Conservation, sustainability, and environmental responsibility are all hot topics, especially in the current political climate. This past Saturday Diablo Valley College put their two cents in at Rodgers Ranch Heritage Center in Pleasant Hill.

Located just two and a half miles from campus, Rodgers Ranch, whose tag line is “Where the past sustains the future,” lived up to it’s motto.

They hosted the spring fling event, which showcased a plant sale from DVC’s horticulture department. Heirloom tomatoes, peppers and herbs were all available for sale.

The DVC art department was out selling hand crafted pots, bowls and mugs, and the culinary students supplied the refreshments with a BBQ style luncheon – vegetarian and gluten free options were available of course.

Wyatt Matthews of the DVC art department commented, “It’s pretty good all these people came out to support Rodgers Ranch. It’s great they can take plants and grow their own herbs and spices at home.”

Catherine Gastelum of the DVC culinary department commented on the surprising turn out, “The weather was unexpected but it went well; we were expecting some water like last year.” Despite the water works during the beginning of the event which hindered their initial set-up, their sales were up from last year with two hours still left in the event.

There was a wealth of information to be gathered as well. Amaury Berteaud, a volunteer for Ameri-Corps was out educating the people, “We work to promote community. We have 48 fellowships working for cities and counties in regards to climate change, energy efficiency and water conservation, mainly environmental issues.”

Some other vendors included local bee keepers, all natural soil producers, and an all natural remedies expert.

The ranch itself is also a hub of knowledge. Rodgers Ranch hosts workshops throughout the year on topics ranging from maintaining a home with natural cleaning products to how to grow your own vegetable garden.  More information can be found on their website RodgersRanch.org.