Library to Feature 2 'Eco-Sustainers' Thursday

" returns to the Thursday featuring two self-proclaimed bio-diversifiers: Matt Ritter and Laura Cunningham.

Patch talked to the authors this week to learn more about their work, and what we can do to get more involved in the environment.

Matt Ritter & A Californian's Guide to the Trees among Us

On his book: “[The book] is a natural history guide to all the trees and urban areas in California. It’s meant to be able to help people walk up to any tree in any city in California and learn what the name of that tree is and learn some stories about it,” said Ritter, a California Polytechnic biology professor.

Why he wrote it: Ritter is passionate about getting people to notice the organisms living around them. A knowledge and appreciation of trees can “ultimately [lead people to] care about preserving the rare plants and animals on the planet.”

The problem: In the face of this crisis, becoming aware of the surrounding environment is the first thing South Pasadena locals and humans at large can do to begin to make a change. “We’re in bio-diversity crisis on the planet, and species are becoming extinct at really high levels,” he said.

Laura Cunningham & A State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes of California

On her Book: Cunningham’s work delves into the history of California—exploring what the state looked like “before roads, highways and buildings about 200 years ago."

"I wanted to know what California looked like before civilization,” she said.

Why she wrote it: Like Ritter, Cunningham is concerned with biodiversity in California. California used to have “biodiversity in abundance,” and Cunningham hopes Californians will work together to “reintroduce rare species” back into the environment.

Making a difference: Through her research, she found many examples of people trying to accomplish the same thing.

“People are trying to bring back some lessons from the past, and restore certain areas to how they looked and operated ecologically in the past,” she said.

She cites work in San Francisco neighborhoods where locals have discovered underground streams and worked to restore them. “People get together and care for these little creeks that run through urban areas.” Their work brings them back to life, she said, and is so successful that salmon and trout have started swimming in the tiny creeks.

What you can do: In that same way, South Pasadena can work together to discover what past lurks in their neighborhoods. Start with your own backyard, Cunningham advised. “Get to know it better; learn about what it was like in the past. Get to know nature better and help restore it.”

Stop by the South Pasadena Public Library 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, to learn more about these authors, their works, and what you can do to sustain the environment here in South Pasadena.