At this time of the year, it is not uncommon for large branches to suddenly drop from oak trees without warning. Although this phenomenon is not limited to oaks, the sheer size of their branches makes summer branch drop (also known as “sudden limb failure”) in oaks much more hazardous for life and property than branch drop by other tree species. Dr. Richard Harris, Professor of Landscape Horticulture at UC Davis, published an article on the topic in the Journal of Arboriculture in April 1983 describing this condition and its possible causes, and suggested steps that tree owners can take to reduce the hazard of summer branch drop.
Drought stress may somehow contribute to summer branch drop, but at this time, there is no generally accepted hypothesis that explains this occurrence. In California this type of limb failure occurs on both native and planted trees as well as in irrigated and un-irrigated landscapes. One possibility is that drought stress during a hot calm afternoon reduces the flow of water in the branch, causing the branch temperature and the concentration of ethylene to increase. Ethylene, a gaseous hormone found in all plants, is known to promote the process of cell aging. Elevated levels of ethylene may weaken the cell wall cementation which when coupled with reduced transpiration and increased root pressure, increases internal sap pressure, moisture content of branches, and limb weight, resulting in branch failure. Old wounds and decay hidden inside a limb (possibly resulting from improper pruning) occasionally contribute to branch drop, but this does not account for the majority of summer branch drop failures. Pruning that encourages uneven growth at the end of a limb can put tremendous stress on the limb due to the added weight of the new growth.
UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu (preferred) or call (530) 538-7201.
To help raise awareness about the declining populations of many pollinating species, in 2017 the US Senate unanimously voted to establish National Pollinator Week. Because pollinators are crucial not only to our human food supply but to the health of all life on the planet, there is good reason to care about them: our lives are intertwined with theirs. This year National Pollinator Week is from June 20 to June 26th.
The Xerces Society also hosts regional events and webinars; a Bee Better Certification Program that provides incentives to conservation-minded farmers and points consumers towards food grown with pollinator-friendly practices; and a beautiful pollinator habitat sign to grace your garden (available as a gift to donors). For more ideas on how you can improve your garden for pollinators and celebrate National Pollinator Week, visit The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and Pollinator Partnership.
UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu (preferred) or call (530) 538-7201.
Nestled on a quiet street in Paradise, California, the Butte County Firesafe Council (BCFSC) is a community-based nonprofit organization which focuses on wildfire safety through a variety of outreach programs on wildfire hazard education, wildfire mitigation, and wildfire recovery. Located at 5619 Black Olive Drive, kitty-corner from the Town of Paradise Community Park, the BCFSC relies on grants and community donations to run its many programs and projects. The organization is deeply involved in aiding the area's recovery from the 2018 Camp Fire (the deadliest wildfire in California history): it helps landowners remove dead and dying trees at cost, creates fire breaks along roadways, and operates a weed wrench lending program to aid in removing broom and other invasive plants.
- Wildfire in the Foothills: Updated in 2021, the Wildfire in the Foothills curriculum is intended for sixth grade students living in fire-prone areas. The curriculum consists of seven lessons on topics such as geography and landscapes, cultural fire, fire physics and ignitions. The goal is to build fire-resilient communities through fire-wise education and community action.
- Redi Jedi Master Program (pyrosketchology): This curriculum focuses on nature journaling and place-based learning. Geared toward middle- and high school- age students, the lessons train students to see the signs and signals in nature that inform us of forces (both seen and unseen) that influence fire. Students develop a sense of place that includes fire and enhances situational and fire season awareness.Redi Master focuses on the following abilities and actions:
R: Recognize patterns, signals, and signs in nature and how they relate to fire.
E: Engage senses and elaborate on experiences and emotions that enhance fire
awareness.
D: Direct attention to field observation skills and creative journaling techniques.
I: Illuminate fire readiness, response, and resilience efforts with place-based knowledge.
- Once Upon a Wildfire storybook: Written by Calli-Jane DeAnda and illustrated by Jim Burch, this storybook is aimed at children ages four to ten. It is a true story about a young girl who evacuates to her grandmother's house when the woods catch fire. The book is offered in both PDF and hard copy formats. The sales of the book help support Butte County Fire Safe Council programs and projects.
- Wildfire Ready Racoon: Wildfire Ready attends events like the Grazing Festival and is on social media (follow Wildfire Ready on Facebook and Instagram).
