This presentation explores how The Understory Initiative’s (TUI) grassroots approach is actively helping to restore native ecosystems in southern Oregon, including the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. Through collaborative projects like the Rogue Native Plant Partnership and the Upper Rogue Oak Initiative, we’ll show how involving local communities and prioritizing their knowledge creates more resilient, thriving landscapes. By thinking like an ecosystem—valuing every part and every voice—we can tackle environmental challenges more effectively.

Kathryn Prive, Executive Director of TUI, grew up in Minnesota but has called the West Coast home since 2003. She has a M.S. in population genetics and ecological restoration from Oregon State University and a B.S in Environmental Science from the University of Oregon. Kathryn has expertise in partnership coordination, population genetics, ecological restoration, and botany. She is passionate about native plant community restoration and seed production.

The Friday Hike and Learn sessions will take place in the Ashland Food Co-op Community Classroom at 300 N. Pioneer in Ashland from 6:00 to 7:30pm. The classroom is one block toward downtown from the grocery store on N 1st Street.

Friends of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is a nonprofit organization and our mission is to support the protection, restoration and conservation of the monument through service, advocacy and education. Our Hike and Learn programs are designed to introduce the public to different topics and locations within the Monument. Hike and Learns are co-created with local scientists, historians, artists, students, and more.

Cover photo courtesy of the Understory Initiative