So much of the work of Vesper Meadow Restoration Preserve is aligned with the Pachamama Alliance vision: bringing forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, socially just human presence on this planet – a New Dream for humanity.
For this and many other reasons, we are enthusiastic about the Southern Oregon Pachamama Alliance (SOPA) community being invited to be a part the learn-by-doing restorative work at Vesper Meadow next month. Just take a look at the Vesper Meadow blog to see why we are so excited to be a part of helping to build a culture of land stewardship while providing an integrated approach to cultivating and sustaining the human-nature connection.
Our special day is Sunday, April 10. We plan to circle up at Vesper Meadow at 9:30 a.m. Carpools will leave from the Bellview Grange parking lot, 1050 Tolman Creek Road, Ashland, by 8:45 a.m. We’ll wrap up our activities about 12:30 p.m. You are welcome to pack a lunch to enjoy at the preserve, and, to walk the trails if you wish to after our work “party.”
We need a head count, so if you would like to participate in this community project, please email in**@**uthernoregonpachamama.org. We’ll send updates should weather or anything unforeseen result in changes to our schedule. Also, let us know if you need a ride from the Grange to Vesper Meadow, or if you can drive others.
Our contributions that day will include activities such as planting willow stakes in the creek, preparing the barn for renovation, fence mending, and trail maintenance. We will be assigned tasks that are suitable to our individual capabilities, so everyone is invited to participate. By volunteering, we will be supporting Vesper Meadow’s public workshops, K-12 programming, student internships and the preserve’s restoration projects.
The preserve is a 1,000-acre mix of upland wet meadows, conifer forests, and open shrub-steppe hill slopes in the heart of the Cascade-Siskiyou region, so it is a beautiful location to spend the day while giving back to this very special place.
All Vesper Meadow programs are enriched with biological observation, conservation science, art, ethno-botanical and cultural understandings. The preserve, which is recovering from more than a century of heavy forest and meadow use, is now a bio-cultural restoration demonstration site for the Vesper Meadow Education Program. Restoration efforts are made with the intention to restore and enhance:
- the natural hydrology of Latgawa Creek
- the native plant community, and biodiversity reflective of the greater Cascade-Siskiyou region
- Indigenous connections through Tribal partnership and self-determined goals for First Food land management
- imperiled wildlife habitat for Mardon Skipper, Vesper Sparrow, and other rare species detected through ongoing monitoring efforts
- the ecological integrity of the creek, meadow, and forest-slope habitat for climate resiliency
- creating enhanced opportunities for human relationship with the land
Experienced birders may also be needed later in the month to help monitor the endangered Vesper Sparrows who nest at the preserve. If you would like to help with this program, contact Jeanine Moy at jea****@**spermeadow.org
If you want to dive deeper, see the Vesper Meadow Facebook page and these videos about Vesper Meadow projects from its website, and these on its YouTube channel.
