January 13, 2023
Too Much of a Good Thing?
An update from Alliance Redwoods
by Alliance Redwoods staff
In the last 11 days, Alliance Redwoods has been pummeled by back-to-back storms snapping majestic trees like matchsticks. We barely have time to clear the trees and branches before the next wave rolls in. As a result, we’ve experienced significant damage throughout the camp, including:
- Ziplines and treehouse experiences are postponed due to high winds and falling branches.
- A huge tan oak fell and punched holes in the gym roof (three stories up!) with water damage warping the wood floor.
- Our Cedar lodge is out of commission due to a fallen branch punching a hole through the metal roof and ceiling.
After several years of a historic drought, we wonder how nature can turn so quickly to provide an abundance of rain. So, despite the hard work to make repairs and clean up, we love the rain refilling our creeks, reservoirs, and aquifers!
We’ll know more about the total costs as damage is assessed, but we expect all of this will be in the hundreds of thousands before this historic weather event is over. Needless to say, as a nonprofit organization, this is a time when your generous support will help our crews working round the clock to keep camp safe and make urgent repairs.
Our full-time crews are working nearly around the clock to repair roofs from falling limbs, take down vulnerable trees before they fall, and channel massive water and mud flows away from buildings to prevent flooding. This photo shows Cedar lodge which had roof damage due to falling limbs. We have “all hands on deck” to inspect our cabins and ziplines to ensure our camp experience is safe, clean, and comfortable for every guest.
As we start this new year, we welcome five new outdoor educators to our team so that we can welcome a record number of middle school students in 2023. We expect more than 300 students per week, starting January 16!