“The Sierras are the longest continuous mountain range in the US. That’s a lot of ground to cover, and a lot of fires,” says Matthew Fonken.
Raised on a horse farm in Arkansas, Fonken has always been an outside person. As a teenager, he and his brother started their own Boy Scout troop. (The local troop was too focused on video games.)
Now, he’s pouring his love for the outdoors into a new organization— Saving Our Sierras.
SOS wants to restore the Sierras to their wild, natural state, as well as prevent future damages. Four motivated locals– Matthew, Funmi, Joanne, and Zach, have been pouring their time and energy into this project since July. These folks are stitching together their ideas, passions, and skills to create a new Reno non-profit that will bring life back to our local flora and fauna.
This team is dreaming big and working hard, but they won’t be able to save the Sierras on their own. And they definitely don’t want to keep their knowledge all to themselves.
SOS plans to have a work day every first Saturday of the month, weather permitting. These work days will provide opportunities for community members– not only to spend time in nature and get their hands a little dirty, but also to learn more about the processes SOS is using to restore and re-wild the Sierras.
This Saturday, December 2nd, SOS invites you to spend a day planting trees, meeting friends, learning skills, and talking about ways that we can collectively care for this local piece of Earth.
If you aren’t able to attend, but would like to participate in Saving Our Sierras in a different way, the organization is accepting donations of many kinds– from boots, to snowshoes, to backpacks, to collapsible tools. Many people who would like to volunteer may be unable to do so due to finances, abilities, or other factors. The more supplies SOS is able to collect, the greater the accessibility for folks who would like to participate. “That's one of my visions,” Funmi says. “Everybody who wants to help, I want them to be able to help. We need everybody.”