Blog Archives

Spring has Sprung for the Young

4/29/2016

Humans aren’t the only ones celebrating Mother’s Day – spring is also the time for animal babies in the Landmarks.

Spring is a common time for animals and birds to have their babies, meaning humans aren’t the only ones celebrating Mother’s Day in the coming week. Many species in the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks such as mule deer time their mating behavior to produce young in the spring, when conditions are more favorable for newly born animals. Longer days mean more time to find food, and the traditionally warmer, wetter temperatures of spring mean more abundant resources for young species.

Trade TV for the Trails

4/21/2016

Embrace Screen-Free Week and explore the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks.

With all the technology people have right at their fingertips, it can be easy at times to forget what adventures await outdoors. National Screen-Free Week, May 2-8, is a program by the non-profit Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood encouraging people to put their smartphones away and embrace life beyond digital entertainment. Multiple locations within the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks are close to Orange County residents, so it’s the perfect place to go to grab a breath of fresh air and connect with the outdoors.

Celebrate Native Plant Week on the Landmarks

4/15/2016

Explore the wide variety of native plants in the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks.

From the towering chaparral yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei) to the miniscule California plantain (Plantago erecta), the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks is home to a large number of unique and sometimes rare native plants. Native Plant Week, which is April 16-24, celebrates these species that support a diverse collection of local wildlife.

Not surprisingly, the Landmarks contain a wide variety of plant communities, including coastal sage scrub, chaparral, valley grassland, oak woodland and riparian forest – all home to many native plants. Native plants are species that are indigenous to a certain area, and have not been introduced by human activity. In the Landmarks, some of the most common native plants include California sagebrush (Artemisia californica), coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia), laurel sumac (Malosma laurina), and purple needle grass (Stipa pulchra).

Give Back to the Landmarks During National Volunteer Week

4/8/2016

Visitors can water young Tecate cypress trees at Fremont Canyon for National Volunteer Week.

Whether you’re looking for a few hours of weeding or an outing to a remote restoration site, there are many opportunities to give back during National Volunteer Week.

Sunday, April 10, kicks off National Volunteer Week, a celebration encouraging people to actively engage in their community and give back. Public support is vital to the continued long-term health of the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks, and landowners including OC Parks, the City of Irvine and the City of Newport Beach provide ample opportunities for the public to connect to the land through volunteer work.

Reviving a Rare Tree Species in Fremont Canyon

4/1/2016

Tecate cypress seedlings planted at the Fremont Canyon Staging Area need volunteer support to thrive.

The rare Tecate cypress needs fire to reproduce. The seed cones use fire as an ecological trigger to know when to release the seeds, a process which optimally happens every 30 years or longer. When mature trees burn, the cones pop open, and the seeds are released, germinate and become seedlings to replace the mature trees. However, if another fire happens before the young plants can mature, the grove is destroyed before new seeds can be produced.

Spring Brings Colors to the Canyons

4/1/2016

From the red cap of the acorn woodpecker to the deep purples of Parry's phacelia, spring colors abound in the Landmarks.

A spectrum of color awaits spring visitors in the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks. Recall your elementary school “ROY G. BIV” lessons and try to spot each color in the local canyons, from spiky, red coastal paintbrush to the showy violet of arroyo lupine.

The next time you’re out in the Landmarks, look for these colorful spring sights:

Volunteers Can 'Adopt a Grassland' This Spring

4/1/2016

A gust of wind blows through the native grass littleseed muhly (Muhlenbergia microsperma) along Agua Chinon in Limestone Canyon.

Public support is needed to help large-scale restoration project re-introducing native grasses to the Landmarks.

The spring green you see covering the hills hides a dirty secret: A lot of that green comes from non-native grass that will die in the summer and become potential fuel for wildfire. The ranching history of the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks includes plants that were brought here to support cattle grazing in the hills. Now that land managers are restoring local habitat for the benefit of wildlife, attention is being turned to the importance of re-introducing native grasses.

Spring has Sprung for the Young

Trade TV for the Trails

Celebrate Native Plant Week on the Landmarks

Give Back to the Landmarks During National Volunteer Week

Reviving a Rare Tree Species in Fremont Canyon

Spring Brings Colors to the Canyons

Volunteers Can 'Adopt a Grassland' This Spring

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Spring has Sprung for the Young

Trade TV for the﻿ Trails

Celebrate Native Plant Week on the Landmarks

Give Back to the Landmarks During National Volunteer Week

Reviving a Rare Tree Species in Fremont Canyon

Spring Brings Colors to the Canyons

Volunteers Can 'Adopt a Grassland' This Spring

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Archives

Categories

Trade TV for the Trails