A 32-year winter tradition at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park will return as a virtual event for a second year. The Candlelight Walk in the Redwoods will be broadcast live
Staff from Redwood National and State Parks and staff and volunteers with Redwood Parks Conservancy, Smith River Alliance and Tolowa Dunes Stewards teamed up for a cleanup at Tolowa Dunes
Celebrate Earth Day by getting your exercise picking up trash? Over 25 community volunteers did just that during the week of April 22, and through their efforts, more than 2,500
Earth Day Haul in Del Norte County Includes 2,500-plus Pounds of Trash
One of several volunteer crews who participated in the Earth Day cleanup. Photo courtesy of TUPP.
Volunteers removed more than 2,500 pounds of trash, including more than 200 tobacco-related items, from Del Norte County to commemorate Earth Day.
From a Smith River Alliance news release:
Celebrate Earth Day by getting your exercise picking up trash? Over 25 community volunteers did just that during the week of April 22 and through their efforts more than 2500 pounds of trash was removed from multiple public access, beach, and park locations around Del Norte.
The Earth Day cleanup was organized by the Tobacco Use Prevention Program (TUPP) and the Smith River Alliance with help from the Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority and Elk Valley Casino. Other partners included California State Parks, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Tobacco Free Del Norte, and the Redwood Parks Conservancy.
Invasive plants beware; the Tolowa Dunes Stewards are after trespassers of all kinds in the Tolowa Dunes State Park, including English Ivy, Scotch Broom and English Holly.
Most recently, the stewards were hunting Scotch Broom â a bush native to Europe with distinct, bright yellow flowers. Scotch Broom can grow up to 10 feet tall and individual plants can produce up to 10,000 seeds in a season, meaning it can easily choke out native plants like the Tolowa Coast Wallflower â a short, yellow flower which could be endemic to this region, said Sandra Jelabek, organizer of the Tolowa Dunes Stewards.
Jerabek said removing invasive plants is an opportunity to balance the area, and to correct past mistakes. She cited the 1853 Yontocket Massacre, the killing of hundreds of native Tolowa people at the hands of European settlers.