Get the word out.

Submissions are due the 10th of the month prior to publication. Email kathy@paralleldesign.com or call 408-529-1431. TASTING ROOM / PRIVATE EVENTS Tasting Room Hours Friday-Sunday 12pm-6pm 24060 Summit Road Los Gatos, CA 95033 (408) 353-6290 burrellschool.com Defensible Space Free Chipping Programs Kathy McKinney With fire season fast approaching, it’s time to clean up winter’s fallen branches and improve the defensible space around your property. It’s not just a smart idea, it’s state law (Public Service Code 4291).

Both Santa Clara and Santa Cruz have free chipping programs for residents in the wildland-urban interface. These programs are designed to encourage and support homeowners in creating and maintaining the required defensible space around their homes. Required defensible space clearing is 0-100 feet (Zones 0-2) from permanent structures. The goal is to reduce fuel loads and to prevent and mitigate future wildfires.

Both programs have limited availability and registrations are accepted on a first- come, first-served basis, so it’s important to register early. Registration for the Santa Clara County Firesafe Council’s spring chipping program opens on Monday, March 2.

They offer both at- home chipping and drive-up chipping . For at-home chipping, prepare your piles of brush. For drive-up chipping , bring brush in your own vehicle to the site for chipping. To register, visit sccfiresafe.org/forms/.

In Santa Cruz County, registration for the Resource Conservation District’s spring chipping program opens on Wednesday, April 1, and runs through April 30. If you live in a Firewise neighborhood, you can register early, beginning on Wednesday, March 25. Chipping will begin in May.

Skyland Church The Best of Times, the Worst of Times Skyland Church welcomes the community to a free workshop about the psychology and neuroscience of goal-setting, on Saturday March 7, from 9:30 a.m. to noon, in Whitaker Hall. The session will begin with movement led by Jaime Domond from Cups of Yoga, followed by a presentation by Dr.

Dennis Evans. After the workshop, enjoy conversation with your neighbors and a complementary lunch. Based on research, Evans will explain how anxiety and stress can lead to procrastination, avoidance, and stalled progress. He will also address how we can shift these patterns.

How do we change our behavior when pressure is high? What helps us become more flexible problem-solvers? Learn about practical, research-backed strategies and skills that support better time-management, clearer decision-making, and more effective action.

Reserve a spot at this informational workshop at SkylandChurch.com/way- to-wellness-2026, or the Skyland Church Facebook Page. For more information, call 408-353-1310. You can prepare up to three piles for chipping, and woodchips will be left onsite.

For more information and to register, visit www.rcdsantacruz.org/spring-chipping- information. For residents of the South Skyline area, the South Skyline FireSafe Council sponsors a free chipping program in early summer. For more information, visit www.

southskylinefiresafe.org, and select “free chipping program” under the “programs” menu. For residents of the Central Summit Watershed Firewise community, the non- profit Summit Watershed Protection League sponsors multiple chipping days before and during wildfire season. For more information, visit sites.google.com/view/ central-summit-firewise.