- Chipper Program: In its fourteenth year, the Chipper Program operates from the end of fire season until May, depending on funding. The program is free to the public. Chipped brush and small trees are broadcast back onto the property as wood chips providing an alternative to burning or hauling brush to a waste site.
- Weed Wrench Loan Program: As part of BCFSC's campaign to remove highly flammable Scotch broom from the area, weed wrenches are available for loan from the council. Weed wrenches are helpful in removing broom and also other hard-to manage weeds. For additional information call the Fire Safe Council at 530-877-0984.
UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu (preferred) or call (530) 538-7201.
Imagine a library with thousands of books lining the shelves. Then imagine that instead of books, those shelves are filled with dried and mounted plant specimens. Such a systematic collection of dried plants is called an herbarium. The Herbarium at Chico State was founded in the early 1960's by Chico State Professor Kingsley Stern with specimens donated by Professor Vesta Holt; the collection now holds more than 124,000 specimens. The Herbarium's primary emphasis is the rich botanical diversity of the north state, but there are also specimens from southern California, other states, and even other countries.
The Herbarium's most prolific collector is Lowell Ahart, a retired rancher from Honcutt, who has been collecting since college and who has donated more than 22,000 specimens. In recognition of his botanical and monetary support, on June 7, 2022 (this coming Tuesday), the formal name of the collection will change from the Chico State Herbarium to the Ahart Herbarium.
All it takes is access to the internet to be able to retrieve information about any of the more than 2.2 million specimens represented in CCH2 without having to visit the herbarium where a particular specimen is kept. You can access the CCH2 collection here. But sometimes an in-person visit to an herbarium is necessary. The Herbarium at Chico State has hosted researchers from a variety of institutions, including the Smithsonian Institution, the University of Washington, and even a Japanese university.
In 2019 the Herbarium began a project to digitize all of the angiosperms (flowering plants) in the collection as part of a California-wide collaboration to understand the effects of climate change on plant flowering times. The digitized photos are linked to the specimens in CCH2 so that researchers can see a high resolution image of each plant and whether or not it is in bud, in flower, or in fruit. This allows researchers to track changes in flowering and fruiting times from the past until now. Herbarium Assistant Nancy Groshong has done the bulk of the digitizing and this project is nearing completion.
Traditionally herbaria were a resource for the identification and documentation of plants, but their nature has changed in the last 50 years. The information on collection labels that is visible in digitized photos, and the DNA contained by the specimen itself are rich sources of scientific data about geographic range, evolution of new species, patterns of diversity, introduction and spread of invasive species, and global climate change. Past and current conditions can be compared with an eye to planning for future conditions. Therefore, in addition to botanists and other researchers, conservation and land managers find the Herbarium a valuable resource.
Biological sciences professor Colleen Hatfield is director of the Herbarium at Chico State; Lawrence Janeway is part-time curator of the collection. Volunteers and student interns do the mounting, databasing, and filing. A group of supporters called Friends of the Herbarium (FOH) raises money to pay for equipment and the curator's salary and to build an endowment for the Herbarium.
FOH maintains a regular program of events and workshops that are open to the public. An online presentation under the heading “All Things Botanically Related” is shown on the third Thursday of the month. Prior presentations can be accessed at their Events & Workshops webpage. A workshop on Introduction to Keying Manzanitas led by manzanita experts Tom Parker and Mike Vasey will be offered on June 4, 2022. Other workshops, including Butterflies of Butte County and Native Bees as Pollinators, are in the planning stage. See the FOH website for more information.
Located in Holt Hall room 129, the Chico State Herbarium is open to the public by appointment every Friday from 9-5. There are dissecting microscopes and an extensive reference library available for use. Volunteers can help identify plants, from the latest weed invading one's garden to the wildflowers in a favorite photo. For further information see the Herbarium website.
UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu (preferred) or call (530) 538-7201.
If we want to instill in our children a love of nature and raise a generation that will want to protect and preserve natural places, we need to get ‘em hooked on birds. This is the wisdom behind many of the programs at Altacal Audubon, our local chapter of the non-profit Audubon Society. Altacal was formed in the winter of 1955/1956 and incorporated in 1973 to serve Butte, Glenn, and Tehama Counties. In a recent conversation, Altacal's Executive Director Mary Muchowski and Program Director Jennifer Patten discussed ways of getting kids involved in nature, as part of Altacal's dedication to preserving and protecting birds and their habitats.
