Conservation projects are an essential part of what we do to fulfill our mission of educating and inspiring people to take care of our earth wisely.  Be it a beach clean-up, an animal-centric project, or one of many other conservation programs, we believe in doing our utmost take care of the planet. This winter, CuriOdyssey partnered with TomKat Ranch, a socially conscious, environmentally-aware ranch near Pescadero for our latest conservation project.

This particular project involved helping to restore a native Riparian area on the ranch.  Part of the ranch’s land had become overrun with Cape Ivy – an invasive plant that takes over any area in which it has been introduced. Cape Ivy (below) is so persistent in its growth that it covers other vegetation and forms a blanket that blocks sunlight and smothers the plants. One of the most concerning things is that plant and animal habitats can be rendered useless when the insidious ivy covers an area.

To restore the native habitat, CuriOdyssey volunteers and staff members donned protective gloves and picked up pronged rakes to help clear the area to foster a habitable environment for native vegetation. The removal was decidedly more intense than a typical afternoon weeding session in your garden. Cape Ivy is difficult to completely remove from an area, and it must be completely uprooted or new plants will grow from any remaining fragment in the soil.

Our recent participation in the ivy removal was just one step in the large restoration project. The folks at TomKat ranch will be monitoring the removal sites to locate and kill resprouts so that the native Riparian ecosystem can be brought back to its natural state.

Watch our blog for more stories about the conservation project we undertake. Conservation projects like these are important in helping us live out our mission and giving back to our amazing earth and the creatures who inhabit it.