Connecting California’s landowners with CA Tree School: UC Cooperative Extension pilots ‘one stop shop’ for forestry education
“We have a responsibility now that we own a piece of land,” shared Antonio, a new forest landowner who attended this year’s inaugural California Tree School with his partner. “It’s important to take care of it.”
A unique ‘one-stop-shop' for forestry education based upon the OSU Extension model, California Tree School was piloted this year in both Mendocino and El Dorado counties. Open to new and experienced forest landowners, those who work in forestry, and those who simply love being in the forest, this mini-college experience had participants take up to four classes of their choice, taught by local, trusted natural resource professionals. With overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants, it’s clear that CA Tree School was not only an event the community needed, but one they would return to next year.
Antonio joined 50 other forest landowners, community members, and professionals to learn the ins and outs of managing oak woodlands at the UC ANR Hopland REC CA Tree School. The second CA Tree School was held at the Folsom Lake College’s El Dorado Center campus and offered an adjusted slate of classes to reflect the differing forest type. Combined, the two sessions served nearly 100 community members, and included 32 classes taught by 21 instructors from UC ANR, the USFS, CALFIRE, and the CA RCD.
The information forest landowners seek will often differ based on environmental circumstances and personal goals. CA Tree School allowed landowners like Antonio the opportunity to learn the basics of forest stewardship, while experienced landowners like father-daughter duo Erica and Allen could dive deep into topics like tree diseases and forest taxation. “Tree Damagers of Northwest California was the best class; my father and I thought that instructor Chris Lee (CALFIRE) was extremely knowledgeable,” Erica remarked after the event. “It gave us a lot of food for thought and things to look for on the property.”
“We came away from Tree School with a definite understanding of what stewardship meant. I wanted more time in each session!” added Antonio.
Participating in unique educational opportunities such as CA Tree School is necessary for stewards of forestland and can yield benefits for those working with forest landowners or in natural resource fields seeking professional development. CA Tree School included a mix of both, with 42 landowners and 39 natural resource professionals in attendance overall. Other participants included college and high school students interested in forestry as a career.
With CA Tree School being a space for tree enthusiasts all around, many participants found themselves surrounded by others who could relate to their worries, management goals, and passions. One participant, Rebekah, attended for professional development and reflected that where she works, “People think they are the only ones doing this type of work. It was cool to meet other people maximizing the functionality of their ecosystems and putting time into management.”
A diversity of participant backgrounds also led to lively discussions during classes, an observation shared by El Dorado session instructor Martin MacKenzie. MacKenzie is a forest pathologist with the U.S. Forest Service and noticed that students in his Forest Pathology classes had wide-ranging questions and were happy to share their knowledge with others. “Teaching at CA Tree School was excellent,” MacKenzie said. “The audience of students wanted to be there, and they wanted to learn.”
Between discussions on prescribed fire and learning how to map forest features, CA Tree School students connected with representatives from local organizations at the Exhibitor Fair. Exposing landowners to the resources within their community is a crucial aspect of the existing Forest Stewardship Workshop program, and CA Tree School would be no different. Exhibitors included staff from CALFIRE’s Jackson Demonstration State Forest, Forest Landowners of California, the American River Conservancy, American Forests, the UC ANR Fire Network, UC Master Food Preservers, and UC ANR Environmental Stewards.
Sierra Riker represented the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts at the El Dorado session and noted: “My position with CARCD generally does not interact with the public very often, so being able to chat with the landowners that RCDs serve really helped to demonstrate on a deeper level what RCDs do.”
Providing new, accessible forms of forest stewardship education is crucial for Californians living in forested areas, and CA Tree School provided a breadth of options for landowners at every stage of their stewardship journey.
