A modest shade-house on the north edge of campus is home to an array of native plant seedlings that were tapped by Friends of Copeland Creek for use in restoration efforts along the creek recently.
The plants, from oaks to buckeyes to California fescue, were grown from seeds collected by students in a native plant propagation class taught by Karen Tillinghast, director of the SSU native plant garden, and Robin Burton, an agro-ecology instructor with Environmental Studies and Planning.
There are future plans for other projects with the Sonoma County Water Agency who funded the class with a donation of $8,288.
Staff of the water agency, who attended the dedication of the shade house on Dec. 12 on the campus, are looking forward to using the student-grown seedlings in their own county-wide restoration efforts in the southern Russian River watershed. The course is offered every fall.
CAPTION: Karen Tillinghast, director of native plant garden at SSU, discusses propagation techniques with students at the campus shade garden for seedlings. A course to teach such techniques was funded by a grant from the Sonoma County Water Agency.
