“Tree of Life Grove” Program

The Planting Project:

The Tree of Life Grove will be located in Tahoe National Forest at a place called Onion Valley. An illegal campfire started the Gap fires in Onion Valley a few years ago and this area is need of restoration. The fire was so intense the forest is having problems regenerating. The Gap Fires decimated the area leaving blackened tree skeletons standing on white and black ash-covered ground. The Forest’s soil productivity, watershed integrity and wildlife habitat have been heavily impacted.

The benefits of planting trees after a fire are many. Through your book and the generous contributions of your readers, we'll be able to restore this land by planting trees. Once again the land will experience a rebirth or a renewal of life. Planting as Onion Valley will being in the Spring of 2003.

Species of trees for the Tahoe site

• Jeffery Pine
• Ponderosa Pine
• Douglas Fir
• Red Fir
• White Fir

Location of the Site:

The planting site is about a 6 – 8 mile drive from the Emigrant Gap exit off of I-80. Once you exit the highway, you drive about 5-6 miles on a paved road through a valley of meadows and mature forest consisting of Ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and White fir. The last mile or so is a gravel road, which is graded for hiking or mountain biking. There’s a campground about ½ mile from the restoration site. Readers may either walk on the gravel road or hike up the steep terrain to view the site. While in the area, there are a few vistas points of interest that your readers may want to explore in addition to the site.

Nearest towns to the site:

• Nevada City, 31 miles
• Auburn, 38 miles
• Truckee, 40 miles
• Big Bend Visitor Center is about 6 miles east of the project along I-80. (open in the summer)

The Sign:

Tahoe National Forest will create the sign and place the sign at the Onion Valley planting site so that hikers/readers may easily identify the site. The sign will be placed by next spring after the snows melt. Below is how the sign will read.

The Tree of Life Grove website address http://treeoflifegrove.org/ Plant a Tree

To plant trees in the Tree of Life Grove you may choose from the numbers listed below which are important numbers in myth and kabbalah or choose your own number of meaning to begin the journey:

• $10 for ten trees in the Tree of Life Grove (for ten spheres of the tree)
• $18 for eighteen trees (the Hebrew number that signifies Hai or "life")
• $32 for thirty-two trees (for the thirty-two paths of wisdom by which God created the universe)
• $72 for seventy-two trees (the number of syllables in the ultimate name of God)
• $108 for one hundred and eight trees (a holy number in traditions across the globe)
• Or pick any number of trees above ten that is lucky or meaningful to you.