2024.12.05 | Public Tree Planting on Fiscalini Ranch Preserve

Saturday, December 14, at 10 a.m., Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve and Cambria Community Services District will lead a tree planting on the Ranch.  No reservations are required to participate in this event.  Just follow directions from the Ridge Traill’s Huntington entrance to the planting site.  Training will take place shortly after 10 a.m.  No experience is necessary but closed-toes shoes, work gloves, sunscreen, and a hat are useful.  FFRP will supply tools and even pre-dig some of the holes.

     Multigenerational fun (and photo ops) highlight this annual community event.  Over the years volunteers have planted thousands of pines, expanding the forest by about 25 percent.  It is rewarding to revisit past plantings to see how they have grown.

In addition to 150 Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) seedlings, this year’s planting will include companion plants that support local wildlife and diversify our plantings.  FFRP has 45 toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) and 100 coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis) to add to the preserve.   

     Birds love toyon berries and monarch butterflies rely on coyote brush for nectar during the early winter.  In the coming years FFRP will also be planting red flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum), coffeeberry (Frangula californica), and sticky monkey flower (Diplacus aurantiacus).  Each plays a vital part in the Monterey pine forest ecosystem by providing food and shelter for Cambria’s native fauna.

     This work is supported by tree dedications and grants from an anonymous foundation.  Many of the plants were grown by Santa Barbara Botanic Garden under grant-supported contracts.  In the coming years, the Ranch will benefit from ongoing contracts with Santa Barbara Botanic Garden as well as a pollinator habitat enhancement grant from the Upper Salinas-Las Tables Resource Conservation District.  FFRP staff and volunteers collected all seeds from local sites to promote locally adapted genetic strains.

     In other FFRP news, check out the new trail head sign at the Trenton entrance. This is the first of a series of signposts that will replace the aging and mismatched signs at all the West Ranch entrances. Donations from William and Sherrie Tell and the Pardoe Family contribute to this project. The sign has an updated trail map, clearly stated rules, and consolidates the various takeaways (brochures, Mutt Mitts, bike bells) into an orderly and more welcoming arrangement.

     FFRP has two dozen tickets left for Songs for the Season, its annual fundraising event this Saturday, December 7, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Barn at Fog’s End.  Tickets are for sale online at: fiscaliniranchpreserve.org or at the FFRP shop, 604D Main Street, between Sandy’s Deli and Maddie Mae’s Pet Pantry from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Thursday and Friday.  If there are tickets left, they can be bought at the event on Saturday.