Check Out John Luker’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to John Luker.

Hi John, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My name is John Luker. Wendi Gladstone and I are partners in the Sky Valley Volunteers Project, sponsored by the non-profit, Save Chatsworth, Inc and the Santa Susana Mountain Park Association (SSMPA)

We started this Project in 2017. At that time the Invasive Shot Hole Borer (ISHB) had been discovered in the LA area and it has the potential to kill large numbers of oak trees and over 214 different important plants and trees. The only silver lining is the bugs only “attacks” mature trees, not saplings. We hit on an idea! Let’s plant a LOT of baby oak trees!

In the last 8 years we’ve planted over a thousand trees in the local Simi Hills. We’ve planted a forest! We also discovered something as important as planting trees. We brought together a group of people who really care about the environment. We realized what we are doing is creating a population of Community Stewards, willing to take on the job of revitalizing our local Habitat.

I was involved in this sort of endeavor once before when several community members set up the Foundation for the Preservation of the Santa Susana Mountains as the cooperating agency that takes care of our local State Park. The State was going to close several State Parks in 2009 because of lack of funds. We told a legislative hearing that if the state needed to close the Park in Chatsworth, we could set up a volunteer organization that could run the park in lieu of paid staff. We were very successful, so much so that the State of California considered our group a template for volunteer organizations in the State.

We are using this same model with Sky Valley Volunteers to help large landowners take care of their properties. The land holders include the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), the Boeing Co, LADWP, and private land owners and Homeowners Associations surrounding the Simi Hills. We are the Community Stewards of the Chatsworth Nature Preserve..

Currently, we are expanding our operations. We have 3 shade houses where we propagate native trees and plants. In addition to planting hundreds of trees, we are expanding into chaparral restoration and we’ve built a native plant demonstration garden and Nursery at the Chatsworth Nature Preserve.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We’ve had extraordinary help from our community, especially on planting days in the fall and winter months. Our largest crowd was 120 people. That day we placed 110 trees in the ground in an hour! That being said, attrition is a constant concern.

We plant after the first rains in the winter. There’s about a 3 month window, starting in December where the ground is soft enough to dig and we receive free water from the sky! In the summer months the heat is oppressive. Each tree needs 2.5 gallons of water every week during the summer. after 2-3 years, we wean them off of artificial irrigation. At that point their root systems are diverse enough to sustain the trees. Finding a dedicated watering crew has been a challenge. We always have had a core group of 8-10 souls who knock themselves out 4 days a week. We’ve been blessed so far with several new people this year, so promoting volunteering is one of our primary jobs.

This year we are starting a Stewardship Class, where people will learn the ins and outs of this type of environmental work. Stay tuned!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’ve had a VERY eclectic career trajectory. I was a street performer for most of my 20’s. I was the Venice Beach Juggler. I became star of stage TV and Screen… what fun! That became a dead end so I went back to school and studied film making. That led to a 30 year career as a Director of Photography. During a documentary job interview was shooting, I fell into the environmental work I’m currently engaged in.

For 20 years I’ve been a very vocal advocate for our hills and forests. My first taste of real environmental work was on a resource crew for California State Parks. I walked away from 6 figures in the Movie industry to work for the State for $9.65/hr!!! I told my boss the only thing that makes that worth while is if she teaches me Habitat Restoration. I was working under her guidance for 8 years. She did a great job!

…and 8 years ago, my work partner and I started planting trees…

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
We are looking for a few good humans to help us save the world. Wendi and I have made real change happen, YOU can too…

…Come join us!

Sky Valley Volunteers- John Luker: [email protected]
skyvalleyvolunteers.org

Pricing:

• we work for free
• no-one gets paid

Contact Info:

• Website: https://skyvalleyvolunteers.org
• Facebook: Sky Valley Volunteers

Image Credits
photo by John Luker