Valle De Oro National Wildlife Refuge

The 570-acre Valle de Oro Wildlife Refuge was born out of a community’s desire to protect their neighborhood from polluters. When the Valley Gold dairy farm shut down in 2010, a coalition of neighbors got together to petition the federal government to buy the farm and turn it into a wildlife refuge. Now, Valle de Oro is the first urban wildlife refuge in the country, as well as the only wildlife refuge with an explicit environmental justice mandate.

Hear the story behind the creation of the refuge from people who were there: David Barber of Friends of Valle de Oro and Richard Moore of the Los Jardines Institute. Plus, hear from Valle de Oro refuge manager, Jennifer Owen-White, who is overseeing the transformation of the former dairy into ecologically valuable habitat. This is a story of the power of local movements to improve the environment not only for themselves, but for wildlife.