Garnetta Annable Honored for Environmental Conservation, at Loma Prieta Chapter Gala
Palo Alto, CA, July 17, 2025: Sierra Club’s Loma Prieta Chapter has selected Garnetta Annable as their 2025 Guardians of Nature Honoree. The Guardians of Nature Benefit is an annual gala presented by the Loma Prieta Chapter to honor an environmental champion in San Benito, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties. Garnetta Annable is a heroine of land conservation and a founding member of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, which stewards lands treasured for hiking, exploration, inspiration and environmental protection.
Each year, the Chapter’s Executive Committee, Political Committee, and Outings leadership nominate candidates for the next year's Guardians of Nature Honoree. The nominees and their reasoning for consideration are presented to the Executive Committee who ultimately select the next Honoree.
“Fully appropriate to the title of our annual event, Guardians of Nature, our principal honoree this year will be the estimable Garnetta Annable, whose persistence over decades has led to the preservation of numerous parklands and open spaces in Santa Clara County,” said Mike Ferreira, Loma Prieta Chapter Executive Committee Chair. “She was instrumental not only in the founding of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority but she has served on its governance board as a constant Guardian of its mission. Please do join us as we recount her many campaigns for open spaces that benefit all residents of Santa Clara Valley by safeguarding special oases of Nature for current and future generations.”
Chapter Director James Eggers said, “Local parks and preserves support many health benefits, from physical to mental, academic to vocational, social to contemplative. Thank you Garnetta for helping us all to be healthier.”
The 2025 Guardians of Nature benefit will be held on Friday, October 10, 2025, 6:00 - 9:00 pm, at the Mitchell Park Community Center in Palo Alto. Sponsorship opportunities are available, and tickets are available for purchase at an Early Bird discounted rate through September 10th. This year’s celebration marks the 11th Annual Guardians of Nature Benefit. Each year the Benefit honors an outstanding environmental Guardian and helps raise funds critical to ensuring that the Chapter fulfills its mission of safeguarding the local environment today and for generations to come.
About Garnetta Annable
Garnetta Annable is a visionary environmental leader and a founding force behind the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority (OSA). Regarded as the mother of open space preservation in Santa Clara County, Garnetta has dedicated nearly three decades to protecting and advocating for the region’s open space, parks, and trail systems.
Garnetta’s environmental leadership encompasses service on many committees and commissions, including the San Jose/Santa Clara County Joint Open Space Implementation Committee, the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Commission, and the Long Range Land Utilization Task Force for the Coyote Creek Park Chain, all of which advance protections for regional parks and trails. Additionally, she co-founded Friends of Open Space and Yes On Parks, citizen-led initiatives that enhance funding and policy for local parks. A founding member and long-time Bay Area Ridge Trail Council board member, Garnetta is known for her ability to build bridges between people, agencies, and across generations. In Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren's words, Garnetta is “someone who has been instrumental in creating the current network of open spaces that make Santa Clara County unique.” Garnetta remains a mentor, a connector, and a deeply respected figure in California’s conservation community, motivating others to protect the places we love for generations to come.
About Sierra Club’s Loma Prieta Chapter
The Loma Prieta Chapter is the local face of Sierra Club, serving San Benito, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties. The Chapter offers opportunities to become involved and actively contribute time, talents, skills, and funds to the local environmental work of the Sierra Club.
Learn more about Loma Prieta Chapter’s 2025 Guardians of Nature Benefit.