Gardening in Fire Landscapes
by Adrienne Edwards and Rachel Schleiger
Thursday, August 19th
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
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Destructive wildfires are becoming larger, hotter, and more frequent. Since 2000, an average of 7.1 million acres have burned across the US, more than double the average acreage that burned in the 1990s. In 2020, wildfires burned 10.3 million acres in the US, and roughly 60% was in California (> 4 million acres), Oregon (> 1 million acres), and Washington (> 700,000 acres). At the same time, more people are choosing to live adjacent to fire-prone wildlands. In California alone, at least 25% of the 11 million residents live in the Wildland – Urban Interface (WUI), where development meets or intermingles with undeveloped wildlands. A less visible consequence of this development is an accelerating loss of native biodiversity through habitat fragmentation.
How can we minimize wildfire risks while optimizing the ecological integrity of wildland areas? Many residents and regulators interpret “defensible wildfire space” to mean that you must clear all vegetation at least 100 feet away from structures. Clearing an area to that extent can actually make your home more vulnerable to wildfires, while also creating virtual “deserts” for pollinators and wildlife. We will explore more nuanced ways to protect your home, and support the natural areas we love. The wildfires we are experiencing are traumatic; but we can use lessons learned to build back safer, and more sustainably.
Adrienne Edwards, PhD, is a botanist, plant ecologist, garden designer, environmental consultant, and teacher. She began her botanical odyssey in the Southeast, spent time botanizing in the Midwest, and since 2006 has lived and worked in northern California. With over 30 years of experience teaching, doing environmental research, and consulting, plants continue to drive her passions. She is currently a faculty lecturer at California State University, Chico.
Rachel Schleiger, MS, is a plant ecologist who specializes in restoration ecology. She has lived in the Sierra Nevada Foothills most of her life. Her family and property survived the most deadly and destructive fire on record, the 2018 Camp Fire. Over the last 3 years she has developed curriculum to teach about wildfire, both in-person and online through Butte College. She is currently a faculty lecturer at both Butte College and California State University, Chico.