On December 18 I will be speaking at the Ecoliteracy in Action course being held at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA at the invitation of Kat Steele, the course coordinator. The title of my talk is “Gaia theory and climate change”. Prior to my talk on the 18th my good friend Daniel Peterson will be presenting on “Primitive skills and the Esselen tribal ways”, a discussion and hands on workshop relating to living off the land and crafting tools from natural materials. See the flyer below:
Dr. Lee Klinger, Soil Specialist, Sudden Oak Life and Dr. Doug Fodge, Chief Scientist and President, DF International, L.L.C. will be speaking on the “Importance and role of micronutrient trace minerals in bolstering pest resistance” at the Sustainable Agriculture Pest Management Conference in San Luis Obispo, California on December 4, 2009. The conference is sponsored by the California Certified Organic Farmers. For more information click here.
THE HISTORY AND PRACTICE OF NATIVE TREE CARE
Saturday, October 10, from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm
La Casa de Maria Retreat Center, 800 El Bosque Road, Santa Barbara, CA
For thousands of years the native Chumash people tended the oak forests in the Santa Barbara. Now California’s oaks are endangered. Come for a workshop that will include presentations, time in La Casa’s oak woodland and a hands-on demonstration of tree care.
The Chumash used prescribed fire and other methods of traditional land management. To them, living on a living earth meant that the trees and forests were essentially organs of the planet. Keeping the trees healthy was fundamental for maintaining their quality of life.
Now-a-days, oaks and other trees are experiencing accelerated rates of decline in many parts of California, including the Santa Barbara area. A holistic view of the problem reveals that many of our aging trees and their soils are undergoing a major ecological shift brought on by changes in land management, especially fire suppression.
By revisiting the practices of the native people we are provided with an effective means of intervening in the decline of trees without the use of synthetic chemicals. Details will be presented on how fires and fire mimicry methods act to improve the fertility of soils and the health of trees. Results will be shown of case studies involving a suite of techniques to restore oak trees, including fire, mineral fertilizers, limewashing, brush clearing and mulching.
There will also be a presentation on the practical applications of the theories of agroecology that are now used in ornamental horticulture. By shifting from conventional techniques that utilize synthetic chemicals and pesticides to non-toxic organic products focused on improving soil fertility and insect ecology plant health is significantly improved.
This workshop will include a demonstration on traditional tree care using all-natural materials.
Lee Klinger, MA, PhD is an independent scientist and ecological consultant from Big Sur, with over 25 years of professional experience in the fields of biogeochemistry, forest ecology and soil science. He has held scholarly appointments at the University of Colorado, the University of Oxford, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Corey Welles is the Plant Health Care Coordinator at Lotusland. He has seen dramatic improvements in the health of their plant collections since using agroecology based practices.
For more information and to register online go to: www.lacasademaria.org
Hope for California’s dying oaks
Findings reveal ‘fire mimicry’ practices improve oak health
Big Sur, Calif. – Despite being devastated by wildfires and ravaged by sudden oak death there is some hopeful news coming out of the oak forests of Big Sur. Results of a multi-year study show that the health of sick and diseased oaks is significantly improved with the use of mineral fertilizers and other fire mimicry practices.
According to case studies of 152 sick coast live oaks conducted by Dr Lee Klinger, an independent scientist and oak specialist living in Big Sur, improved canopy health was observed in 8 out of every 10 trees that were treated.
Hearst Castle oaks (photo by Lee Klinger)
Photo caption: Recovery of a treated coast live oak at Hearst Castle, California State Park. Photo on the left was taken January 4, 2006, photo on the right was taken January 2, 2008. (Photos by Lee Klinger)
For all of you who have been following this work over the years – many thanks for your steadfast interest and support.
As you may have noticed the Sudden Oak Life website has recently changed. Being the moderator of this website I have decided to switch to a blog format, which I believe will serve folks better by making the site more interactive. Many thanks to Luis A. Frigo for his dedicated effort in the design and construction of the new site.
All pertinent information and documents on the former website can still be found here under the About, Case Studies, Newsroom, and Resources tabs.
I will be periodically posting stories on topics relevant to oak health, green tree care, veteran trees, organic farming, master gardening, ethnoecology, forest decline, acid rain, climate change, and Gaia. Posts are now open for comments. Critical opinions are welcome. Please keep all comments respectful. If you have the urge to submit a guest post, then send me an email (lee@suddenoaklife.org).
Oh yes and – the opinions expressed on Sudden Oak Life, other than those expressed by Lee Klinger personally, are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sudden Oak Life or myself.
One final caveat, I live off the grid where electricity and internet are not always available. So I’ll probably be asking for your patience at times while comments are in moderation.
Today the sun is shining.
Sudden Oak Life by Lee Klinger 
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