Conservation

Conservation
Preserving the Places Where We Live

CGCI members are active in efforts to preserve our natural resources and the natural beauty of our state. Extending far beyond our own backyards, CGCI's conservation efforts include much, much more than recycling and composting. Knowing that our land, flora, fauna and our way of life are all threatened by the misuse and abuse, CGCI members continually make efforts to study relevant issues and take appropriate actions before it is too late.

75 years of Conservation Efforts

CGCI the strides made by members too numerous to count. For more than seventy-five years, Throughout the state garden club members have been working individually, in their local clubs through the statewide federation and through partnerships with such organizations as the U.S. Forest Service, Sempervirens Fund, Principal Financial, and the SHELL Oil Company to be a "Force for Good."

CGCI Conservation /
Natural Resources Team
     Air- Carolyn Villi
     Bats- Francie Spears
     Birds- Joyce & Bob Marlin
     Butterflies- Jane Troutman
    CA Native Plants-
       Donna Thomas
    Composting - Cheryl Smith
    Container/Water Gardens-
       Mallory Hartt
    Insects-  Dick Gaspari
  Recycling- Kay Wolfe
   Vermiculture-  Alexa Moss
   Water- Dwight Holford
   Wildflowers-  Elin Doehne
Other
Operation Wildflower-
    Merrilee Ray & Wanda Hewett
    Penny Pines - Pat York
    Reforestation-  Art Loesch

Through a partnership with the US Forest Service, CGCI helped develop an outdoor educational exhibit at Mono Lake.

2007 Wildflower Conference

In May 2007, CGCI members gathered in the White-Inyo mountain range in Bishop, CA to tour the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest which under the stewardship of the US Forest Service. The Bristlecone pine trees (Pinus longaeva, Pinus aristata)are Earth's oldest living documented inhabitants. The oldest is called "Methuselah." Dated to be 4,767 years old, it has lived more than a millennium longer than any other tree. Members discovered where the trees live, how they were found some of their unique strategies for survival.

Recent CGCI-sponsored Wildflower Conferences have been held in a variety of areas and floristic provinces including Bass Lake, Ca near Yosemite National Park and in Death Valley to the south of the state.

The opportunity to "get up close and personal" with the diversity found in California inspires curiosity, appreciation and the desire to preserve the beauty and abundance that makes California unique.

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... the non-profit federation of garden clubs in California representing more than 22,000 California gardeners.
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