Calendar

2025 - 2026

NOVEMBER

Birding
at Prescott Preserve

Join OLT Volunteer Kurt Kosek for bird watching walks at Prescott Preserve on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month.

Birders of all ages and experience levels welcome. Walks are under 1.5 miles on dirt trails. The group meets at the old golf cart crosswalk on Farrell, just north of Mesquite. Plenty of parking on Farrell.

Connect with other Prescott Preserve’s birdies via Prescott Preserve Facebook Group.

HAPPY VALLEY
CLEANUP EVENT

A cleanup day at Happy Valley (Indio Hills) has been scheduled for Thursday, November 20th in partnership with Urban Conservation Corps (UCC) and the Southern California Mountains Foundation (SCMF). The one-day effort will focus on removing tires, construction materials, old appliances, green waste, and other debris along Perkins Road. A small crew of corps members will help supervise the work, but we need Oswit Land Trust volunteers and community members to help. It is a big project! Specific instructions will be sent to community members and volunteers signing up for this cleanup event.

Oswit Canyon
Guided Hikes

A Thanksgiving weekend tradition. Join Oswit Land Trust staff for a 60-minute Oswit Canyon Loop hike. Learn more about the plants and wildlife living on the property, as well as the history of how OLT saved the canyon and the organization’s plans for the future. There is a small elevation gain and some rough terrain, but this is a good hike for beginners, children, and people who do not like strenuous hiking.

RSVP required as we are going out in small groups of 12. Space is limited.

 

DECEMBER

OSWIT LAND TRUST'S
5TH ANNIVERSARY
celebration

In 2020, we did more than save Oswit Canyon — we sparked a legacy of conservation across the Coachella Valley. Five years later, Oswit Land Trust is a leading voice for protecting land and wildlife, and it’s time to celebrate our success together!

Please contribute to this extraordinary evening of merriment with purpose, hosted by Brad Prescott, Aaron Leider and Michael Lewis among their exquisite vintage car collection in central Palm Springs. Enjoy food, drink, live music, vintage cars and inspiring company of community leaders and conservation champions like you.

Your sponsorship ensures that Oswit Land Trust can continues to protect land, wildlife, and our shared future – one acre at a time. A limited number of individual tickets, priced at $125, will be available beginning October 1st, 2025.

Birds
Beyond the Binary

Speaker Lindsay Rowe, Senior Education Coordinator for Audubon California’s Salton Sea & Desert Program, will lead this discussion about how many species on Earth are capable of exhibiting characteristics humans have described as “Queer.” In this presentation, we will dive into the beauty of Queer birds, including polygamous Acorn Woodpeckers, a California island of Lesbian gulls, the story of the Male Hooded Warbler living a Female life, the White-throated Sparrows with four distinct sexes, and more. This presentation is co-sponsored by Oswit Land Trust, Audubon California, and the Palm Springs Public Library and will be held at the Mizell Center.

RSVP to DavidP@OswitLandTrust.org

Birding
at Prescott Preserve

Join OLT Volunteer Kurt Kosek for bird watching walks at Prescott Preserve on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month.

Birders of all ages and experience levels welcome. Walks are under 1.5 miles on dirt trails. The group meets at the old golf cart crosswalk on Farrell, just north of Mesquite. Plenty of parking on Farrell.

Connect with other Prescott Preserve’s birdies via Prescott Preserve Facebook Group.

Community Work Day: Clearing Fountain Grass from Oswit Canyon

Now that it is cooler, this multi-year volunteer effort to clear fountain grass from the washes in Oswit Canyon resumes. Fountain grass runs wild across our desert and, when left unchecked, chokes out the native vegetation that wildlife depends on. We need volunteers to help. Please note that this is hard work using shovels and pickaxes on uneven and rocky surfaces.

Barry Manilow
A GIFT OF LOVE VII

Once again, Oswit Land Trust has been selected as one of the beneficiaries of Barry Manilow’s A GIFT OF LOVE VII concert series, December 16 to 21, 2025 at the McCallum Theatre. This year’s recipients have been hand-selected by the A GIFT OF LOVE VII co-chairs, as one of the most important organizations that make the desert a special place to live.

The Gift of Love VI concerts will feature Barry’s hit songs and holiday favorites. Ticket prices range from $100 to $2,500 premium ticket packages.
We know it seems early to be making this announcement, but tickets sell-out fast for this event.

Tickets go on sale March 19th at 10am.

IMPORTANT: As you go through the check-out process, be sure to select Oswit Land Trust as the charity you want to benefit from your purchase.

Thank you for supporting of Barry Manilow’s A GIFT OF LOVE VII and Oswit Land Trust.

JANUARY

Keeping California
Native

Join Dr. James Danoff-Burg, Vice President of Conservation at The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens for a discussion of lessons learned about urban habitat creation and wildlands enrichment projects in Southern California. In an area with an ever increasing population and developed footprint, the rugged but delicate native California flora and ecosystems are constantly under threat. We are loving our wildlands to death. Come and hear how some novel and innovative approaches to how we can reverse this trend by planting native, creating natural ecosystems in urban areas, enriching and restoring wild spaces, and tending to our biologically diverse California Deserts. We can reverse the decline when working together.

Birding
at Prescott Preserve

Join OLT Volunteer Kurt Kosek for bird watching walks at Prescott Preserve on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month.

Birders of all ages and experience levels welcome. Walks are under 1.5 miles on dirt trails. The group meets at the old golf cart crosswalk on Farrell, just north of Mesquite. Plenty of parking on Farrell.

Connect with other Prescott Preserve’s birdies via Prescott Preserve Facebook Group.

THANK YOU!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the inaugural season of Palm Springs: Sustainable & Wild. The program’s goal was to produce a series of lectures, events, guided hikes, films, and workshops to enhance our community’s understanding of our native environment.

Thank you to the City of Palm Springs for funding the season through their annual Event Sponsorship program.

We are happy to report that Oswit Land Trust produced 32 events between October and April, attended by 1,800 community members. 

Special thanks to our partners:

Now we start planning for year two.

Look for new events and calendar updates to start in October 2024.

If you or your company has an interest in environmental education, please consider sponsoring the 2024/25 season. Contact David Paisley at DavidP@OswitLandTrust.org for more information.

32

Events

1800

Community members