Field Trip with Bryant Baker
Co-sponsored by UC Sedgwick Reserve
Join us for a unique opportunity to experience a land recovering from wildfire alongside a local expert on post-fire regrowth, Bryant Baker, Director of Conservation and Research for Los Padres ForestWatch. This hike will take us into the heart of Sedgwick Reserve, which was burned in the July 2024 Lake Fire. Bryant will teach us about the unique adaptations and survival strategies of local natural communities as we look for fire followers and assess the conditions of trees and shrubs that experienced fire. We will also go through some unburned areas. This is a chance to contemplate the effects, role, and future of fire in our region. The hike is three miles with 350 feet of elevation gain. It is rated moderate.
As Director of Conservation & Research for Los Padres ForestWatch, Bryant manages scientific, technical, and volunteer projects. He is currently researching old-growth chaparral as well as successional chaparral in post-fire forests in California. His research interests revolve around biodiversity in these ecosystems and the role of shrubs—especially nitrogen-fixing species—in complex early seral forests. He has several publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Bryant is also a naturalist and photographer, spending most of his free time hiking the rugged public lands of the Central Coast region with his dog.
How to Register
Event date: Saturday, April 5, 2025 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Participation limited to 20.
Registration opens at 9:00 a.m. on March 5 for members and March 19 for nonmembers at syvnhs@syvnature.org or 805/ 693-5683.
Members $10 / Nonmembers $25 / Children $5 – Please make payment after registering.
Directions to the meeting place and information will be sent to registrants. Hike difficulty is rated as moderate.
