With this post, we start a series on the talented Climate Land Leaders who are artists.

Climate Land Leader Ruth Rabinowitz brings her awe for nature and an eye for detail to her photography work. But first…more about Ruth. She stewards farms in Iowa and South Dakota and has just built a new home on some of her Iowa land. She also lives part of the year in her long-time residence of Santa Cruz, California.

In both images and text, she is well documenting the transformation of the land since inheriting the farms from her father. For example, here’s one of her recent posts: “As plans progress towards a partial Oxbow Lake Restoration, the Iowa state archeologist was called in to dig down into the six areas where the ditch plugs would be located. Due diligence to be sure we are not digging up any artifacts such as tools, pottery etc. We sifted the soil and found grubs and earthworms, no artifacts today…..”

After graduating from University of California Santa Cruz with a bachelor degree in Art, Ruth photographed weddings, events and portraits for 17 years. The photos pictured here were taken in California, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, the University of California Santa Cruz campus and the retreat center called Land of Medicine Buddha.

Says Ruth: “After planting and caring for nearly 300 Iowa trees and shrubs, I have so much appreciation for trees this old and what it takes to survive for a hundred years and longer. These are giant trees that emit such a grounding energy and provide vast ecosystem services. Walking among trees, forest bathing, is a favorite activity of mine.”