Become a California Fire Follower!
In 2020, California experienced the largest fire season in recorded history. Fire is as much a natural part of California as earthquakes, and can be as destructive: buildings leveled, lives lost, places dramatically changed. But fire is also a necessary part of nature, often awakening sleeping seeds and providing a light blanket of ash to nurture fresh growth. Plants dependent on fire are an important part of California's natural diversity we call “pyrodiversity.”
The Fire Followers project seeks to record the response of plants in areas burned in the 2020 historic fire season. With your help, we can compare plants seen before and after fires, increase understanding of pyrodiversity, and provide crucial information on species of concern to aid in recovery and conservation efforts. Plants are often faulted for wildfire and targeted for removal. This project will increase our understanding of the reciprocal relationship between plants and fire. In addition to the scientific value that Fire Followers offers as a community science project, it empowers individuals of all backgrounds, especially those historically excluded from conservation and outdoor spaces, to engage with the community, science and their local environments.
We are excited to announce that the CA Fire Followers Project is ready for you to help add and identify observations! Check out our website https://www.cnps.org/fire-followers for more about the project and other ways to get involved. Everyone who joins and trusts the project before March 14 will be entered in our raffle for a chance to win CNPS and Fire Follower merch!
About our Project
As I am writing this, we have nearly 5,000 plant observations of 859 species and 437 identifiers making over 8,150 identifications! You’re tagged in this post because you are among some of the top observers and/or identifiers, and we hope that you are willing to take part in documenting and observing the incredible pyrodiversity in California. If you live near a burned area that is safely accessible to the public, feel free to venture out on your own or follow our website here to find out about more ways to get involved. Also, feel free to share this project with your networks and community! All of your observations made within our burned area boundaries throughout California will be aggregated in our California Fire Followers Project here on iNaturalist. The 28 largest burned area boundaries, along with one “Single Fires” (composed of 61 locations) are in the California Fire Followers umbrella project.
We created a draft guide of fire-following flowers here--we’ll want your help in editing it!
Can’t wait to see all your contributions!
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