Kathryn Prive didn’t set out to start a nonprofit. Nor did she set out to be a scientist. At the outset of her education, she had originally been on a liberal arts track, but as her interest in plants and ecology blossomed, so did her confidence in her ability to make the leap.  

The result of her work and faith in her abilities is, The Understory Initiative (TUI), an Oregon based nonprofit that specializes in habitat restoration and native species conservation.

The impetus behind the founding of the organization was born out of an identified need. 

“I just noticed through my other work that there is this need for expertise on grassland ecosystems, native seed production that supports that work, and various connected things that need to happen in order for the restoration of those plant communities to be successful in our area in Southwest Oregon,” Prive said.

The Understory Initiative team. (Photo: TUI)

Founded in 2018, the group has been growing steadily since. Prive now leads a passionate team of a dozen, all of whom have a superpower within the organization.

Of her own, she said, “The way I see my superpower is really about systems thinking, building relationships and partnerships, and building up community trust in order to get things on the ground to happen.”

It’s this sense of community and partnership that permeates all that The Understory Initiative does. Indeed, it is what Prive calls “The fuel of restoration.”

Community Connection

From educational entities and indigenous groups, to farmers and government organizations, the myriad connections that the organization is forging serves to fortify their mission and popularize their message. 

In an area of the country that is both historically fire prone, and rich in rare plants, working with a diverse set of stakeholders is a prudent strategy for mitigating risks and creating a more sustainable future. 

Plant and pollinator monitoring. (Photo: TUI)

The sunny summer slopes of southern Oregon have become known as something of a tinderbox in recent years. After decades of fire suppression and the proliferation of non-native weeds that die and dry in the summer—many of which were introduced during the advent of agriculture in the region—the area has found itself dense in fuel to feed wildfires. 

Prive, and many others, believe that native plants are a key strategy for management. 

“By doing our work with understory restoration, we're seeing that in areas where there's intact native plant communities, the fires burn less severely and create less damage,” she said. 

“We just need to accept that fires are going to happen in these areas. They always have. They always will. But if we can have them be at a severity that's more manageable, and beneficial ecologically and then find a way to live with that as humans, I think that's what restoration offers us.” 

Camissia leichtlinii. (Photo: TUI)

While the plants themselves offer a hedge against the severity of fires, they also offer a hedge against climate change as they continue to adapt to evolving conditions.

To this end, the organization has been seeding the land of qualifying private landowners in the wake of wildfires, in an effort to safeguard and strengthen the ecosystems of the area once again.  

The Currency of Restoration

While Prive considers community to be the fuel of restoration, she considers seed to be the currency of it.

In addition to having two plots of their own for native seed production, TUI has been working with local farmers to transition portions of their land as well.

Phacelia seed plot. (Photo: TUI)

Many farmers in the region are dealing with water scarcity issues—some having irrigation sources shut off entirely. In addition to supporting restoration efforts, a reason that natives are an attractive proposition, is that they require significantly less water. 

“These plants, just by definition, are adapted to our hot and dry summers. So, they either go dormant in the summer or they drop their seed prior to getting really hot or they're just really hardy and they have three-foot-deep roots and they can just tough it out for six months without getting any rain,” Prive said.

 

Seed harvest. (Photo: TUI)

In addition to their own seed propagation efforts, and recruiting and supporting the work of area farmers, TUI is helping to safeguard rare native plants in the area through the establishment of a Rare Plant Monitoring Network.  

Working with federal agencies and dedicated volunteers, the group monitors populations of rare plants on public lands, to ensure their survival into the future.  

Hope for the Future

While educational opportunities for the public exist through the Rare Plant Monitoring Network, the organization also has a dedicated educational program and place-based preserve, known as Vesper Meadow.

The unique 1,000-acre property is an active restoration site being managed for biodiverse native plants communities and wild foods. 

 

View from Vesper Meadow campus. (Photo: Vesper Meadow Instagram)

With a focus on rebuilding the land-human connection to inspire stewardship, Vesper Meadow prioritizes Tribal partnership and community engagement. There is also a special focus on nature-inspired art. 

“Art serves as a catalyst for new ideas. I think that when new ways of interpreting our world start, it usually starts in the minds of artists and creative people and then later trickles down to the rest of us," Prive said. "We just try to really recognize that that type of innovation is equally important as some of the scientific, rigorous research that we do."

Painting capturing restoration progress. (Photo: Vesper Meadow Instagram)

Whether it is through the art that she sees created, or the dedicated efforts of the employees and volunteers she is surrounded by, Kathryn Prive observes a mindset shift that gives her hope for continued change into the future—acknowledging that when she came to environmentalism as a young person, she was sometimes struck by the feeling of doom and gloom that often surrounds the subject. 

This detection of, and attunement to, the positive is a likely byproduct of being a part of the solution—one that is strengthened in community, just like the plants she’s working to protect.