Have you observed an abnormal amount of dead or dying oaks with yellowed or browning leaves within your local woodland? If so, you are probably observing trees that have been infected with Sudden Oak Death (SOD). Plant pathogens are a natural part of terrestrial ecosystems, they play a vital role in shaping populations and are a major force of evolutionary change. Yet over the last two decades, SOD has imparted devastating consequences for oak, tanoak and other tree populations. Since the mid-1990’s, what is now known to be Phytophthora ramorum has killed millions of trees across California and Oregon and it continues to spread faster than researchers can individually document. However, there is an organized movement to use the power of local citizen volunteers to collect essential field data on an accessible online platform.

Professor Wolfgang Schweigkofler, Ph.D joins us to shine a light on this mysterious disease and, most importantly, what you can do to help stop it!

Wolfgang Schweigkofler, Ph.D. is an assistant Research Professor at Dominican University in San Rafael. He holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria.

Date: Saturday Nov 18th, 2017       

Location: Lower Village Museum

Time:  5pm -6pm

Admission: Members- Free

                     Non-members-$5

Please RSVP to reserve your space at chinacamp.programs@gmail.com or (415)488-5161