We live in an area that is rich in bird habitat and home to an enormous variety of both migrating and resident bird species. For example, fourteen different species of raptors (birds of prey, including eagles, hawks, owls, and falcons) live or overwinter here. Our flooded rice fields and remaining wetlands are a part of the Pacific Flyway – the great winter migration corridor used by waterfowl as a rest stop as they journey to their breeding grounds.
How do you begin introducing your family to the wonderful world of birds? Start by looking out your windows! Encourage gardening, enjoy being in the garden, and plant some natives that naturally attract local birds. No matter where you live, there is bound to be at least one species of bird. Typical and highly visible backyard birds include robins, scrub jays, the dramatically colored acorn woodpecker, mockingbirds, gnatcatchers, quail, and red-shouldered hawks. Adding bird feeders, including hummingbird feeders, is a surefire way to draw more birds into your environment (be sure the feeder has a perch so you have a chance to identify the birds that rest briefly there). It is essential that you keep feeders clean. And be warned that attracting and feeding birds “can be habit forming,” say Muchowski and Patten.
Exemplary bird habitat exists just beyond your backyard: head out to Upper or Lower Bidwell Park, the Llano Seco viewing platforms, Indian Fishery (a part of Bidwell-Sacramento River State Park), Chico Seed Orchard, Durham Community Park, Gray Lodge, Black Butte Lake, or the Sacramento River and Colusa National Wildlife Refuges any time of year to enjoy birdwatching and just being out in nature.
Need help identifying birds? Binoculars add a whole new dimension to birdwatching. Feathers, beaks, and nuances of coloration come into sharper view. All levels of binoculars are available, and if you train kids early, using them can become second nature. Altacal's office at 635 Flume Street in Chico has a number of resources, including the Butte County Bird Checklist, and Audubon books which help in identifying birds primarily by color. In this digital age, plenty of bird identification apps are available for smart phones: Merlin, eBird, and iNaturalist are free; Sibley and iBird Pro are among the many others.
Altacal is here to help in other ways too. They offer field trips each month and beginning birders are always welcome (let them know you are new to the world of birds and they will walk you through the basics). They take local fourth and fifth graders out to Upper Bidwell Park each year; and fourth graders go on a field trip to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. This year, John Seid, the Educational Chair, took dozens of kids to Pine Creek on the Sacramento River, specifically to illustrate the interconnectedness of all life. Altacal provides binoculars and spotting scopes, and in a quick moment can grab a kid and instill in them a love of nature and its inhabitants, and a desire to protect them.
As Patten said, “That's where I think it all starts: if you care about one thing, you are generally going to care about all related things.” Muchowski adds, “Bugs, birds, animals, herps (amphibians and reptiles); it's how they all work together.” Observing these interactions in your home garden and understanding them is a great way to begin.
Annual Scholarships are another avenue by which Altacal encourages a younger generation to be stewards of our environment. Their scholarship program works in partnership with the North Valley Community Foundation to award up to $12,000 year for the following opportunities:
- A “Campership” for kids and teens between 8 and 18 years old to attend a summer camp of their choice that focuses on birding and/or nature. Offered annually with a deadline of June 1, the program aims to introduce kids to other birders and nature lovers of their own age, help them find like-minded friends, and stoke their love of birds and birding.
- A Scholarship for high school graduates provides funding to pursue a degree in Natural and Environmental Sciences (deadline April 15).
- A Scholarship for college juniors or seniors or graduate students can be used towards their degree in Natural or Environmental Sciences (deadline July 15).
Scholarship funds must be used at an accredited California Community College, California State University, or University of California.
Habitat protection and preservation, and the stewardship of your own home garden are beneficial, even crucial, for the well-being of species, including our own. The catalyst that creates nature lovers and protectors is different for each of us. For Patten, it was a third-grade teacher's love of outdoor field trips which included identifying lots of birds. For Muchowski, it was her father's love of the outdoors and her innate love of animals. For you and your family, it could be one of Altacal's many programs or events: check out their website to get started today.
UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu (preferred) or call (530) 538-7201.