Burn Scar of Little Valley Fire to be reseeded in free, volunteer-driven event
Join South Lake Tahoe’s Sugar Pine Foundation and Patagonia at Historic Bowers Mansion Wednesday, Nov. 13th from 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. in the reseeding of sugar pine seedlings to the burn scar of the Little Valley Fire, which devastated nearly 2,300 acres and destroyed 23 homes in October of 2016.
This public event is free and open to anyone who would like to get involved in the beautiful mountain range’s recovery after the horrific fire.
Sugar Pine Foundation is a non-profit organization with the mission of “restoring sugar pines and other white pines (…) by educating and involving local volunteers of all ages in hands-on forest stewardship," according to the foundation.
Sugar Pine Foundation was founded in 2004 by U.S. Forest Service Technician John Pickett and was later taken over by current Executive Director Maria Mircheva.
Sugar Pine Foundation has planted over 100,000 seedlings, according to Mircheva, and it has restored almost 2,000 acres of the Lake Tahoe region and beyond in an effort to combat the spreading of a non-native, invasive fungus called White Pine Blister Rust.
Together with their main supporter, Patagonia, Sugar Pine Foundation is helping “Keep Tahoe Blue by keeping our high elevation forests green," according to the foundation.
Patagonia has been one of Sugar Pine Foundation's biggest supporters, said Mircheva, supplying them with yearly grants and countless hours of volunteer work.
Patagonia incentivizes their employees to volunteer with Sugar Pine Foundation and other environmental organizations by offering them their hourly wage to volunteer in what they call “Enviro Days," according to Sugar Pine's Development Coordinator Tressa Gibbard. Two of Patagonia's employees sit on Sugar Pine Foundation's Board of Directors.
If you are as passionate about Sierra Nevada's local evergreen forests as these admirable conservationists, come to Historic Bowers Mansion located at 4005 Old US Highway 395 on Wednesday, Nov. 13, where participants will meet and plant seedlings alongside Mircheva and Gibbard and other volunteers.
With the help of participants, the team’s goal of planting 600 seedlings in an area of 10 to 15 acres of the Little Valley Fire’s burn scar will help to plant a forest that future generations will cherish for centuries.
For those interested in getting more involved with Sugar Pine Foundation, you can subscribe to their newsletter here or by following their facebook here.
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