Carol Preston and Jeff Northam have lived in the redwoods near Pescadero, CA since 1993 and have worked hard the past twenty-plus years to transform their house into their dream home and place of retirement. On August 19, 2020, they lost it all to the CZU August Lightening Complex Fire. They lost the house, garden, workshop and all of their precious belongings. 

They lost their dreams. 
 
Carol and Jeff are nearing retirement age. Carol has worked as a highly respected environmental educator her entire career. She has mentored staff, designed exhibits, and taught thousands of children and adults in the natural sciences. Her expertise, tireless work ethic, and kindness are unrivaled. She often talked about the future, her aspirations of working in her garden, cultivating apples and flowers, and enjoying her home. 

Jeff almost single-handedly transformed the original cabin into a timber frame cottage over the past twenty-five years. He built it using mostly reclaimed lumber including old massive fir beams from old barns and warehouses, redwood boards from the original cabin's roof deck, as well as lumber milled from storm-fallen trees within feet of their front door. Using salvaged insulated windows and recycled cotton insulation they crafted a robust green constructed home, screwed and strapped together securely for their future. At one point, he fell off the roof fracturing his ribs, pelvis and clavicle, but with Carol by his side, he was able to rebuild his strength and determination to complete the construction of their home. Jeff is a museum curatorial design artist and fabricator, and has created some of the most creative, engaging, art and beautiful natural and cultural history museum exhibits you will ever find. Having his own business, he had amassed an extensive collection of woodworking and power tools, antiquarian books, photography, and graphic equipment, plus artwork from the numerous artists with whom he has worked over the years. 

It is all gone!

Grateful to be safe, Carol and Jeff, are looking to stay on the coast to continue their life's work but are faced with needing to replace everything they owned for life and work. We are posting this in hopes that our friends and neighbors will gather around Carol and Jeff to help support them. Your kind cash donations will enable them to begin to replace their specialized tools, clothing, furniture, kitchen items, bath items, and basically everything one would need to rebuild a life from scratch. 

Please help Carol and Jeff rebuild their dream.
 
In addition, they are desperately trying to stay on the San Mateo County coast and are in need of long-term housing.  A two-bedroom rental with a small yard will fit them well. Any leads or referrals are greatly appreciated at this time. Anything you can donate to help this incredibly talented, generous, and humble couple will be greatly appreciated. 

With Deep Gratitude...