John Luker and Wendi Gladstone, officers on the Board of Directors of SSMPA, have repurposed Save Chatsworth, Inc. a 501(c)(3) Charitable Non-Profit. Our new Mission statement is “to promote healthy and positive stewardship of the local mountains and regional open space through education and habitat restoration”. We have gathered a number of wonderful like-minded lunatics to serve on our Board and field crew. We are a strong and dedicated team.

The Sky Valley Volunteers are identified in one of two ways, depending on who you talk to. Either we are a ragtag group of misfits, fighting overwhelming odds against an implacable foe, in order to save the world… OR… We’re a dedicated group of local stakeholders planting forests in order to protect our little corner of the world… Maybe we are a bit of both? We’ve also been viewed as, “little ants carrying watermelon”.

“We gather acorns, stratify and germinate them, pot and plant the sprouts. We have a very dedicated watering crew who are braving the heat twice a week, keeping the thirsty babies alive. Our team is an incredible and eclectic group of individuals with a common goal in mind: to restore local forests and promote habitat restoration in the wider community.

It is estimated the drought has killed over 111,000 trees in the Santa Monica mountains alone.Twenty six million trees in the western Sierra are dead. Sixteen million trees in Southern California…dead. The extended drought has weakened our trees and made them more susceptible to pests and disease.

We have mountains to heal, come join us!”