Consero Solutions

09/09/2026

Behind every "project complete" post is a lot of phone calls, site visits, meeting summaries, and memos that don't make it into a fun photo collage.

This summer the hard work meant:

-Helping Leo Refsland almost finish the Madison Community Drinking Water System Replacement Project (with well-timed funds from the California Department of Water Resources, the State Water Resources Control Board, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation (stay tuned for the ribbon cutting!)

- Identifying groundwater sustainability funding opportunities for the City of Winters in Yolo County;

- Helping Chair Aaron Gabbe facilitate the California Habitat Conservation Planning Coalition's Executive Committee meeting in San Diego, including a vote on a future governance options;

- Getting in the field with Erik Cadaret and Kristin Sicke, P.E. to see model flood control and habitat projects up close;

- Finishing a newsletter - complete with a story about the CUTEST beach mice - for Abby Fateman, Olivia Ybarra Lopez, Nathan Pence and other leaders at the National Habitat Conservation Planning Coalition;

- Attending the Yolo County Fair gala; and

- Managing (pro bono) the Thomson-Williams Mental Health Committee work to grant funds to facilitate activities for people living with serious mental illness, including managing the summer garden at Pine Tree Gardens West, a group home.

Oh, and letting Petrea Moyle Marchand's dog Bina hang out at the office.

The unglamorous parts are our favorite parts. More to come this fall!

08/28/2026

Incredible things happen when you give young people a voice and support their vision. 🛹✨

The Consero Solutions team - Petrea Moyle Marchand, Avaree Dunn, Sarah Burgess, and Lizbeth Cuevas - is inspired by the teens in Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley who are leading the development of their community's first-ever teen-focused park. With guidance from Noor Dawood at the Anderson Valley Community Services District, the agency in charge of the park, and support from local volunteers like Samantha Good, these dedicated young advocates have already raised over $600,000 for a new skate park.

Consero Solutions helped Ms. Dawood update the project over the last 18 months to incorporate community ideas and ensure consistency with State park priorities. The team is now helping the agency apply to the California State Parks Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Program to hopefully secure the remaining funding needed. Cross your fingers for these mighty teens and their local partners!

👉 Want to support the Anderson Valley skate park? Check out their amazing web store to grab some swag or donate to the project. Every purchase helps bring this project closer to the finish line.

https://www.avskatepark.org/

05/02/2026

Just another day at the office! Grateful to Abby Fateman for providing the Consero Solutions team with a tour of the East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservancy's fabulous 14,000-acre reserve system. Highlights included breathtaking views, a Mariposa lily, and lots of laughs. Petrea Moyle Marchand, Sarah Burgess and Lizbeth Cuevas are planning lots more adventures in the future. Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency, we're coming to you next! Can't wait for the Yolo Habitat Conservancy to meet such a milestone as 14,000 ares conserved!

04/14/2026

It’s almost time to plant the summer garden at Pine Tree Gardens! 🍅🥒🌶️

Pine Tree Gardens East and West provide permanent supportive housing for 28 adults living with serious mental illness in the City of Davis, located in Yolo County, California; the two residential homes are in quiet neighborhoods close to downtown and services. 🏡

What makes Pine Tree Gardens truly special isn’t just the garden—it’s the community that made the homes possible.

A few years ago, these homes were at risk of being lost. But the community came together, raised millions of dollars, and saved the homes.

Now Consero Solutions is helping that same community come together again with ongoing pro bono work.

To donate to ongoing efforts to rehabilitate and improve other homes like Pine Tree Gardens in the continuum of care for people living with serious mental illness in Yolo County, click the link below.

https://srcf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=7600&sorg_id=1000

The Thomson-Williams Mental Health Committee established this fund at the Yolo Community Foundation with the able assistance of Jessica Hubbard and Chelsea Fahr at the Sacramento Region Community Foundation to help support other homes and mental health care facilities now Pine Tree Gardens is safe.

To learn more about the successful effort to save Pine Tree Gardens and the contribution of the Williams family to the continuum of care, as well as to view photos of the homes, click the link below.

https://www.conserosolutions.com/post/pine-tree-gardens-east-and-west

More about the community effort:

The Thomson-Williams Mental Health Committee, composed of dedicated community members like Nicki King, Kathy Williams-Fossdahl, Marilyn Arneson Moyle, Petrea Moyle Marchand,Jeni Price, Nancy Temple, and Linda Wight (many of whom are former Board members of NAMI Yolo County or the Local Mental Health Board advising the Yolo County Board of Supervisors), is raising funds to help rehabilitate and improve other homes in the continuum of care for people living with serious mental illness.

Gratitude for past help:

Many thanks to the people who saved Pine Tree Gardens in Yolo County - including the Board of Supervisors under the leadership of Supervisor Don Saylor and Supervisor Jim Provenza - and the Yolo County Health & Human Services Agency in partnership with Ian Evans and the members of the Thomson-Williams Mental Health Committee. Consero Solutions founder Petrea Marchand and her team contributed pro bono support as part of that effort.

Thank you to everyone who helped save Pine Tree Gardens— join us to help continue this work!

03/20/2026

✨ We’re excited to welcome Sarah Burgess to Consero Solutions!✨

Sarah Burgess brings more than 20 years of experience working with local governments and nonprofits across Australia and the United Kingdom. As a qualified urban planner and planning policy specialist, she has dedicated her career to helping organizations tackle complex challenges and deliver practical, lasting results.

