Volunteers Making a Difference for Conservation
Burn pile day with SLT Staff and CCAC Fellows!
SLT is fueled by six volunteer Board and Board committees, consisting of 17 community volunteers, that focus on all things governance and conservation. Volunteer Board committees have work in conjunction with staff to fulfil the mission of the land trust.
SLT’s Committees that include public participation include Stewardship, Acquisition, Fund Development, and Finance. These committees get together monthly, if you are interested in joining or curious about how to get involved, please reach out.
With the new Stewardship Director position, SLT was able to re-invigorate the Stewardship Committee. Folks recently got together for a kickoff meeting to plan out activities for the upcoming year. SLT is planning stewardship workdays and participation in a Bio Blitz to support citizen science data gathering for iNaturalist. If you’re interested, reach out to ericaharris@siskiyoulandtrust.org. Many thanks to our Board members, John Vona, Greg Francois, Troy Hockaday, and Bruce Berlinger for supporting staff and Stewardship Committee development! Special thanks to community member Nicole Howell for reaching out and contributing your experience and understanding of stewardship with SLT.
Behind the scenes of SLT community events are our ad-hoc committees that bring together current Board members, past Board members, and community volunteers. This year, with the advent of the new online Experience Auction, a group of people excited to try something new are charting the course forward. Ad-hoc committee members Wendy Whitson, Greg Francois, Katie Le Baron (past Board member), and Kim Solga (longtime SLT volunteer and past staff member) are bringing their enthusiasm and creativity together to offer a fun way to support SLT. We love when a fun event can bring people together to support the Fun(d) Development Committee. You’ll want to check out the fun packages being put together by this crew for our first ever Experience Auction. Keep your eye out for auction experience info in the upcoming months and mark your calendar for June 12-19 to sign up and participate.
Special thanks for community members who roll up their sleeves for the nuts and bolts of finance. We couldn’t do this important work without you. Thank you, Jenny Harrington and Dan Gordon for bringing your vast experience to SLT’s financial oversight.
Mike Bradley tends a burn pile at the SLT Garden
Garden Greenway Invasive Plant Removal and Winter Fuels Reduction
As much planning and planting is happening for Spring and Summer SLT events, winter is the season for invasive species removal and fuels reduction work. As soon as precipitation returned, volunteer Mike Bradley (retired CalFire chief) was out in the snow with staff and the Climate Action Corps to reduce fuels at the Garden Greenway. Mike returned for a second burn pile day with SLT Stewardship Manager, Peter Townley in March to help clear invasive blackberry that was pulled by CalFire crews this season.
California Climate Action Corps Mid-term Updates
Siskiyou Land Trust’s Climate Action Corps (CCAC) Fellows, funded by AmeriCorps, are focused on transformative projects that enhance wildfire resilience and restore urban green spaces in Siskiyou County. SLT’s CCAC fellows took advantage of the weather window between storms to remove invasive species, buck and limb hazard trees, and restore spaces with California native plants. Reilly, Simbala, Stacey, and Erin have been focusing much of their energy on wildfire resiliency by working with staff and volunteers to build safe and efficient burn piles. Fellows were also trained in chainsaw safety and use by the Forest Service, and recently had a chance to gear up and run the saws, tackling small diameter tree removal in the Garden Greenway by the SLT office to keep our trails hazard free and safe for people & native plants.
In addition to hands on climate action, CCAC fellows have been attending a Climate Stewards Course, GIS and other trainings to further education and deepen understanding of ecosystem restoration and climate adaptation strategies and knowledge to support sustainable conservation efforts.
CCAC Fellow Erin Solloway hosted a native elderberry propagation workshop, complete with instructions for follow-up care, recipes & important native plant takeaways. The event successfully blended CCAC’s mission of making climate resilience actionable and SLT’s goals to engage the community in stewardship.
CCAC Fellow Activity Metrics (October – February 2025)
“Working with SLT has been inspiring personally, and full of learning, professionally. Everything SLT does from stewarding these lands to protecting wildlife and watersheds is crucial for a healthy, balanced world. I will be forever impacted from this experience.” – Stacey Revel, CCAC Fellow
Compost Bin Rebuild Workshop
Join CCAC fellow, Simbala for a Composting Workshop Saturday, March 29 from 10am-1pm!
Come help transform SLT’s compost bin into a 3-bin system. Extra hands will be needed to assemble it. Tools will be provided but volunteers are welcome to bring their own if preferred. Volunteers are invited to help us build, or are free to sit back, observe, and absorb the process.
“Siskiyou Land Trust has been such a suitable host site for us Climate Corps fellows to bring our ideas to fruition. I’m excited to have the opportunity to educate the community about the importance of composting and to soon offer a resource for community members in which to encourage incorporating composting into their daily practices.” - Simbala Desilles
For more details about the compost bin building workshop and a link to register, visit https://www.siskiyoulandtrust.org/event/compost-bin-workshop/
Looking for ways to help?
Head on over to our events calendar or visit our recent post about Ways to Support SLT in 2025 and Beyond.
There are many ways to get involved and contribute meaningfully to the community. There are volunteer opportunities for a range of interests and experiences. Consider volunteering your time for native planting work days, joining a guided nature walk to connect with local ecosystems, attending educational presentations like our Conservation Easements 101 Workshop to learn more about conservation, supporting an experience auction fundraiser to help raise essential funds for environmental initiatives, or even joining a board committee to help guide and shape the future of these efforts. Still not sure where to plug in? Get in touch by email at admin@siskiyoulandtrust.org and SLT staff can help connect you. We look forward to hearing from you!
