Thank you for considering membership in the California Chaparral Institute. Before you join, we would like to let you know how your financial contribution will be used and why it is needed.
There are a lot of worthy causes out there. Why help preserve and promote a better understanding of the chaparral? Because chaparral defines California like no other native plant community. It provides Californians with a sense of place. And chaparral offers vital natural resource values that help maintain California's ecological health, such as providing watersheds to protect our water supplies, carbon sequestration to combat climate change, and habitat that creates some of the highest levels of biodiversity on earth. Chaparral remains one of the last bastions of the California condor.
We travel nearly 10,000 miles a year to give presentations about the chaparral to dozens of groups including schools, community organizations and government agencies. In addition, we have provided free educational materials to numerous individuals and groups in order to help them better understand and learn to appreciate the chaparral ecosystem. Scientific research has been and continues to be conducted. Current projects include studying the impact of increased fire frequencies on shrubland plant communities and how much chaparral has been lost due to development and habitat "type conversion" (where shrublands have been converted to weedy grasslands due to fires or other disturbances). Here is an example of one of our recent research projects.
Unfortunately, there remains a segment of society that does not believe type conversion is a problem and advocate broad scale destruction of native plant communities in the name of fire protection. This is why our educational mission is so important! For more on this problem, please see our Threats to Chaparral page.
Your support will help fund our educational and research programs with the ultimate goal of assisting others to reconnect with the natural environment in which they live and to recognize the importance of making long term plans to maintain wild places for our families to enjoy in the future. Yes, we focus on the chaparral, but our message is universal; nature is a wonderful place to enjoy life.
If you feel you would like to support our mission, please select from one of the three membership levels listed below. You can either contribute directly by credit card through PayPal or mail a check with the membership form found below. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation so your donations are tax-deductible.
Thanks!
Richard W. Halsey Director California Chaparral Institute
If you would prefer to join the Chaparral Institute by mail please download the membership form here
1. Citizen Naturalist: $40. Benefits include The Chaparralian (a quarterly journal that covers the chaparral ecosystem and wildland fire issues delivered via email) and a signed copy of the second edition of "Fire, Chaparral, and Survival in Southern California." If this is a gift membership please send us the name, address, and email of the individual you would like to send the gift to via EMAIL after you place your order. Thanks!
2. Chaparralian: $65. Benefits include The Chaparralian (a quarterly journal that covers the chaparral ecosystem and wildland fire issues delivered via email), a signed copy of the second edition of "Fire, Chaparral, and Survival in Southern California" and the "Secrets of the Chaparral" DVD (details below). If this is a gift membership please send us the name, address, and email of the individual you would like to send the gift to via EMAIL after you place your order. Thanks!
3. California Grizzly Bear: $100. Benefits include The Chaparralian (a quarterly journal that covers the chaparral ecosystem and wildland fire issues delivered via email), a signed copy of the second edition of "Fire, Chaparral, and Survival in Southern California, the "Secrets of the Chaparral" DVD, and the special chaparral issue of the California Native Plant Society's journal FREMONTIA (details below). If this is a gift membership please send us the name, address, and email of the individual you would like to send the gift to via EMAIL after you place your order. Thanks!
4. Renewal. $30. If it has been a year or more since you joined the California Chaparral Institute and you would like to simply renew in order to continue supporting our work, this is an excellent option. Membership renewals are a critical part of helping us produce our quarterly journal, The Chaparralian, and fund the many activities we engage in to help protect the chaparral ecosystem.
PLEASE DONATE TO THE CHAPARRAL FUND
Please consider supporting our research, educational, and legal work to protect and promote a greater appreciation of the chaparral. We are the only advocates for shrubland ecosystems, so your support is vital to allow us to continue to speak for the chaparral and all the plants and animals that call it home. All donations are tax-deductible. You may increase your donation by increments of $50 by updating the quantity in your shopping chart. Thank You!
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The 2008 second edition of Fire, Chaparral, and Survival in Southern California is the only readily available book that describes in detail California's most characteristic plant community, the chaparral.
It not only provides the basics of chaparral natural history, but also how wildfires are fought, what we have learned about them, and why it is so important to reconnect with one's surroundings. Also included is a color photo identification section describing 64 of the most common Southern California chaparral plants and animals. For more details about content or how to purchase additional copies, please go to Book Excerpts. All royalties benefit the California Chaparral Institute.
Secrets of the Chaparral
DVD
as part of Huell Howser's California's Green PBS television series.
Join Huell Howser and Richard Halsey as they explore several beautiful types of chaparral, discuss the chaparrals misunderstood relationship to fire, and discover the true home of the California grizzly bear. This is by far the best introduction to the chaparral plant community you will find on film anywhere. It is perfect for classroom use as well as for anyone interested in obtaining a clear explanation about California's most characteristic wilderness.
Running time: About 25 minutes. See a sample video clip below.
Special Issue: CHAPARRAL.The fall 2007 issue of the California Native Plant Society's quarterly journal, Fremontia.
With beautiful color photographs and articles by experts in the field, this is an outstanding overview of the chaparral ecosystem. Articles include "Chaparral: Pure California" by Richard W. Halsey, "Diversity and Evolution of Arctostaphylos and Ceanothus" by V. Thomas Parker, "Chaparral Zonation in the Santa Monica Mountains: The Influence of Freezing Temperatures" by Stephen D. Davis, et al., "Chaparral and Fire" by Jon E. Keeley, "Chaparral Geophytes" by Claudia M. Tyler and Mark I. Borchert, "Man and Fire in Southern California: Doing the Math" by Hugh D. Safford, "From Ashes to Life: Effects of Fire on a San Diego Chaparral Community" by David M. Cohn III. 33 pages.
If you want to immerse yourself in the aromatic spirit and traditions of California's chaparral wildlands, this is the way to do it. We have personally tested this fragrance and found it to be truly beautiful. Both the guys and girls at the Chaparral Institute love it. You can obtain a sample or a full bottle at . Buy a bottle and a portion of the purchase is donated to us!
