City of Orlando’s Post

🌲Large, high-severity wildfires have dramatically altered California’s landscape, including vital ecosystems like the giant sequoia’s habitat. Today, 1.5 million burned acres across the state await reforestation. Conifer seed shortages, a shrinking workforce, and limited nursery space are slowing efforts. American Forests, USDA Forest Service and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) are teaming up to break down these barriers and accelerate restoration! Together, we can bring back our forests. 🌲🌎 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dgWPDZpR 

“Fire mitigation through strategic fuel reduction is essential for restoring and maintaining healthy forest ecosystems.” This week, The Mountain Democrat published a commentary from EL DORADO COUNTY Supervisor and RCRC Board Delegate Lori Parlin and California Forestry Assn and CEO Matt Dias, discussing how overly dense forest negatively impact forest health, increasing tree mortality, and fueling devastating wildfires and smoke across the state. The authors emphasize how forest resiliency projects, like the proposed project from RCRC's affiliate entity Golden State Natural Resources, can enhance forest health, create jobs, and increase wildfire resilience. See the full Op Ed here: https://bit.ly/3Oa2kTH

"Our 30-year anniversary is next year. From the beginning, we’ve known that our vision of ecological, economical, and socially responsible forestry as the standard for forest management from coast to coast requires collective effort from a strong, supportive community. Today, the Guild community is stronger than ever, and each member is continuously improving our collective knowledge, efforts, collaborations, and impact." Read more of this story in this month's Across the Landscape: https://ow.ly/WtbI50StMPY

🌲 We’re honored to partner with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management to create Forest Health Assets that highlight their programs and resources designed to keep Arizona’s forests healthy, reduce wildfire risks, and support ecosystems vital to our communities. Their new materials are more inclusive than ever and are now available in English, Spanish, and Diné. Their initiatives empower everyday Arizonans to play an active role in protecting Arizona’s natural spaces. Learn more about how you can protect our community from invasive species here. 💬✨ https://loom.ly/1MDUit8

Christmas in July?? Not exactly… but beachgoers may have noticed a jolly sight over the long weekend - namely, upcycled Christmas trees at Popham!! 🌲🌊 The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and Maine Geological Survey devised a plan to rebuild beach elevation using discarded Christmas trees. The idea was inspired by similar efforts in New Jersey and North Carolina and a successful trial at South Portland’s Willard Beach in 2023. With their branches and needles, these trees can trap windblown and wave-deposited sand, preventing further erosion and heightening beach elevation over time. This project also provides a timely reminder for the rest of the season: coastal ecosystems can be fragile, and beachgoers are asked to tread carefully during summer excursions! Stick to designated paths and avoid disturbing dunes, vegetation, and other natural features. 🏖 We love this example of a creative, nature-based approach to a local climate problem, and we can’t wait to learn more about the results!! Read more: https://nature.ly/3WdOIeZ 📸 Drone photo of the Popham Beach State Park Christmas tree pilot (Sean Vaillancourt photo for the Press Herald) #conservation #coastalrestoration #maine #beach #summerinmaine #mainecoast #popham #pophambeach #reducereuserecycle #gogreen #naturebasedsolutions #habitatrestoration #climateaction

California State Parks and partners support giant sequoias with over 900 acres of beneficial fire! … From October 29 to November 1, California State Parks with the assistance of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) and the USDA Forest Service treated 914 acres in the South Grove Natural Preserve at Calaveras Big Trees State Park with prescribed fire. This project restores and maintains a complex forest community, promotes giant sequoia regeneration and wildfire resilience, reduces hazardous fuel loads, improves wildlife habitat, and protects park infrastructure. … Find out more about how this project promotes giant sequoia stewardship and regeneration. >> https://lnkd.in/gxBBdSAr … #WildfireTaskForce #TaskForceProgress #GoodFire

Cultural burns embody generations of wisdom honoring the deep connection between people and the land. Earlier this month, the Cache Creek Conservancy/Nature Preserve in partnership with the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), hosted the Leok Po (Good Fire) Workshop on Yocha Dehe lands at the Cache Creek Nature Preserve. This event brought together Tribal leaders, fire professionals, community members, and partner organizations to experience a cultural burn demonstration and engage in meaningful conversations about the role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (#TEK) in addressing today’s challenges. Led by Diana Almendariz in the Tending and Gathering Garden, the workshop highlighted how practices like cultural burning improve ecosystem health, enhance cultural resources, and reduce invasive species while strengthening relationships between communities and the land. We’re honored that members of our team could attend, listen, and learn from this powerful gathering. Workshops like these underscore the importance of centering Indigenous knowledge systems as we work together toward a more resilient future. #GoodFire #CulturalBurning #TraditionalEcologicalKnowledge #CacheCreek #ForestRestoration

It’s a slow spring afternoon, and you’re outdoors enjoying the last golden moments of daylight. Shadows begin their stretch toward evening, carrying cool, crisp air. Perhaps you’re in a meadow, a field, or a forest’s edge. Amid the vivid symphony of nature, you notice a distinctive, accelerating birdsong… like a ping-pong ball bouncing on a table… With patience, you might track the trilling song to its source: a small, pink-billed sparrow with a bold white eye ring, often skulking in a thick shrub or small tree. Can you identify this bird sharing a habitat with you? It’s our Bird of the Week: The Field Sparrow (Scientific Name: Spizella pusilla)! Though still fairly common, Field Sparrows face decline due to habitat loss. But hope is not lost! With your support, ABC and partners are conserving Field Sparrow habitats through advocacy and forest management, specifically in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Tennessee, North Carolina, and beyond. With your help, we’ll continue to enjoy the Field Sparrow's song for generations to come. 🎶Discover more about Field Sparrows and join ABC’s conservation efforts at https://lnkd.in/gmAumb_d. #FieldSparrow #SpizellaPusilla #BirdOfTheWeek #BirdFriendlyForests #BirdConservation #SustainableForestry

California State Parks works diligently to steward its land, often combining wildfire resilience with ecological restoration. Calaveras Big Trees SP is a great example. Ascent recently helped CSP secure approvals of wildfire resilience projects at Mount Diablo SP and Tomales Bay SP using CalVTP.

🌱The native seedlings we grow are the linchpin of our wildfire restoration projects and a core part of how we’re closing the reforestation gap across the West. Our work in California is no exception. With 635 million seedlings needed to restore California’s burned forests, there couldn’t be a more impactful time for California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to select our nursery, Cal Forest Nurseries, as a 2024 grant recipient! We’re thrilled to share that this funding has already supercharged our operations, supporting the collection and processing of enough seed to grow 100M seedlings. That would be enough to reforest over 300K acres, an area nearly the size of LA.   With this grant, we’re able to act quickly and efficiently to supply native seedlings to landowners impacted by severe wildfire and restore ecosystems across the Western U.S. that are unlikely to recover without our help. 📺 Tune in the story by @ KDRV-TV | KDKF-TV: https://lnkd.in/d3j_68wW Learn how you can help, too 👉https://lnkd.in/dKzzi7jK