June 12, 2021

Redbud Field Trips Coming Back!

By Theo Fitanides

Hello Redbuddies! We are excited to announce that we will slowly be restarting in-person field trips this summer. For now, we ask that participants wear masks and comply with county health recommendations; we will be limiting attendance as we all seek a balance between health/comfort and shared botanical explorations.

Field Trip Coordinators; Knowledgeable Folks Needed

My name is Theo Fitanides, and I’ve recently joined the Redbud Chapter as Fieldtrip Chair after moving back to my home town of Nevada City. I’ll be working on generating a list of persons interested in leading or co-leading fieldtrips, especially folks who have knowledge in tangential fields (geology, herpetology, ethnobotany, etc.), so please contact me at theomeister@gmail.com with interests.

If you have an idea for a field trip and you’d be willing to coordinate the outing but would want someone with more botanical knowledge to serve as “plant guide” for the trip, just let me know, and I’ll line up someone who can fill that role for your field trip. The more people who step forward, the more field trips we can have.

Redbud’s First Field Trip of 2021

I’ll be co-leading our first field trip of the year at Boca Reservoir on Saturday, June 12, from 9:30 a.m. until about 2 p.m. The official route will be about two miles over moderate terrain on a trail. Redbud Chapter Vice President Shane Hanofee will be joining as the other co-leader.

Boca Reservoir is 8 miles northeast of Truckee off of I-80. We will take an easy 3.5 mile hike along a trail and dirt road among a transitional meadow and mixed pine woodland. Located in a valley with the Little Truckee River, where the gentle east side of the Sierra Nevada crest merges with the Great Basin. We hope to see many Asteraceae shrubs, skunky monkeyflower, violets, and whatever else is in bloom in this unseasonably early and dry year.

Registration is required, so to join us, please sign up on this Google form. Then I will send you an invitation to our new CNPS statewide online waiver system. You’ll want to complete this waiver beforehand.

Be well, and happy summer!