Our meeting place
Aldersgate United Methodist Church
1201 Irvine Blvd. Tustin 92780
Our meetings are held on the 1st Wednesday of the month unless otherwise noted.
Please note: Speakers are subject to change.
February 4, 2026
(Speaker: Bonnie Robinson, Joel Robinson, and Les Hall)
In conversation with Bonnie Robinson (& her son Joel) and Les Hall about changes happening at Hurwitz Basin & along Santiago Creek
Environmental Impacts to and around Santiago Creek
Wednesday, February 4, 2026 @7pm @Aldersgate Church, 1201 Irvine Blvd, Tustin, CA 92780
This presentation will give an overview of the Santiago Creek, its importance to our human communities and wildlife, both flora and fauna. The speakers will talk about flood control, as well as the necessity to preserve open space. They will include information about the US Army Corps Mainstem Project, their concerns, what they have done so far and what is expected. They will also review the Hurwitz Basin and Milan Projects. In addition, Joel will give an overview of the Save Orange Hills/No Orange Heights Campaign. They will include ways that the community can get involved and make a difference in the planning and preservation of these areas.
Speakers: Bonnie Robinson, Joel Robinson, and Les Hall
Bonnie Robinson, a retired educator who worked for 40 years in the Orange Unified School District, has been active in land issues for many years. She was involved in the process of protecting the Hurwitz Basin, an identified water of the State (a wetland) and habitat for threatened and endangered species, from being filled with demolition waste. The Hurwitz basin has now been donated to the City of Orange to be protected as open space in perpetuity. In addition, Bonnie has been working with community members, city staff and multiple agencies for several years to stop illegal dumping of demolition waste on the Milan owned property on Santiago Canyon Road in Orange, as well as proper cleanup of the site. She often works with her oldest son, Joel, on environmental issues. When she is not fighting for our open spaces, she is involved with other city issues and organizations, working with fused glass, folk dancing, learning cello and enjoying her family.
Joel Robinson is the director of Naturalist For You, a 19-year-old environmental education non-profit based in Orange County. He is also the leader of Save Orange Hills, a grassroots community effort to preserve the 396-acre wildlife corridor and prehistoric Native American village site in between Irvine Park and Peters Canyon. He has guided interpretive nature walks, reenacted living history, restored wildlife habitat, conducted biological surveys and organized environmental classes, workshops, presentations and events for the public benefit since 2001. Prior to creating Naturalist For You, he worked for The Nature Conservancy, City of Santa Ana Parks & Recreation, Inside the Outdoors, The Wildlands Conservancy and California State Parks. His services are appreciated annually by thousands of visitors to our local national forests, state parks, county parks and city parks in Southern California. He enjoys foraging wild foods, birding, barefooting, hiking and camping with his family and playing music in his pirate band, Queen Anne’s Blouse.
Les Hall is a Southern California native, a retired attorney and former General Counsel of an Orange County manufacturing company. He’s been a resident of the Fisher Park Neighborhood of Santa Ana for about 20 years. He enjoys art, gardening and traveling, and has witnessed the urbanization of Orange County, removal of all the orange groves next to the 133 Fwy, and the creation of the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and continuing efforts to save local green space. In January 2023 the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) presented a flood control plan to turn Santa Ana’s portion of Santiago Creek into a barren, rock lined flood control channel. Local residents challenged this project in whatever ways they could, meeting with local political representatives, writing articles such as https://voiceofoc.org/2023/09/hall-santiago-creek-saving-one-of-orange-countys-longest-natural-waterways/ and collaborating with new friends and environmental organizations to stop or amend the USACE plan.
March 4, 2026
(Speaker: TBD)
March 2026 Great American Write-In
April 8, 2026 (change due to Passover on April 1)
(Speaker: TBD)
April 18, 2026 – AAUW-CA Annual Meeting
May 6, 2026
(Speaker: TBD)
Panel discussion with female police officers from Tustin/Santa Ana/Orange about experience on the force, dealing with sexism, strategies for advancement, etc.
June – Installment Event Location TBD
July – Dark
August – 2026 Summer Social