As part of the Sustainable Futures Speaker Series, Emily Burns, Director of Science for Save the Redwoods League, will present “Restoring Redwood Forests in a Changing Climate” on Thursday,
As part of the Sustainable Futures Speaker Series, Emily Burns, Director of Science for Save the Redwoods League, will present “Restoring Redwood Forests in a Changing Climate” on Thursday, March 22, 5:30 – 7 p.m. in Founders Hall 118 at Humboldt State University.
The importance of coast redwood forests is increasing in this rapidly changing climate. The old-growth redwood forests of the North Coast store world-record amounts of carbon and the redwoods themselves are growing faster today than in previous decades. Unfortunately, little old-growth redwood forest remains after more than a century of timber harvest, but research shows that restoration techniques are effective at accelerating the growth of harvested forests and increasing their carbon sequestration potential.
Burns serves on Save the Redwoods League’s executive leadership team and directs the Research Program that includes the Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative and the Redwood Genome Project. In addition, she directs the League’s Restoration, Stewardship, and Conservation Planning Programs with a goal of ensuring that they are grounded in science and provide practical help to forest managers. Burns holds a Ph.D. in Integrative Biology on the impacts of fog on coast redwood forest flora from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.S. in Plant Biology from the University of California, Davis. She is a Research Associate in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and she is the recipient of the 2013 Women in Science Frameshifter Award from St. Catherine University.
The Sustainable Futures Speaker Series is intended to encourage cross-disciplinary discussion, debate, and collaboration around issues related to energy, the environment, and society. The series is sponsored by the Schatz Energy Research Center, the Environment & Community Graduate Program, and the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences at Humboldt State University.
For additional details on upcoming events or to request accessibility accommodations, email serc@humboldt.edu or call 707.826.4345.
About Save the Redwoods
Founded in 1917, Save the Redwoods League is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect and restore California redwoods and connect people to the peace and beauty of redwood forests. The League protects redwoods by purchasing redwood forests and the surrounding land needed to nurture them. The League restores redwood forests by innovating science and technology that can improve stewardship and accelerate forest regeneration. And by protecting more than 200,000 acres and helping to create 66 redwood parks and reserves, the League builds connections among people and the redwood forests. The League’s work is grounded in the principles of conservation biology, research and improving its collective understanding and appreciation of the redwoods.
About The Schatz Energy Research Center
For almost three decades, the Schatz Energy Research Center at Humboldt State University has developed clean and renewable energy technologies and implemented them worldwide. Current projects and expertise include smart-grid design, bioenergy assessment, off-grid energy access, and clean transportation. The Center also plays a leading role in the World Bank Group’s Lighting Africa and Lighting Asia initiatives, which support high quality, affordable energy solutions for people in off-grid and marginal-grid communities.