Her expertise in strategic planning, policy development, and community engagement aligns strongly with Consero Solutions’ commitment to turning big ideas into well-funded, implementable solutions. Sarah has a proven ability to translate complex issues into clear actions—helping clients strengthen governance, build capacity, and deliver projects and programs to achieve lasting impact.

At Consero Solutions, we believe in collaborative, evidence-based approaches that support strong communities and environmental protection. Sarah embodies these values, and Petrea Moyle Marchand, Lizbeth Cuevas, and Avaree Dunn are thrilled to have her on our team.

If you’re in Davis, we’d love for you to stop by the office to say hello and welcome Sarah to the community.

02/23/2026

The Bureau of Reclamation has awarded the City of Woodland $3 million from the Bureau's WaterSMART Drought Response Program for the Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Well 31 Project - an important investment in long-term water reliability and drought resilience for our community. 🎉

This achievement represents the power of true collaboration. Consero Solutions' founder Petrea Moyle Marchand worked alongside an exceptional team of Matt Cohen and Tim Busch with the City, as well as Kristin Sicke and Sarah Leicht with the Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency, to both develop and prioritize this project as part of Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Plan implementation and write the grant.🤝

ASR Well 31 will store treated Sacramento River water underground during wet winter months and pump it back for drinking water during dry summer months and droughts. This innovative approach will strengthen the City's water supply resilience, improve water quality for residents in disadvantaged communities, and reduce dependence on expensive water transfers during critical drought periods. The City is truly a model for other local governments, Consero Solutions’ favorite type of client. ⭐️

Together, we're building a more water-secure and resilient future for Woodland and the broader Yolo County community. 🌱💙

01/28/2026

🚰 Read more about the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation's generous $990,000 grant to the Madison Community Service District to close the funding gap for replacement of the drinking water system in the disadvantaged community of Madison in Yolo County on the Northern California Water Association's blog!

https://norcalwater.org/2026/01/22/yocha-dehe-wintun-nation-grant-clears-final-funding-hurdle-allowing-madison-to-begin-critical-water-system-replacement/

The existing drinking water system is over 60 years old and falling apart; drinking water for residents is often interrupted to fix constant leaks. The new system will provide a reliable supply of drinking water for Madison homeowners and residents at the Madison Migrant Center, which provides seasonal housing for migrant farmworkers, for decades to come.

Also a huge thank you to the California Department of Water Resources, especially Diego Banos and Alena Misaghi, PE, MBA, for awarding a $3.8 million grant in 2022 from the Department's Small Community Drought Relief Program and partnering with General Manager Leo Refsland at the Madison Community Services District (CSD). Madison CSD used this funding to secure all permits and complete the design, as well as pay for construction.

Consero Solutions worked with Leo Refsland to write the grants, manage the grants, and manage the project. We started working with Leo Refsland in 2021 and look forward to completing the project in 2026. True to Consero founder Petrea Moyle Marchand's favorite Margaret Mead quote, a small group of individuals can make a difference...and it's the only thing that ever has. 🤝

01/15/2026

⭐ Welcome to Lizbeth! ⭐

We are thrilled to welcome Lizbeth Cuevas as our new Executive Assistant. She will help manage local projects and support work to improve internal local government and nonprofit systems, as well as help implement Consero Solutions' brand new 2025-2028 strategic plan. 📘 If you're in town, stop by our office in Davis to say hi!

01/13/2026

Consero Solutions is in awe of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation's generosity to the Madison community by helping the local water district to provide safe and reliable drinking water. We wish every community Consero serves had a partner like Yocha Dehe, not only in providing the funds but in acting quickly to help. The Yoche Dehe Wintun Nation is definitely "giving the acorn" as described on their Doyuti T’uhkama giving site:

"Doyuti T’uhkama means “to give the acorn” in the Tribe’s native Patwin language. Nutrient-rich acorns figured prominently in the lives of generations of California Indians; for the Patwin people, the acorn is a cherished symbol that reflects Yocha Dehe’s commitment to sharing its resources, particularly with those in need."

Thank you, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, for caring so much. And thank you to The Woodland Daily Democrat for writing about it. And to Madison Community Services District General Manager Leo Refsland for never, ever giving up on this project. We're looking forward to celebrating the completion of the project this summer!

The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation recently awarded the Madison Community Services District $990,000 through its Doyuti T’uhkama grant program, providing essential funding to replace Madison’s aging drin…

01/11/2026

🏞️ Putah Creek in Yolo County, California continues as the source of good conservation news! The Solano County Water Agency and UC Davis report that a total of 2,100 salmon -a record number - returned to Putah Creek this year. Work continues as a result of a partnership between UC Davis, the Solano County Water Agency, the Putah Creek Council, the Yolo Basin Foundation, and the Yolo Habitat Conservancy; the Conservancy prioritized Putah Creek in its countywide Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural Community Conservation Plan. For more information about why the return of so many salmon is an extraordinary event, read the story Consero President Petrea Moyle Marchand wrote in 2024 which the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis recently cross-posted on their blog.

https://lnkd.in/gm8b8c89

Consero Solutions has worked with the Putah Creek Council, the Yolo Basin Foundation, and the Yolo Habitat Conservancy, including helping to complete the Yolo Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural Community Conservation Plan. We love to point out these efforts are the result of local government and nonprofit partnerships, as well as the leadership of a few powerful individuals, like Robin Kulakow, Steve Chainey, and many other local luminaries. As John F. Kennedy is famous for saying, "One person can make a difference and everyone should try." May 2026 be a year of trying AND making a difference! 🌿