Join Regenerative Forest Solutions, Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District (Gold Ridge RCD), staff from Audubon Canyon Ranch’s Fire Forward program, and additional expert speakers for this series highlighting forest health practices and related watershed benefits, forest management planning, regional milling infrastructure, prescribed burning, Indigenous forest and water stewardship knowledge, and more. This event is hosted in Sebastopol at The West Mill at Green Valley Farm + Mill.

Each series date will engage participants in stewardship strategies for improving forest and watershed health with presentations by expert speakers including our special guests (listed below), scientists from Gold Ridge RCD, and forest landowners. Participants will also get to see a demonstration and overview of milling infrastructure as well as information on how to bring good fire back to the land with staff from Audubon Canyon Ranch’s Fire Forward program and our guests.

The morning lecture will be followed by a walking tour before lunch (attendees bring their own), followed by a milling demo in the afternoon. After the demonstration, participants will self select into two groups – Group 1) Forest Management Planning, and Group 2) Forest Stewardship. Group 1 will stay at the mill and will make a plan for their next steps in incorporating lessons from the day. Group 2 will head into the forest to hone their practice by contributing to various forest stewardship activities (e.g. limbing, piling, and shaded fuel break expansion activities).

Each date costs $25 to attend; no one will be turned away for a lack of funds. Please email us at info at regenerativeforestsolutions.org if any financial or mobility assistance needed to support your attendance and participation.

EXPERT SPEAKERS: We are honored to be joined by the following speakers during our upcoming series and encourage you to learn more about their work and efforts prior to your arrival.

AUGUST 27

– John Green, Lead Scientist, Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District

– Brian Peterson, Fire Ecologist, Fire Forward

– Jeremy Fisher, Forestree Collective/Green Valley Farm + Mill

– Raymond Baltar, Biochar Projects Manager, Sonoma Ecology Center. In addition to Raymond’s role at Sonoma Ecology Center, he is also the Executive Director of the Sonoma Biochar Initiative. A seasoned problem solver and creative entrepreneur, Raymond brings his decades of dedication toward finding and developing cutting edge technologies and processes that provide lasting value to people, and to society. During our series, he will talk his work designing systems for in-forest biochar production, an alternative to straight burn piles that can increase carbon storage. Biochar made from woody biomass has been found to store half the woody biomass’s original carbon content in a long-lasting form with multiple benefits.

Raymond has given over 30 field demonstrations teaching land managers the conservation burn technique and flame-cap kilns to reduce smoke pollution and produce “field” biochar. He currently works full-time managing grant and consulting projects that involve biochar education, field research, biochar production and use, market development, technology research, and economic development. We are appreciative of Raymond’s work and for joining us during the series.