May Events Are Abuzz in Marin

April 25, 2023

People sit at a long farm table, eating greens and bread at a brunch. Photo from Lynn Bagley Photography from a Ranches and Rolling Hills MALT event.

May is abuzz with activity this year! Find a variety of events this month where you can engage with Marin’s agricultural community, enjoy its open spaces, steward the land, and celebrate the amazing place we call home. 

This month, we pay special attention to events for all who “mother.” MALT was founded by two mothers, Ellen Straus and Phyllis Faber — a rancher and a botanist — who brought together local ranchers and conservationists to protect farms from mounting development pressure. Their unifying vision established the Marin Agricultural Land Trust in 1980 as the first in the nation focused on protecting farmland.

In the 43 years since, MALT has — with its broad coalition of community partners and supporters — safeguarded more than 55,700 acres and invested more than $1.8 million in projects to improve soil health, protect water quality, and increase grassland vigor. The legacy of their foundational work is all around when passing through West Marin.

It’s with this thriving agricultural community that we hope you can connect with at an upcoming farmers’ market, tasting, farm brunch, or tour. Or dig in to visit and volunteer at one of our many adjacent parks and open spaces that, together, weave a tapestry of protected land. These corridors of protected land preserve a biodiverse landscape, a local economy, and a way of life.

With an abundance of beauty and adventure waiting in (and near) Marin, we hope you’ll get outside and play, just like mom used to say.

Farm Visits
Mother’s Day Events
Hikes, Walks, Rides
Volunteer
Wildlife and Nature
Markets
mom and baby goat sit in green and gold grass at Toluma Farms in Marin.

Farm Visits and Tastings

View the days and times of weekly farmers’ markets hosted by the Agricultural Institute of Marin around the Bay Area as well as this list of farmers’ markets sorted by the day of the week.

You can book food and farm tours to visit multiple producers of local food and fiber in one day-trip!

Ellen Straus and Phyllis Faber standing on a lush green hillside in Marin in the earlier days of MALT's history.
Ellen Straus and Phyllis Faber, MALT’s co-founders, on a West Marin ranch in the early days of the organization’s history.

Mother’s Day Events

A hiker walks down a green hillside dotted with white and yellow wildflowers at Leiss Ranch outside Petaluma.

Hikes, Walks, and Rides 

Volunteers digging in soil photo by Paige Green

Volunteer Opportunities 

Monarch butterfly sitting on some flowers.

Wildlife and Nature Events

At the farmers' market

Markets and Other Family Fun

Please double check details for all Marin events at the links above before venturing out, as MALT is not the event host organization for most of the Marin events listed here. Dates, times, fees, or restrictions may change. 

EAT LOCAL, STAY CONNECTED

Every time you shop, you can choose to support your local food economy and the farmers and ranchers who help steward this vital landscape. Start today!

Buy Local

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