Monthly Newsletters

February 2025 Newsletter

We are taking orders for Sequoia seedlings for a spring 2025 planting. If you’d like to place an order, please go here: https://forms.gle/69FYMyL8yTmsdtKz5. Seedling distribution is currently planned for Saturday, April 19 and Sunday April 20, weather permitting. We also hold an inventory of plastic mesh tubes (see below right), 30" tall and 5" in diameter, available for sale for $2.00 each which you can purchase when you pick up your seedlings.

What sequoias need to grow (water, altitude, space, etc.)

Instructions for planting a sequoia seedling

Giant sequoia grows best in moist, rich, balanced ph, and well-drained soil. They prefer slightly acidic soil (pH 5.5 - 6.0). Avoid clay soil: Sequoia trees do not tolerate clay soil or hot dry summers. A recommended soil mix for giant sequoias is:

30% grit (3/8- Pumice, fine crushed gravel, course sand, 1/4 decomposed granite or very fine pea gravel),
30% fine bark,
20% peat,
10% perlite, and
10% garden soil or compost.

January 2025 Newsletter

Sequoia Sentinels is now one year old and is comprised of 150+ members that follow or contribute time and knowledge to our activities. We had two successful planting events this year with 24 participants that planted close to 200 sequoia seedlings.

We have recently added a strong social media push, and have expanded our reach to at least ten countries. We are now in contact with dozens of growers all over the world in nearly every continent. In that short period of time, we have made over 350 posts with ~500 views per day and reached over 30,000 people. You can follow us on many of the following media platforms.

Earlier this month we received permission to search for more sequoias on Cal Tech's Palomar Observatory property. Along with Cindy Outlaw, we located an additional 17 sequoias bringing the total to 48 on the Observatory grounds and nearly 400 on Palomar Mountain with more to discover.
If you recall, many of Palomar's older trees were raised and planted by Gus Weber (1895-1968), a Cal Tech employee hired to plant trees.

Christmas 2024

On behalf of the Sequoia Sentinels, we extend our warmest wishes for a Merry Christmas and a blessed 2025. We're thrilled to share that our non-profit, founded less than a year ago, has already garnered the support of over 150 members! We're incredibly grateful for your interest in our mission. You can now follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X/Twitter, Threads, YouTube, Bluesky, as well as our website.

We also highly recommend following and considering a subscription to Giant Sequoia News. Claudia Elliott's dedication to covering all things sequoia is truly commendable, and her bi-weekly publication provides invaluable insights.

November/December 2024 Newsletter

Fire-releasing seeds from cones normally stimulate sequoia regeneration. However, we do have evidence of natural regeneration without fire. A "mother" tree on Palomar Mountain was found with two of her offspring in August 2023. These two seedlings regenerated naturally without human assistance. The seed of offspring 1 landed in the gravel; offspring 2 was at the base of an oak stump.

Offspring 2 has done very well at the base of that oak. Note that in its natural environment, a sequoia releases one billion seeds over its lifetime, from which ten mature trees emerge. Thus, natural regeneration without fire is indeed quite rare.
We have hosted several groups on Palomar in recent weeks wanting to learn about and see sequoias. Peter Brown (of Climate is Central) and part of his group visited the sequoias right next to the Visitor's Center of Caltech's Palomar Observatory. One tree is 100 feet tall, 25 feet in circumference, and approximately seventy-five years old. There are seven sequoias immediately adjacent to the Center and an additional 40+ on Caltech's grounds with more to count. We will be conducting a more extensive search in the upcoming months.
One of our objectives is to increase awareness of sequoias and our organization, Sequoia Sentinels. Our expanded social media outreach reaches over 500 views/day which includes Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X/Twitter, Threads, YouTube, as well as our website. We also have specific Facebook pages devoted to Sequoia Sentinels Corporation and Sequoia Growers From All Over The World. To that end, here is a video with sequoias from all over the world: Over 46 states and over 20 nations, including Japan and South America: https://youtu.be/gccymEahSbI. Also, sequoias in southern California: https://youtu.be/KkK6hkYC7xk

September/October 2024 Newsletter

One of our objectives is to increase awareness of sequoias and that they are not exclusive to Northern California. To that end, here is a video with sequoias from all over the world: Over 46 states and over 20 nations, including Japan and South America: https://youtu.be/gccymEahSbI
Also, sequoias in southern California: https://youtu.be/KkK6hkYC7xk
To help that effort, we have expanded our social media outreach to include Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X/Twitter, Threads, YouTube, as well as our website. We also have specific Facebook pages devoted to Sequoia Sentinels Corporation and Sequoia Growers From All Over The World. This has greatly increased our connections and visibility as well as helping us to better understand our audience and how to reach them.
You may recall that we had Ethan Tapper speak on Palomar Mountain about his novel forestry management practices. His book "How to Love a Forest" was recently released and is an excellent read. I am often asked which other authors I would recommend, and one of my favorites is Suzanne Simard, author of "Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest." In that book, she summarizes some of her field research showing how trees communicate. You can also watch her here - https://youtu.be/Un2yBgIAxYs?si=2sWAVFYanAie5GBR.

