In partnership with California State Parks and the Nevada County Library, the monthly Sierra Speaker Series connects folks to the rich cultural and natural history of the area. Join us at Donner Memorial State Park Visitor Center to learn and engage! The presentation is to follow at 4 pm. Admission is a suggested $5 donation. Light refreshments and wines, sponsored by Highway 12 Winery, will be available. No registration required.

In 1841, the Bidwell-Bartleson Party became the first organized group of American settlers to attempt a wagon crossing into California, despite having no prior experience or reliable maps. Faced with the harsh reality of the Great Basin and the Sierra Nevada, the group was forced to abandon their wagons and survive on the meat of their pack animals. Though the party splintered under the immense physical and mental strain, most members eventually reached John Sutter’s ranch in the Sacramento Valley. Their arrival proved that a land route to the Pacific was possible, effectively setting the stage for the massive waves of migration that defined the mid-19th century.

Noel Lopez is a California local who has been planting seeds of stewardship with California State Parks for over a decade. Originally a Park Interpretive Specialist at Bidwell Mansion SHP, he now serves as the K-12 Interpreter 1 for the Northern Buttes District and teaches part-time at Butte Community College.