Organized Event: Forest Aid tree planting

[OU812]

This is part of an e-mail that I got from Forest Aid today. They called me last week to tell me they were planting in Fawnskin this year. I plan on spending a weekend or two up there this year.

Greetings from the San Bernardino National Forest Association and TreePeople! Forest Aid is now preparing for our 2010 planting season and we plan to build on the great success from 2009. A BIG thank you to all of the Forest Aid volunteers who embarked on last year's journey to restore the fire-destroyed areas of our National Forest. These individuals and groups represented the varied regions of Southern California, and thousands of volunteers came out to make sure all 20,200 trees were planted, and planted well!

Forest Aid's success is due to a team of committed people and organizations. This partnership involves three organizations: TreePeople, the San Bernardino National Forest Association (SBNFA), and the U.S. Forest Service. Each organization brings a unique set of skills, all sharing a common vision to provide opportunities for people to connect with the forest. By working together, we've created a wonderful community spirit and have also achieved great success.

The Forest Aid team hopes to see you up on the mountain in 2010. Preparations for the spring season - at the end of March - are in full swing, and this year we plan to exceed our 2009 success and plant 25,000 trees from Lake Arrowhead to Big Bear.

We cannot do this alone! Please visit www.forestaid.net to learn more about the program, you can also view our online calendar and register for upcoming Planting Supervisor trainings in February and March.

Best wishes for a wonderful new year,

David Tankersley, Regional Manager
TreePeople

Alison Bates, Deputy Director
San Bernardino National Forest Association




Get Trained!
Do you want to help reforest fire-damaged areas? Are you good with people? Do you want to teach others proper high-elevation planting techniques?

Reforestation Supervisors manage groups of volunteers and show them the right way to plant trees to ensure their survival.

Requirements: You must be at least 16 years old to be a Reforestation Supervisor. You must attend a free weekend training and one follow-up planting for additional mentoring. After that, we'll put you on our contact list for Reforestation Supervisor opportunities for Forest Aid. See our calendar for upcoming training dates.

Benefits: Forest Aid t-shirt, name badge and the positive feeling of helping the forest.

Reforestation Supervisor Trainings
February 27 and 28, Lytle Creek Ranger Station
March 6 and 7, Big Bear Discovery Center

[Roger]

I did this last year and really enjoyed it. I'm going to pass this year.

[Jason]

I did this last year as well. Depending on when they do it, I may make a weekend trip out of it this year.

[Russ Chung]

The tree planting will begin the last weekend of March and continue for seven weekends; ending the second weekend of May, subject to the weather and how quickly the snow melts. There will also be some tree planting during the week, but those days are usually filled by clubs and organizations, whereas the weekends are for volunteers from the general public. The planting ends by 1pm, so you can stay up there and do some wheeling if you'd like.

[dirtman13]

I'll will hopefully be attending a few this year as well. It's a fun day and a great way to give back.

[blackZZR]

will have a jeep up and running in the next 2 weeks and will be able to do this.

[chris142]

Is this in any way connected withm the Sierra Club or any other enemies of ours?

The reason m asking is that about 15 years ago I was going up 3n14 and came across a group of people planting trees and they formed a human chain blocking the road and wouldn't let us pass.

[Russ Chung]

The tree planting is jointly sponsored by
1. U.S. Forest Service
2. San Bernardino National Forest Association
3. Treepeople

Since the general public can volunteer, it doesn't exclude "tree-huggers" from showing up, but to answer your question, no, none of the co-sponsoring organizations are anti-OHV.

[inVERt'D]

about 15 years ago I was going up 3n14 and came across a group of people planting trees and they formed a human chain blocking the road and wouldn't let us pass.

Were you in 4-HI or 4-LOW?

[chris142]

Were you in 4-HI or 4-LOW?

2wd at the time.

[Materdaddy]

I hope to make it a couple times this year again. Can't commit enough to be a supervisor, but it is good to get up there and help out after the fires, and especially now that it's in Fawnskin... wheeling afterwards becomes an even easier sell!

[2blk2drs]

Better throw the doors back on before heading up, wouldn't want to get busted by the smoking nazis this year

:beer:

[Guest]

Better throw the doors back on before heading up, wouldn't want to get busted by the smoking nazis this year

:beer:

I thought as long as you had your seat belt on, you could go doorless?

[OU812]

No that is in reference to the law that says you cannot smoke in the forest unless you are in your vehicle or you have 3 feet of defensible space. It’s a selective enforcement issue but some of the tree people made a comment about someone smoking last year. I think it was pretty rude of them for harassing someone that drove 100 miles to plant trees with them for 4-5 hours. It’s your right to smoke as long as you are within the law and not throwing you butts every ware. Like many things that are offensive to others there is a decent and polite way to do it.

[2blk2drs]

I think it was pretty rude of them for harassing someone that drove 100 miles to plant trees with them for 4-5 hours.

Something about an Equine Dentist..... I dont really remember....