By Ben Antonius | Daily Republic | March 01, 2009
A horse-drawn carriage is pulled through the Rush Ranch property earlier last year. Rush Ranch has recieved a grant from Valero. Photo by Chris Jordan
FAIRFIELD - Rush Ranch Open Space is among the big beneficiaries of a recent giving spree by the Valero Benicia refinery.
The Solano Land Trust recently received a $25,000 grant when refinery officials presented local charities with checks totaling $516,000. The Solano Land Trust will use the money to enhance facilities and programs at Rush Ranch and its nature center.
The Solano Land Trust has not yet decided specifically how the money will be spent, Assistant Executive Director Nicole Byrd said.
'We are looking at a new mural that is going up on the property, potentially upgrading some of the trails that the kids walk on when they're out there,' she said. 'We are really excited about the possibilities.'
SafeQuest Solano and the Travis School District were also among the 25 organizations to receive donations from the refinery.
SafeQuest Solano received $15,000 toward the Life Skills support group that serves children who have been exposed to domestic violence. The school district received $15,000 for new microscopes for the science department at Golden West Middle School, safety equipment for the baseball program and a contribution to the Safe and Sober Grad Night committee.
The Solano Land Trust is in the middle of a major fundraising effort to build an endowment for Rush Ranch, 2,070 acres of tidal marsh and upland grasses about 2 miles south of Highway 12 on Grizzly Island Road.
For more information, go to www.solanolandtrust.org.
