meant to expand community services with expected completion by 2026

By ALEXANDRA SHAPIRO — city@theaggie.org

On March 25, Representative Mike Thompson secured a boost to the city of Davis by presenting an $850,000 check for the South Davis Library project. This funding was secured as part of the government funding bill signed into law on March 9, 2024.

The Walnut Park Library project has been long awaited. Davis residents first recognized the need for a library south of I-80 in 2001, and the demand for expansion led to the land allocation in 2002. Still, it was not until 2017 that the Yolo County Library Facilities Master Plan began Phase One of the project.

In 2020, community partners discussed service needs for a South Davis library branch and architects began developing design concepts. Significant progress was made in 2022 when the Yolo County Library received $8.7 million as part of the Building Forward Grant from the California State Library. The city of Davis’ commitment in 2023 granted $1.5 million towards the project and further advanced its progress.

The Walnut Park Library, scheduled for completion in 2026, will be located at 2700 Lillard Drive at the west end of Walnut Park. The facility will occupy over 12,000 square feet, providing a vibrant space for learning and community engagement. The project’s total cost is estimated at approximately $21.3 million, with funding provided by the State of California and administered by the California State Library.

This new establishment responds to the needs of an economically disadvantaged area that has experienced significant population growth in the last two decades. 

“The South Davis Library will greatly benefit a community that currently does not have access to a library by expanding library services and establishing literacy programs for children and adults,” Thompson said in a press release.

 Doubling as a community center, the library is proposed to be open six days a week, ensuring accessible services and resources for residents.

 “I am glad that Davis leaders brought this project to my attention, and I am proud I was able to secure the funding in government funding bills. In addition, this space will help to protect our community from extreme weather by serving as a warming and cooling center and a place to shelter from smoke,” Thompson said. I look forward to seeing this project move forward and benefit the entire Davis community.”

In 1968, Davis introduced its initial branch library, now known as the Mary L. Stephens Library, last renovated in 2010. However, by 2014, the Mary L. Stephens Library reached maximum capacity and continues facing challenges such as inadequate seating, tables and parking.

Thompson’s new funds for the South Davis library prove a significant investment in community infrastructure and a promising step towards addressing the needs of underserved populations in Davis. 

“The Walnut Park Library project will be a tremendous asset to the South Davis community,” Davis Mayor Josh Chapman said in a press release. “The funding support received, including $850,000 from Representative Mike Thompson’s office, $8.7 million from the California State Library and the City’s own donation of $1.5 million, will bring invaluable services and programs to the children and residents of this community. I am so proud to have been a part of this collaborative process to provide a state-of-the-art library to South Davis.”

Written by: Alexandra Shapiro — city@theaggie.org

The group offers $5 classes multiple afternoons per week at the Davis Community Church

By EMMA CONDIT — city@theaggie.org

The Davis Line Dance group, run by a group of women who volunteer several days a week, teaches line dancing to the Davis community. Each class, the volunteers break down each step combination into simple, digestible moves that have all of the participants jumping and kicking in perfect, lively unison. 

Davis Line Dance President Reeta Palmer shared the group’s journey. 

“We started about a year ago,” Palmer said. “We all enjoyed dancing and wanted to get together and teach it as a group.”

Palmer noted that the dance cooperative has over 50 dances in its repertoire. If you are unable to attend an in-person class, the group’s website provides videos, music and explanations of each dance so that you can practice and get moving at home. Palmer then commented on her particular inclination to line dancing. 

“I discovered [line dancing] in a senior community, and it was so much fun and such great exercise,” Palmer said. “It was really good for my brain and my body, and the music was fantastic. I just love dancing to music and it’s a lot of social fun.”

At a Thursday afternoon class on April 4, a couple — the Walkers — enthusiastically learned to line dance. The Walkers moved to Davis in early 2020 and, in the four years they have lived here, dance classes, usually geared toward senior citizens, have helped the couple make friends and create a strong community. 

“We’re in another class [in Davis], and we met a couple [of] people in this class who said ‘come to this,’” Jim Walker said, referring to a one-day-a-week city of Davis-funded jazz class. “It’s for cognitive connection between the brain and the body.”

Jim Walker explained how their shared interest in dance classes has benefitted their relationship with the Davis community.

“I enjoy [line dancing] more [than jazz, it’s] really great,” Jim Walker said. “We’ve made a lot of friends here. It’s a very welcoming town. Dancing is a great outlet to meet people and expose yourself.”

Throughout the class, participants learned unique line dances to five different songs, and in a short time, the whole room was “handbagging,” ”swishing” and “mamboing.” Each dance had a different style, pace and difficulty level. 

Though typically utilized by senior citizens, Davis Line Dance Cooperative classes are for participants of all ages. Younger participants, like college students, are welcomed to classes with open arms and can equally benefit from the techniques employed in line dancing. 

Davis Line Dance classes are free for first-time participants and $5 for returners (usually paid in cash), with classes being held three to four times per week at Davis Community Church’s Fellowship Hall. More information can be found on their website at davislinedance.com. 

Written by: Emma Condit — city@theaggie.org