CNGA's 14^th Annual Field Day at Hedgerow Farms

Sowing the Seeds of Grassland Restoration:

CNGA’s 30^th Anniversary Celebration

Recordings and Materials from the Webinar Event Presented on June 11, 2021

CNGA and Hedgerow Farms partnered for the 14^th year  to offer this opportunity to learn new perspectives on grassland restoration and practice in California’s spectacular native grasslands. In these on-demand recordings of the June 11, 2021 event, we take you through the restoration process: from wildland seed collection through farm production to tours of restored field sites. See full agenda here.

Follow the life of a seed from wildland seed collection to farm production

• Seed collection with Jeff Quiter, Hedgerow Farms; Tanya Meyer, Yolo Co. RCD
• Farm production: planting harvesting, processing with Pat Reynolds, CNGA,  Bryan Young, Sacramento Regional Co. Sanitation District, Chris Rose, Solano RCD

Seeds of restoration: Where are they now? Tour the state with virtual “show and tell” site visits and presentations

• Vic Claassen, Soil Scientist, UC Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources
• Valerie Eviner, Professor, Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis
• Southern California with Robert Freese, Irvine Ranch Conservancy/Orange County Parks, Megan Lulow, UC Irvine, Collin Raff, Irvine Ranch Conservancy
• Pepperwood Preserve, Sonoma County with Michelle Halbur, Preserve Ecologist
• A look at a native grassland meadow for a residential landscape five years after install with Billy Krimmel, Founder and President, Miridae Landscape Architecture and Construction
• Russell Ranch Restoration, UC Davis, Yolo County with JP Marié, Manager, UC Davis Putah Creek Marine Reserve
• Dos Rios Ranch, with Stephen Sheppard, River Partners

Short talks by CNGA Leaders, past and present

• Perspectives on the past and future of grasslands conservation and restoration

Here are a few reviews of Field Day from our attendees

• I now know every step of the native grass restoration process. I learned about the importance of healthy soils, plant diversity, planting to adapt for drought, holistic grazing's effects among many things. California grasslands are great!
• I manage a mitigation program, so I don't necessarily do restoration work myself, but it is always helpful to understand the work of my consultants. I learned some new information and pick up a ton of resource links, which I appreciate.
• I am a PhD student studying areas relevant to restoration, so this event gave me some further ideas of topics I could do research on and potential field sites. It was also interesting to see a mix of applied and academic perspectives.
• While I love in-person, I can't deny that there are some nice thin things about virtual, especially the site tours at far-reaching locations!

Hordeum brachyantherum (meadow barley), harvested and drying before cleaning. Photo: Hedgerow Farms, Michele Ranieri. 

Many thanks to our Sponsors!