Dylan Anderson at work identifying and sorting conifer seeds. Photo: Sara Thompson, KP News
Dylan Anderson, a Home resident and incoming senior at Peninsula High School this month, has been thinking about climate change. The native trees that have thrived here may be threatened by rising temperatures, a change in rainfall and new pests. This summer he began to think about introducing trees from Oregon and Northern California to this area.
Anderson has been collecting seeds from conifers, identifying them using books and internet resources, and filing them by species. His next step will be to germinate them and when they are large enough to plant, he wants to distribute them to anyone who wants them—for free.
“I have a lot to learn,” he said. “But I think that once I have free trees to distribute I’ll have a lot of takers.” He has a cousin who is a climatologist at the University of California, Berkeley and she has put him in touch with a paleobotanist there.
Anderson welcomes cones from donors, but notes that they are much easier to identify if they are attached to a branch. He’ll use social media to find homes for the seedlings when they are available, probably in a year.
For those interested in donating cones, email Anderson at lakebaycones@gmail.com.
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