Jan has been a “nature nut” all of her life. She grew up by a woods near Cincinnati and camped on family vacations. She and her husband/fellow docent, Ray Valone, moved to Auburn in 2014. They were looking for volunteer opportunities tied to their values, and kept hearing good things about Placer Land Trust. They joined the docent team as trainees in 2017.
Jan worked on eradicating invasive blackberries and other non-natives by the Placer Land Trust Stagecoach Preserve creek near their home in Auburn. She completed the California Naturalist Certification Program through the American River Conservancy in 2019. For her capstone project, she developed plant identification guides for Canyon View preserve.
Jan is a key leader in her Firewise community and serves on the Greater Auburn Fire Safe Council. She and Ray enjoy hiking, travel and much more. Jan also enjoys skiing, snow shoeing, swimming, yoga, scuba diving, and working with native and other plants in her yard.
“We love that PLT has preserved so much land, ensuring green spaces and habitat in Placer County.”
