Breaking Trails
One of the great benefits of my REI partnership is that in each of the major cities—Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento, I participate in a volunteer days with REI members working with local land conversation groups.
Planting Seeds
In conjunction with my Sacramento talk in November, I found myself one beautiful fall Sunday morning high in the hills of Auburn, California, a little town off the highway as you head toward South Lake Tahoe.
That bright morning, a group of about 20 REI members plus volunteers from the Placer Land Trust had gathered to help break new trails, plant new seedlings and pick up acorns (if you were under the age of 6). They also had a cool naturalist leading special educational projects for kids of all ages.
Because of my major allergy to poison oak which was abundant in the area, I chose to stay off the trail and join the planting team. Lucky for us, we had several Americorp volunteers with us doing the heavy lifting in the form of using pick axes to dig the holes. We planting volunteers only had to scamper in afterwards, plunk the tiny plant in the ground, and use our fingers to rank some soil around the seedling to anchor it in the ground.
Building Trust
The Placer Land Trust was established in the early 1990s to preserve the wide open spaces of Placer County. The organization works with more than 25 preserves and farms to protect and promote the area’s natural habitat. Here’s a cool map of several of the protected areas and parks where they work north of the Sacramento Valley.
I made a donation today as part of my offer to donate 20% of my profits from books sales in Sacramento to the Placer Land Trust. I’m happy to support their good works and preserve the beautiful fauna and flora of the area.
If you wish to get involved too, you can:
- Volunteer
- Give a donation
- Learn about the area’s natural beauty
Here’re a few more photos from that fun day out!
Tags: Placer Land Trust, REI, volunteer
This entry was posted on Friday, December 5th, 2014 and is filed under Hot Orgs.
@GoErinGo @REI Thanks Erin for volunteering, getting dirty, and donating books – you’re welcome anytime! http://t.co/XialVpyS41