Clear Lake Environmental Research Center: November 2022 |
With Thanksgiving behind us, like a lot of folks, I’ve been thinking about all I have to be thankful for. There have been so many people that have stepped up to help contribute to CLERC’s success over the last few years. CLERC deals with a lot of complicated projects that require a lot of partners to implement. It’s been heartening to see so many community members step-up and contribute what they can in whatever capacity they have. CLERC’s success is greatly due to our community partners that have supported us and we are grateful for everybody that has contributed over the years.
With success comes growth. Our little non-profit is growing exponentially to keep up with the demand for more of our community projects. It’s becoming clear that in order for CLERC to grow with the number of projects that need to be done, we have to invest in the growth of our organization. This includes investments directly from our community, in addition to investments from grant funds.
If CLERC has made a positive impact in your life please consider donating during this season of thanks. Our future depends on our community's support. We want to continue to implement more projects to help our community have a healthy and fire resilient environment. We want to create more great jobs within Lake County that will protect our communities from climate change and heal the earth at the same time. We want to help those that do not have the resources to do what has to be done. No donation is too small. Please consider giving today.
Thanks for your support! -Will Evans, CLERC Executive Director |
Fox Drive and the Power of Community Projects |
Earlier this year CLERC started the Fox Drive Fire Prevention Project. This project was funded by a CalFire Fire Prevention Grant and addresses the ongoing tree die-off in the Cobb Area. We know this die off is due to the native Western Pine Beetle. While this process of die off is a natural phenomenon, it has been exacerbated by the climate crisis. California has experienced years of drought and the trees are stressed. Normally, a healthy tree with access to enough water will kick out the unwanted pine beetle larva buried in the bark with sap, but if water is scarce they can not produce enough sap to push out the larva and the tree will swiftly die from the infestation.
Exciting news! This project is coming to close having felled 575 dead or dying trees from this Cobb Mountain community. Reflection on this project highlights how important community wide projects can be. In a small community, maybe some people have the resources to clean up their land, but many will not. Even if one land owner does a great job on their land, it won't prevent their neighbors properties from being a wildfire hazard or having a neighbors dead tree fall on their house. By investing in a community project everybody can get a little help and then the entire community is more resilient. CLERC is making this happen throughout Lake County and we need all the support we can get to continue to manage these projects. As our projects grow so does the need for our non-profits capacity to administer these projects.
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Pictures courtesy of Jessica Pyska |
CLERC is making a positive impact in our community find out how you can make a difference too! Stay tuned.... |
