Students struck out into the diverse forests of SFI’s property this month to learn all about ‘Montane Conifers: Identification, Measurements, and Responses to Climate.’ Our instructors, Lucy Kerhoulas and Rosemary Sherriff, joined SFI from Humboldt University, where they are both researchers and professors. Co-hosting the course were Dr. Chris Lee, a forest health specialist from CalFire, and … Read more
Hello, Rose here!
Like your lichens? When I arrived at SFI, I knew zilch about lichens. Before I left SFI, I learned how important lichens are to the ecosystems surrounding us.
Lichens absorb and retain pollutants, providing us with a way to measure stored chemicals and air quality. These pollutants are absorbed through lichens’ surfaces, which are called cortexes. Something else to consider: lichens provide food for large animals and small animals and shelter for tiny creatures, including insects. Within our ecosystems, lichens are telling us a story. We should listen!
“Introduction to Lichens” in April 2018 was well balanced with classroom education plus labs, along with field experiences. The basic chemistry needed to test and identify lichens was explained in an easy-to-understand way.
I have take several classes at SFI; they always find a way to accommodate all students. Discovering lichens was an all-around good experience.
“If you don’t know, you will learn.
If you do know, you will learn more.”
Rose Kilpatrick
Rose Kilpatrick
SFI will again offer “Delving into the Lichen Genus Cladonia” with Dr. Daphne Stone on April 11-12, 2017. By Kathleen Pyle, SFI Program and Marketing Coordinator “Delving into the Lichen Genus Cladonia” (which we first offered in 2013) initiated me into a fascinating new subject. I’d always known Cladonias existed but had never bothered to … Read more
Photos by Kathleen Pyle June fifth. Still spring. Delicious mist blanketing the valley. My car hugging the twisting, curving road, the road hugging the higher ground, and the high ground itself hugging the selvages of great flat stretching southward. Thoughts wandered. What would our class be like? What would the other students be like? What … Read more
