Update from the forest - shots of the day, tree news and crowdfunding a transmission

The stress of two dry winters in a row in the Angeles national Forest is leaving most plants in survival mode. For the fire followers, their decline marks the next phase of recovery, and they focus their energy on the production of seeds, with abundant flowers and few leaves, preparing for a long spell of dormancy before they will dominate the landscape again.

Our second Chilao School Open House will take place April 27-28. Chilao School is a historic 2000 square foot one room school house, possibly the last functioning one room school in California, and it is being opened for public use as an outdoor education center, retreat space and group program venue.

The purpose of the Open House is to introduce this unique and beautiful location to the philanthropic and educational community at large as a venue that can be incorporated into existing programs, or be the nucleus for new outdoor opportunities to groups who currently do not have an accessible, affordable outdoor space.

The school is owned by Redbird, a Native American and environmental non profit association, and operated by special permit from the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service as an educational facility.
Please see the flier which accompanies this story for more details.

Jen Hooper of the USFS will be bringing several thousand Big Cone Douglas Fir to Chilao School, allowing them to acclimate to the local climate before they are planted in a species-specific restoration effort that will take place in 2014. This planting operation considers elements such as companion plant community health, and gives me hope that I will eventually meet people interested in studying the non-casual relationship between the presence of Poodle Dog Bush, naturally occurring conifers and healthy post-fire conifer seedling populations.

With a full schedule of events and repair/renovation efforts in front of us, losing the transmission in the Suburban, donated to Redbird last autumn, was the kind of financial blow that you feel in your chest. The good news...we're offering signed prints from the Forest Recovery Project as perks for those who contribute to our crowd funding campaign on Indiegogo. While the campaign runs for 45 days, the truck is sitting in a parking lot in Saugus, and I'm not sure how long it will be welcome there. It takes up a good chunk of real estate. There are perks for contributors, such as prints from the Forest Recovery Project, and an array of gifts for major contributors. See our campaign here:

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/keep-redbird-s-work-in-the-forest-going/x/1108373

Many blessings to all of our supporters and friends,

Corina Roberts