Chapter Meeting May 15, 2025

For our May membership meeting, on Thursday, May 15, 2025, we are pleased to present a talk by our very own, newly elected President, Jeremey Kelley! Jeremey will present a slideshow entitled, A Keystone Species: Beavers and their Effect on Native Plant Communities, after which the audience will be invited to take a short walk to a nearby pond that is home to beavers!

Raccoons on beaver-felled tree. R. Morris. — Raccoons exploring a recently fallen tree in a local beaver pond in Redding.
Photo taken by Ryan Morris on February 1, 2025.

Beavers are a keystone species that have significantly altered the natural environment including most of our water courses and the surrounding plant communities. Beaver ponds function as wetlands and help store, purify, and recharge groundwater in local watersheds. This presentation will explore the beneficial effects that beavers have on the native plant community located in our very own Turtle Bay beaver pond!

Ryan Morris and beaver lodge. J. Kelley. — Western Shasta RCD Field Coordinator Ryan Morris standing next to a beaver lodge that he found at the Lillian Nelson Nature Preserve, Redding. Photo taken February 20, 2024, by Jeremey Kelley.

Jeremey Kelley works for the Western Shasta Resource Conservation District. He has worked in the field of conservation and Natural Resources since 2005. He is currently fascinated with beaver behavior, considers himself a “beaver believer,” and loves to talk about how we can bring back the beavers!

Jeremey Kelley on Turtle Bay pond walk. R. Morris. — Then-Member-at-Large Jeremey Kelley leading the September 19, 2024, pre-meeting walk to a created natural pond on Turtle Bay property. Photo taken by Ryan Morris.

Please join us in learning all about the busy beaver and how this important species benefits the natural ecosytem! That’s 5:30 or 6 PM on Thursday, May 15, 2025. Venue and time details are below. See you there! ~Shasta Chapter CNPS

Beaver-chewed tree. J. Kelley. — A uniquely shaped beaver-chewed tree at the pond at Turtle Bay.
Photo taken September 16, 2024, by Jeremey Kelley.

The new meeting venue

With sincere gratitude to McConnell Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, we are delighted to announce that Shasta Chapter CNPS is now meeting in the brand 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 to the new venue, 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 new meeting time

We will get the show on the road a little earlier than in the past. Please be ready to go 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!