On September 4, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (Midpen) and Green Foothills celebrated the dedication of the future Lennie Roberts Trail in Midpen’s Miramontes Ridge Open Space Preserve outside Half Moon Bay. The event honored Green Foothills advocate Lennie Roberts’ 55+ years of advocacy for local nature and farmland. The recognition could not be more well-deserved!
Julie Hutcheson, Green Foothills Executive Director, said to those gathered at the event, “This trail naming is not just recognition. It is a lasting reminder of how one determined advocate’s voice has helped change the fate of these amazing landscapes that uplift us. The Lennie Roberts Trail stands as a promise fulfilled—that future generations will walk this land, see this coastline, and know its beauty. Lennie, on behalf of Green Foothills, I want to express our profound gratitude for everything you have done, and for all that you are.”
Some Highlights of Lennie’s Career
Lennie joined the Green Foothills board of directors in 1968 and became a staff member in 1978, making her our longest-serving staff member by far. She still works today as a Green Foothills Legislative Advocate focused on the San Mateo County Coastside.
During her decades as a Green Foothills staff member, Lennie has played a central role in preserving the natural beauty of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties while never taking a salary. All her service has been provided as a volunteer—a donation of immense value to our organization and to the local conservation movement.
In addition to being considered one of the founders of Midpen – a public agency, which was created when local voters passed Measure R in Santa Clara County in 1972 – Lennie played a pivotal role in:
- Expanding Midpen’s boundaries over time, from the initial Santa Clara foothills and baylands to include southern San Mateo County in 1976, and then to the San Mateo County coastside in 2004.
- Helping secure the permanent preservation of iconic local landscapes such as Russian Ridge, Purisima Creek Redwoods, and Bear Creek Redwoods open space preserves.
- Championing landmark policy efforts such as the California Coastal Act of 1976 and San Mateo County’s Measure A in 1986, which curbed sprawl and safeguarded the rural character of the Coastside.
- Passing San Mateo County’s Measure T, which saved Devil’s Slide and Montara Mountain on the San Mateo coast.
During the trail dedication ceremony, Lennie gave a moving speech in which she reflected on the decades of community collaboration that have made the Bay Area a national leader in open space preservation.
The celebration also included powerful tributes from Midpen’s General Manager Ana Ruiz; Giusti Farms’ John Giusti; Vice Mayor of Half Moon Bay Debbie Ruddock; San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller; former president of Peninsula Open Space Trust Walter Moore; and Midpen Board Member Zoe Kirsteen-Tucker. Other dignitaries present included former U.S. Congresswoman Anna Eshoo and San Mateo County Supervisor Jackie Speier.
How You Can Help Ensure That Her Work Continues
To ensure that Lennie’s work carries on into future generations, we have established the Lennie Roberts Advocacy Fund to support Green Foothills’ vital Advocacy Program in perpetuity. To learn more or contribute to the fund, visit greenfoothills.org/LRAF.
Thank you to volunteer photographer Steven King and everyone else who took photos at the event! Click here to see some photos from the day. Click here for the complete text of Julie’s remarks.