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Welcome to the Test Plot log. Please check back for seasonal updates from our volunteers and stewards. You can also search by location in the footer.

2025

2/27 BURN SCAR SEEDLINGS
by Hannah Pae 



2024

11/21 STARR KING TEST PLOT PHASE 2 BEGINS
by Elena Fox

10/24 RAINBOW CANYON KICKOFF 
by Tatianna Velicer 

10/22 GREEN RAVINE  @ CATALINA ISLAND TURNS 1!
by Alex Robinson

7/14 JULY AT THE BURN SCAR
by Hannah Pae

7/08 DISTURBANCE, ELYSIAN
by Jenny Jones

6/20 SUMMER SOLSTICE CHECK-IN
by Anthony Martin

6/08 BALDWIN HILLS TURNS 3!
by Jen Toy

6/07 DEBS FIRST FRIDAYS
by Cody Porter

5/25  EUCALYPTUS UNDERSTORY 
1 YEAR EVALUATION
by Jen Toy

5/17 MAY AT THE BURN SCAR
by Hannah Pae

1/15 EUCALYPTUS 2nd PLANTING
by Jen Toy



2023

11/13 UNDER THE EUCALYPTUS
by Victoria Bevington

11/06 STARR KING INTRO
by Terremoto SF

10/16 WATCHING WEATHER
Q&A with Joey Farewell

9/18 CATALINA SOIL TEST #1
Q&A with Alia Harris and Emersyn Klick

7/10 DEBS FIELD SKETCHES
by Hannah Pae

6/08 IT’S RAINING OAKS 
by Joey Farewell

5/25 SECRET SUPERBLOOM
by Jenny Jones

3/29 RAINBOW RIVER
by Dani Vonlehe, Jenny Jones, Dante Inguinez

3/23 VERTICAL MULCH
by Nina Weithorn

3/10 SPRING AT DEBS
by Adrian Tenney

3/07 WHAT’S IN BLOOM AT BALDWIN
by Arely Media Perez

2/15 USC NEW PLANTS
by Nina Weithorn

VALENTINE’S DAY AT RIO
by Daniela Velazco

1/30 ELEPHANT HILL RAINS
by Joey Farewell


2022

FIELD DRAWINGS FROM SAN BRUNO MOUNTAIN
by Lian Mae Tualla, Tera Johnson

10/22 RIO FIELD NOTES
by Daniela Velazco

STARTING THE USC CAMPUS PLOTS
by Alex Robinson

10/13 ELYSIAN AFTER 3 YEARS
Q&A with Jenny Jones

10/06 RIO AFTER 2 YEARS
Q&A with Jen Toy


2021

STARTING BALDWIN HILLS
by Daniela Velazco



MEET THE SUPER STEWARDS
All interviews by Daniela Velazco + Hannah Flynn

TANIA ROMERO

DANTE INIGUEZ + ANTHONY MARTIN

LUIS RINCON




PORTAL * INTERNAL USE
POST-JANUARY LA FIRES CHECK IN
Burn Scar Test Plot 
By Hannah Pae
Terremoto

 DATE:  February 27, 2025

It’s been about two months since the wildfires started in Los Angeles at the start of the year, and life before the fires seems like a distant past that we will never be able to go back to. Amidst the immediate fear, destabilization, and heart-wrenching grief over our city and our collective unknown future, I’ve experienced glimmers of hope while observing the resilience of the native flora and fauna during the times I’ve come back to Burn Scar post- LA fires to check in on how everything has been holding up after the extreme, drying Santa Ana winds, the LA fires, and late winter rain storms the past couple of weeks.

Soon after the brush fire in Elysian Park in fall 2023 that burned through the Burn Scar Test Plot, we noticed toyon sprouting back from charred stumps. A year and four months later today, the toyon sprouting back from the base of a charred branching arch has grown to be almost 5’ tall, with toyon seedlings coming up nearby – a true testament to the resilient nature of our fire adapted ecology.

Charred logs that we’d sawed and laid on the ground have inadvertently taken on the critical role of nurse logs for wildflower seedlings from last year’s seed bank – baby lupine, clarkia, and lacy phacelia – that are taking advantage of the sheltered microclimate created by the logs. A few months before the LA fires, we’d also spread native seeds we’d collected from nearby intact chaparral ecosystems in Elysian Park, and I expect we’ll finally see these seedlings pop up in the next few weeks, now that we’ve finally had a couple long-awaited, bittersweet, winter storm events in LA post-fire.

We’ve had to postpone our volunteer work day in January because of the LA fires, but we are looking forward to having our first volunteer work day of the year in a few weeks – Fri, March 14th – and working in community to care for this land together.