Fire-Resilience in the Defensible Space and Beyond
Speaker: Eric Schoohs, Land Management Planner, Sonoma Ecology Center
Eric will discuss creating resilient landscapes both near homes and in the Wildland Urban Interface including: sustainability, basic fire behavior, native plant placement and selection in the defensible space, and how to approach transitioning beyond defensible space. Eric is dedicated to the advancement of ecologically informed vegetation management practices across California and the US and has spent the last decade expanding his skill set working as project manager, stewardship team lead, naturalist guide, and an AmeriCorps volunteer. He is a certified Firefighter type 2 and he has a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin.
Eric Schoohs is a leader in the North Bay stewardship community. He is passionate about empowering people to build a relationship with the land and works in many different roles to further this personal mission. He is the co-founder and COO of ECOS Land Services, a member of the Resilient Landscapes Coalition, and co-editor of the online resource Tending the Land for Fire Resilience in Sonoma County. Eric is an associate professor at the Santa Rosa Junior College in the Adult and Continuing Education Program focused on Fire Resilient Landscaping and Home Hardening, and he collaborates with many groups including the US Green Building Council and North Bay Jobs with Justice as a trainer focused on equity and increasing ecological workforce capacities in the California. His time spent in Marin as a vegetation crew lead with Marin County Parks ties him to the county and is a big part of why he is driven to create networks and connection across all the groups caring for the land in the North Bay.
