The Sequoia National Wilderness, one of the oldest living forests in the world, is under
threat. General Sherman, a Mountain Redwood or Sequoia tree, 2,500 years of age, is considered by most to be one of the oldest
living organisms on the face of our planet. It was alive when George Washington considered the consequences of cutting
down a cherry tree. It was alive as a young Christopher Columbus stood on the shores of his homeland and dreamt of the
west. This ancient creature, this international treasure is at dire risk. No tree stands alone. Without its forest a tree,
even an ancient tree like General Sherman, can fade and die.
The primary mission of The Sequoia Odyssey School Center for the Reintroduction of Endangered Species, or The Center, is
to utilize the 600-acre campus and its facilities to generate and expedite the reintroduction of native species of flora and
fauna. We will help the forest to heal and restore itself.
The secondary mission of The Center is to provide students with hands-on learning experiences through the actual practice
of relevant, real-life ecological science. It is one thing to recycle and to conserve energy. It is quite another to
wake up an hour early every morning to bottle feed an orphaned California Big-Horned Sheep or to personally germinate and
plant 100 Mountain Redwood seedlings in the forest a year.
The benefits of The Center aren't limited to the sciences. In fact, they resonate throughout the entire experience of the
school. In addition, this gives the school a unifying cause and a central theme of self-sacrifice and social service.
Students commit to a minimum of 5 hours a week of hands-on work in The Center under the tutelage of our Dean of Science
and his staff of trained technicians. Student work can include, care and feeding of small birds and mammals, planting seedlings
and watering them, release of nurtured animals as well as habitat maintenance.
Current species Threatened
Flora-
Sierra Primrose - adopted as school flower
Mountain Redwood
Fauna-
Merlin falcon
Grey owl
Yellow-legged valley frog
Pika
Marmoset
California bighorn sheep
