Plumas County residents celebrated the 55th anniversary of Earth Day in Quincy April 22 at Dame Shirley Plaza. Nonprofit organizations, government agencies and businesses hosted booths with educational materials and children’s activities. Entertainment included music and spoken word performances.
Plumas, like many communities, skipped the 50th Earth Day, which happened to fall during the peak of the COVID pandemic in 2020. We thought “this is the 55th, let’s go ahead and get something going,” said Faith Strailey, one of six co-organizers of the event, together with Darla DeRuiter, Mikayla Eager, Karen McMullen, Leslie Mink and Jennifer Reed. The planning process took about a month. “A lot of work went into it,” Strailey said.
Trinity Manning, a member of the Tosidum Maidu, delivered a land dedication in which she discussed the importance of honoring our connection to the Earth, and embracing Indigenous science and stewardship expertise. “Our greatest power is our connection to the Earth and the land,” she said. “We are all ingenious to someplace; we all have that connection.”
Speaking to The Plumas Sun, Manning emphasized the importance of celebrating and caring for the earth, not just one day a year, but every day, in natural and sustainable ways. Don’t put out a hummingbird feeder, Manning advised. Plant flowers.
Meet the exhibitors
Exhibitor tables ringed the lawn. The Plumas Audubon Society was onsite, offering a pinecone bird feeder project for children and birding walks at nearby Dillinger’s Pond, where sightings include brewers black birds and redwing black birds, with their distinctive call of “karang-wee!” said Eager, an Audubon representative.
Near the western edge of the park, Trout Unlimited volunteers Dave Wood and Bill Copren gave fly casting lessons to attendees. Trout Unlimited is a national organization with a local chapter serving Plumas, Lassen and Sierra counties. Staff and volunteers engage in creek restoration work designed to support the cold, clear water that allows trout to thrive. Along with river cleanup, they also build artificial beaver dams to combat erosion and ladders to help fish make their way upstream to spawn. One such project is planned for a tributary near Paxton, where post-fire reconstruction has blocked the trout from moving into tributaries, where the water is colder and more hospitable during the summer months, Wood explained.
Trout Unlimited volunteers also support education in local schools through the fourth-grade “Year of the Trout” program. Students learn about trout life cycle, habitat and diet. The course work includes raising trout from eggs, supplied by California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and releasing them into local streams when they reach maturity.
Lost Sierra Food Project offered children the opportunity to sow sunflower seeds in red solo cups. This month the farm, on the outskirts of Quincy, is offering a 5% bonus on “farm bucks” — credit that can be spent at the farm stand all season long. Purchasing farm bucks early in the season helps to fund start-up costs, said Emma Talamantes, community programs manager.
“It’s great to have a day where everyone can come together to celebrate our Earth and get active about ways we can protect the Earth,” Talamantes said.
Marielle Fehrenbacher will spend a year working on the farm as an AmeriCorps Fellow with GrizzlyCorps, the University of California at Berkeley branch of the program. Her work focuses on education. She’s also building a school garden with students at the Quincy Elementary School Alder Street campus. The Earth Day celebration offers a valuable opportunity to be around people doing similar stewardship work, she said.
Nearby, at the Dawn Institute booth, vegetable seeds were available. Dawn Institutes’ infrastructure, on the hill above Indian Falls, was largely destroyed by the 2021 Dixie Fire. After several seasons lying fallow, the organization is rebuilding with the support of the Dixie Fire Collaborative and a brand new $250,000 EPIC grant.
“We’re on our way,” said board member Teryl Schwartz. Improvements underway include irrigation and grading for tunnel houses to extend the growing season.
At the Friends of Plumas Wilderness booth, team members promoted their upcoming Summer Solstice Trail Stewardship event, and invited the public to add their signatures to an open letter to representative Kevin Kiley, protesting the sale of public lands.
The Plumas Sierra University of California Cooperative Extension displayed forest products, home-hardening tools, and rounds of wood demonstrating tree growth patterns. A subdivision of the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Department, the local UCCE supports education and research in forestry and agriculture in the region. Upcoming courses include a five-week virtual course on forest fire resilience for land-owners and a livestock seminar geared for small farmers.
From the Plumas National Forest, Sam Collinson, who works in fire prevention for the Mount Hough Ranger District, was spreading the word about a prescribed fire in Spanish Ranch April 23. “We do our best to notify the public but some people slip through the cracks and we do get calls,” he said.
“Fire is an integral part of this landscape,” said Michael Sprinkle, a Forest Service natural resource specialist. He aims to “put some good fire on the ground” to help support the ecosystem, including clean water and biodiversity.
“The connection to the land is near and dear to the residents of Plumas County and all the citizens of the world,” added Collinson.