August 2024 Newsletter

We had an MBA student complete a study to increase Sequoia Sentinels second and third mission goals - active community participation and educate people through various interactive methods. For educational outreach, we are offering a "Book and Experience" event to students in grades K-12. We received good responses from teachers and will be planning those events for the fall 2024 and spring 2025.
I reviewed the progress of some of our recent seedlings from this spring's planting. The 16 seedlings planted by "Julie's Dream Team" and "Cristina and Jared" on my property are all doing very well.
Below (left) is a seedling from Cliff Kellogg's property. Cliff has built an ingenious remote watering system that waters his 8 new seedlings. Below (right) Robert Carlyle has 20 seedlings growing in pots from last year and this year's seedling and are also doing very well. Note that if you grow in a pot for transplanting later, be sure to gently "uncoil" the roots at the bottom to enable them to spread in the new environment. In total, we planted about 150 seedlings this spring.

Of course, we are still identifying, locating and cataloging sequoias on Palomar Mountain, now numbering about 400. If you think you have one on or near your property, do not hesitate to contact us at info@sequoiasentinels.com. We are particularly interested in finding trees that are regenerating on their own; is other words, without human intervention or fire, mother trees producing cones and seeds that regenerate. The Palomar champion is Jeff von Urff who first found one young seedling growing next to his fence and then another next to an oak stump, both from a giant sequoia "mother" tree on his property:
I have been chairing a Task Force trying to keep a 500,000 volt transmission line from crossing our pristine old-growth forest. This month we hosted employees from NextEra Energy tasked with planning and building the transmission line; they were able to see first-hand the fire risk of using this corridor and that there are many safer options available. If you have not already done so, please go to savepalomarmountain.org and leave a short statement of support for our Save Palomar Mountain Task Force. Photos from their visit below.

July 2024 Newsletter

We co-hosted the Southern California chapter meeting of the Society of American Foresters where we gave an update on the activities of Sequoia Sentinels, the planting event we held in April, and had a very special speaker, Ethan Tapper, author of a new book, "How to Love a Forest." Ethan is a forester and author from Vermont with a very compelling story to tell. You can follow him on youtube and Instagram.
We had an MBA student complete a study to increase Sequoia Sentinel's second and third Mission goals - active community participation and educating people through various interactive methods. For educational outreach, we offer a "Book an Experience" event to students in grades K-12. We received good responses from teachers and will be planning those events in the fall. This effort builds upon the student team in spring that identified numerous like-minded organizations with whom we could form alliances.
If you have not already done so, please go to savepalomarmountain.org and leave a short statement of support for our Save Palomar Mountain Task Force. The Task Force is a group of residents trying to keep a 500,000-volt transmission line from crossing our pristine old-growth forest.
We are still identifying, locating, and cataloging sequoias on Palomar Mountain. If you think you have one on your property, do not hesitate to contact us at info@sequoiasentinels.com.

June 2024 Newsletter

Some people ask, why do we grow sequoias? You can see why here: https://youtu.be/8WtTif1q-N8
As reported last month, we had a successful sequoia seedling planting event in late April. We have checked in with the growers and all are doing well, with the exception of one seedling destroyed by a new-to-me predator, a duck! You can see a summary of the planting event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy6GR1LkRaM.
We have formed a new Task Force, Save Palomar Mountain, with a group of residents trying to keep a 500,000-volt transmission line from crossing our pristine old-growth forest. You can read more at savepalomarmountain.org. Please help us by leaving a short statement of support there.

May 2024 Newsletter

We had a team of five college students from California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) develop a marketing plan to conserve our sequoias' natural heritage. They hosted a Trade Show booth and represented Sequoia Sentinels at CSUSM's premier annual business event, shown below, on May 16. As part of their effort, they identified and contacted 33 like-minded organizations with whom we could form alliances.

Below: Our team of business students who developed a marketing plan to conserve our sequoias' natural heritage.

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We had a successful sequoia seedling planting event in late April with ~25 participants and nearly 150 seedlings. You can see a summary of the event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy6GR1LkRaM.
Thanks especially to our volunteers who came to plant: Chris Clarke, Cristina Jasmine, Elizabeth Kirton, Kyren Kirton, Jarred Roberts, and Juliana Torres. Palomar Mountain is now home to over 400 sequoias.
We presented our 2024-2025 plan to the Southern California Executive Board of the Society of American Foresters.