Nursery Day

What: WildPlaces' friends and volunteers from Granite Hills high school spent a cool foggy Saturday morning maintaining the nursery that WildPlaces uses cooperatively with the U.S. Forest Service in Springville for restoration and education purposes. Students divided into workgroups and went to work on several projects that included planting over 150 California Black Oak acorns collected from burn areas around California Hot Springs, weeding in and around the entire nursery, maintaining the watering system, patching the screen covering and transplanting Giant Sequoias into larger containers. Participants also learned practical horticultural nursery management skills from expert WildPlaces' volunteers.

Why: Nursery Days are a time we bring volunteers in to help maintain the nurseries' various components and ensure it functions well and grows healthy plants. WildPlaces and the U.S. Forest Service cooperatively use the nursery in our hometown of Springville where we grow Giant Sequoia - sequoiadendron giganteum, Blue Oak - quercus douglasii, Black Oak - quercus kelloggii, Valley Oak - quercus lobata, Willow, Elderberry - sambucus mexicana, California Blackberry - rubus ursinus, Redbud - cercis occidentalis and Mountain Goosberry - ribes montigenum.

Who: 17 Granite Hills high school Snow Club students joined several WildPlaces' friends and volunteers for this winter's Nursery Day. By participating in service learning events like our Nursery Day, Snow Club participants fulfill a community service requirement that when done allows the group to ski or snowboard for free once each winter at Sierra Summit. What a great deal for students!