Celebrating and conserving the ecological richness of California's grasslands
Better Grasslands Through Knowledge: A CNGA Science-Based Symposium
Optional Field Trips on Wednesday, February 5, 2025
and Saturday, February 8, 2025
Wednesday February 5, 2025 1 PM - 4 PM 2030 Pepperwood Preserve Road, Santa Rosa Fee: $25 Min/Max Registrants: 10-24 We invite you to join us in exploring the diverse and scenic grasslands at Pepperwood, located in the heart of the Mayacamas Mountain range in eastern Sonoma County. We will be learning about Pepperwood’s extensive grassland stewardship and research programs while observing how the landscape has recovered from two wildfires in 2017 and 2019. Staff will be highlighting their conservation grazing program; prescribed burning, restoration and invasive species management activities; and discussing how their annual grassland monitoring program has helped them adapt to changing climate and drought conditions. This event will include carpooling and hiking short to moderate distances off trail on uneven and hilly terrain to reach demonstration sites.
| Heritage Growers Native Seed Amplification Facility .jpg){kind=logo} Wednesday February 5, 2025, 9 AM - 1 PM Colusa, CA Fee: $25 Min/Max Registrants: 15-35 The tour will cover all aspects of the numerous steps involved in the production of source identified native seed. The tour will include a visit to Heritage Growers’ demonstration garden where new ecotypes and new species are trialed, seed is produced for the nursery operation and small plot amplifications are implemented. We will also visit Heritage Growers’ production fields where more than 100 distinct species and ecotypes are produced over approximately 208 acres. Discussions will include methods for field establishment including direct seeding and plug installation, how fields are maintained including irrigation and weed control, how seeds are harvested including how large farm equipment such as swathers and combines are utilized to efficiently harvest seed at scale. The field trip will cover the seed conditioning (cleaning) process including how seeds are dried, the various methods used to clean seed and how the seeds are stored, tested, and retested. Woven throughout the fieldtrip will be examples of various Best Management Practices Heritage Growers use to maintain genetic integrity of different ecotypes.
Aerial photograph of Heritage Growers production fields (John Brennan) |
Pepperwood Preserve, Sonoma County 
The Grace Hudson Museum Wild Gardens Wednesday, February 5, 12 PM - 4 PM 431 S Main St, Ukiah, CAFee: $25 Min/Max Registrants: 5-18 The Grace Hudson Museum Wild Gardens provides an educational and cultural resource in the city of Ukiah, teaching people of all ages about native plants and their cultural importance and providing a place to harvest plants for traditional uses. Sherrie Smith-Ferrie, the former executive director and curator of Ukiah’s Grace Hudson Museum and a member of Sonoma County's Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, along with Andrea Davis, a local landscape designer, will introduce participants to the history, inspiration, and planning behind the creation of the Wild Gardens at Grace Hudson Museum and speak about the interwoven evolution of native people with native plants. Sherrie and Andrea will also discuss some of the successes and failures they have experienced in trying to realize the gardens’ original vision, particularly vis-à-vis others' reactions to the native grasses in the gardens. A tour of the Wild Gardens will round out the afternoon. The gardens contain at least 20 species of grasses, sedges, and rushes.
| Willits Bypass Mitigation Project Saturday, February 8, 9 AM - 12 PM Willits, CA Fee: $25 Min/Max Registrants: 5-30 Tour leaders include Marisela De Santa Anna, the Project Interpreter and biologist with the Mendocino RCD; Maureen Doyle, Willits Mitigation Specialist/Botanist with Caltrans; and Emily Allen, a consulting botanist. The Willits Mitigation Bypass project is 2,000+ acres of wet meadows, streams, and oak woodlands in Mendocino County. It is owned by Caltrans and managed in part by the Mendocino Resource Conservation District. The project includes management of two 1B.1 rare plants: Pleuropogon hooverianus, North coast semaphore grass, and Limnanthes bakeri, Baker's meadowfoam. This tour will include an overview of the project, ecology and management of these rare plants, as well as a walk to observe some of the project. We may observe resident Tule Elk, birds, as well as winter vegetation. This is a rare chance to view this project which has limited public tours. The Willits Bypass Offsite Mitigation Project is the largest public wetlands mitigation project in the State of California
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