Chapter Meeting
January 15, 2026

by Shasta Chapter CNPSPosted onAnnouncements
Pink adobe lily (Fritillaria pluriflora) at Dye Creek Preserve, Tehama County. Photo by Andrea Craig.
Rare adobe lilies. Fritillaria pluriflora, photographed at The Nature Conservancy's Dye Creek Preserve in Tehama County in 2024. Join the January Chapter Meeting to hear more about the area's biodiversity! Photo by Andrea Craig.

For January’s chapter meeting, Andrea Craig will take us on a tour of the rugged, remote, and richly biodiverse landscape of the Lassen Foothills. The presentation is titled Look and You Will Find: A Snapshot of Biodiversity in the Lassen Foothills of California. This conservation story will focus on Dye Creek Preserve and is about getting to know an elusive volcanic landscape, with over a century of grazing and development, and the diversity that has persevered. 

A blue oak woodland at the Dye Creek Preserve foothills in Tehama County. Photo by Andrea Craig.
A blue oak woodland photographed in the foothills of the Dye Creek Preserve in 2025.
Photo by Andrea Craig.

Andrea is the Lassen Foothills Stewardship Manager for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) of California. She has her undergraduate degree in Applied Ecology from UC Irvine and a masters in Rangeland Resources and Wildland Soils from Cal Poly Humboldt. She is Firefighter II and Wilderness First Responder certified, as well as a Master Gardener in Shasta County.  

Small yellow flowers in vernal pools at the Dye Creek Preserve in Tehama County. Photo by Andrea Craig.
Dye Creek Preserve, located in Los Molinos, is home to grasslands and vernal pools.
Photo by Andrea Craig in 2025.

Andrea has been working for TNC since 2006 helping manage conservation interests in the region. As you may know, land management comes with a variety of responsibilities—from property taxes and plumbing, to protecting plants and planning strategies that translate across diverse places. Andrea particularly appreciates the people with whom she works who help make day-to-day conservation action possible. In her free time, Andrea enjoys being outdoors with family and friends, hiking, traveling. and photographing the natural world around us. 

Andrea Craig. A. Craig.
Andrea Craig, Lassen Foothills Stewardship Manager for The Nature Conservancy of California, at Dye Creek Preserve, Tehama County. Photo courtesy of Andrea Craig.

Please join us Thursday, January 15, for a visual excursion to . Venue and time details are below. 
~Shasta Chapter CNPS

The meeting venue

With sincere gratitude to McConnell Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, Shasta Chapter CNPS continues to meet in the new Turtle Bay Nursery Classroom, 1125 Arboretum Drive, Redding. There is lots of free, paved parking just steps away from the classroom building, and nice, curbed sidewalks. To get there, from North Market Street, turn east onto Arboretum Drive. Veer right at the first opportunity (so you don’t end up at Turtle Bay Elementary School!), and drive a short way to the “curvy” parking lot to the east of Arboretum Drive. 

Map to classroom. Google Maps.
From South Market Street in Redding (upper left corner), follow the blue arrows to the parking area outside the gates of the new Turtle Bay Nursery Classroom, marked with a blue X (not yet built in this image!). Screenshot from Google Maps.

The Nursery Classroom is just inside a large wrought-iron double gate, which is just north of the entrance to the botanical gardens proper. 

Classroom and gates. D. Burk.
The new Turtle Bay Nursery Classroom behind the McConnell Arboretum & Botanic Gardens Nursery gates at Turtle Bay Exploration Park, 1125 Arboretum Drive, Redding. Doors to the classroom are on the sides in the back. We will have bright yellow signs posted to help you find your way! Photo taken August 30, 2024, by Don Burk.

The meeting time

We will get the show on the road no later than 6 PM for our short Chapter meeting and announcements, followed by our speaker’s presentation. Or come as early as 5:30 PM to socialize and see what sort of pre-meeting activity or display we might have for you! Please join us!