Seedlings of Hope
Replanting our History
Join the Central Sierra Resiliency Fund of the Central Sierra Historical Society and our partners as we further our values of Restoration, Community and Stewardship. Plantings began in Spring 2021 with stock procured from local seed banks and nurseries. Since then, we’ve partnered with Mulholland Citrus to grow our seedlings locally, in addition to other nurseries around the state!
Since April 2021, CSRF and its volunteers have planted 100,525 seedlings to more than 110 landowners in the Fresno County Creek Fire burn scar! An additional 11,930 seedlings were grown and sold to local landowners with reforestation needs beyond the scope of the Seedlings of Hope Program. As of March 2024, CSRF has provided 112,455 seedlings to facilitate the reforestation in our community
Our seedlings are:
- Native species, appropriate for planting in the Central Sierra Region:
- Giant Sequoias, Incense Cedars, Live Oaks, Pines, and White Firs
- Planted as recommended by local foresters
- Planted locally, within the Fresno County footprint of the Creek Fire
Provided for free to property owners (up to a maximum of 600 seedlings depending upon acreage and site readiness as determined by our registered professional foresters. Additional seedlings can be purchased, if surplus seedlings are available and the property meets SOH requirements.)
Together, our history can be one of community and stewardship!
2022 Cone Collection project
To continue having seedlings available for our forests despite statewide seed bank shortages, in Fall of 2022 we hired professional tree climbers to collect local pinecones. Our volunteers then processed the cones over two workdays at the Museum of the Sierra to ready the seed for storage. These efforts yielded 4,414 Ponderosa Pine cones (equivalent to approximately 300,000 seeds), 1,328 Sugar Pine cones (equivalent to approximately 100,000 seeds) and 256 Jeffery Pine cones (equivalent to approximately 20,000 seeds).
In Spring 2023, we began sowing seeds from our seed bank at Mulholland Citrus as well as other nurseries to provide Seedlings of Hope for the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 seasons! Our partners Mulholland Citrus, One Tree Planted, and Cal Forest nurseries are growing additional seedlings for planting in Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 (soil conditions permitting).
Seedlings of Hope has been made possible in part by grants from and collaboration with the Arbor Day Foundation, CalFire, Cal Forest, Creek Fire Recovery Collaborative, National Forest Foundation, Mulholland Citrus, Mulholland Citrus, Sierra Resource Conservation District and Southern California Edison.
Donate to Seedlings of Hope
Donate $5 and we will plant one seedling within the Fresno County forests affected by the Creek Fire.
These plantings will be done in cooperation with landowners and/or other local, state and federal organizations. One tree will be planted for every $5 donated to this Seedlings of Hope campaign. We will not deliver a tree to the donor or designated honoree or commit to planting a tree on a specific property.
If you would like a seedling planted in memory or in honor of a specific person, please note that information in the memo section below.
Together, our history can be one of community and stewardship!
Check donations can be written to Central Sierra Resiliency Fund and mailed to:
Central Sierra Resiliency Fund
P.O. Box 617
Shaver Lake, CA 93664
Please note “Seedlings of Hope” in the memo section.
Donating as a Gift? Download our printable Seedlings Of Hope Certificate!
Donating in Memory? Download our printable Seedlings of Hope Memorial Certificate
Contact us at [email protected] to see how you might help foster a sense of “Central Sierra Resiliency” in our broader community.