The conference  theme is Climate Change Adaptation and Natural Areas Management: Turning Words to Action (naturalareasconference.org). CNGA has organized a conference session on grasslands and climate change on Oct. 20, 8 am to 12 pm, and will also be leading an engaging field trip on Oct. 21 to local grassland sites and Hedgerow Farms, a well-known native seed production farm. Registration for the conference is required to attend the session and to participate in the field trip (http://naturalareasconference.org/registration). On-line registration is open until September 23rd. 

Field Trip Details: 

The field trip tour will include stops at Russell Ranch, Putah Creek Riparian Reserve (photo above), and Hedgerow Farms, Inc.

The first stop on this local trip will be Russell Ranch and the Putah Creek Riparian Reserve, a mosaic of grasslands, oak woodlands, and riparian ecosystems just west of Davis that is adaptively managed for teaching, research, and conservation of wildlife and habitat. The tour will highlight novel restoration efforts, integrated research projects, and adaptive management strategies including timed mowing, managed grazing, and controlled burning to target invasive species and promote native forbs, grasses, and woody plants.

The second stop will be Hedgerow Farms, Inc., a well-known native seed production farm that has supported habitat restoration efforts across California for the past 30 years. Hedgerow Farms produces native seed for over 100 species of native grass, wildflower, and wetland plants in addition to native nursery transplants and native straw. Hedgerow Farms staff also consult with contractors, government agencies, nonprofits, landscape architects and other groups to provide recommendations and suggestions for a wide variety of projects. The tour will include seed production fields, seed cleaning operations, seed storage facilities, harvesting and planting equipment, and will provide insight into how the native seed industry supports habitat restoration.

Tour Leaders:  J.P. Marié, Manager, UC-Davis Putah Creek Riparian Reserve; Andrew Fulks, Assistant Director, UC-Davis Arboretum; Emily Allen, Sales Manager, Hedgerow Farms; Tanya Meyer, General Manager, Hedgerow Farms

To register for this field trip please go to the Natural Areas Conference webpage

Register at http://naturalareasconference.org/registration

Time: 8:00 am – 4:00 pm

Capacity: 25

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

Cost: $50

Photo: Putah Creek Reserve. Photo by Emily Allen.