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CZU and You 2023

8/26 CZU and You: Fall Creek

Join the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History for a guided walk of the Fall Creek Unit of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in partnership with California State Parks and the Mountain Parks Foundation. We’ll explore how the landscape has responded to fire, from redwood trees to wildflowers, and banana slugs to birds, as well as consider the future of this landscape.

Saturday, August 26, 2023
10 a.m. to noon

Location: Upper Fall Creek (meeting details will be shared upon registration).
Accessibility notes below.

$20 Suggested Donation

Register

About the CZU and You Series

Explore the role of fire on our landscape through a series of walks that invite our community to reflect on the CZU Lightning Complex fires of August 2020, while learning about proactive steps being taken throughout the County to manage the landscape both for and with fire. Explore fire resources from past events here.

In Partnership With

CZU and You Events

Accessibility and What to Expect

  • If you have not yet, please consider downloading iNaturalist so that you may contribute to our community science project monitoring the burn zone. Watch this short tutorial to learn how to upload an observation.
  • Participants should be prepared to walk up to 2 miles on moderate terrain.
  • There are no restrooms or facilities at this location. 
  • Wear layers, comfortable shoes, and bring any snacks/water you might need. Please leave your pets at home.
  • Check your shoes before entering the burn zone and remove any seeds so as to protect this vulnerable landscape from invasive plants.
  • Youth under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult.

FULL 8/19 CZU and You: San Vicente Redwoods

San Vicente Redwoods is the largest privately-held redwood forest in the Santa Cruz mountains, protected by an unprecedented coalition of land trust partners, including Sempervirens Fund, Peninsula Open Space Trust, Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, and Save the Redwoods League.

During this walk with Ian Rowbotham, Senior Land Stewardship Manager with our Sempervirens Fund, we’ll explore how the CZU Lightning Complex fires impacted the property and learn about the multi-faceted approach that land managers are taking on this unique property to prepare for fire, while also utilizing it as a land management tool.

Saturday, August 19, 2023
9 a.m. to noon

Location: San Vicente Redwoods (meeting details will be shared upon registration).
Accessibility notes below.

$20 Suggested Donation

This program has reached capacity. Email events@santacruzmuseum.org to be added to a waitlist.

About the CZU and You Series

Explore the role of fire on our landscape through a series of walks that invite our community to reflect on the CZU Lightning Complex fires of August 2020, while learning about proactive steps being taken throughout the County to manage the landscape both for and with fire. Explore fire resources from past events here.

In Partnership With

CZU and You Events

Accessibility and What to Expect

  • If you have not yet, please consider downloading iNaturalist so that you may contribute to our community science project monitoring the burn zone. Watch this short tutorial to learn how to upload an observation.
  • Be prepared to walk up to 2 miles on well maintained trails with slight elevation gains, but generally cross-country.
  • Please monitor the weather forecast and dress appropriately. Wear layers, comfortable shoes, and bring any snacks/water you might need. It can get toasty at San Vicente in the summer!
  • Dogs are not allowed on the trails we will be exploring.
  • There are restrooms at the parking lot, but no potable water.
  • Youth under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult.

FULL 8/12 CZU and You: Big Basin

Join State Park Interpreter Susan Blake for a guided experience in Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Established in 1902, Big Basin Redwoods is California’s oldest state park and home to the largest continuous stand of ancient coast redwoods south of San Francisco. A new chapter in Big Basin’s story began on August 18, 2020, when the CZU Lightning Complex Fire swept through 97% of the park’s property.

During this walk, we’ll explore how the fire impacted the park, how it is recovering, and what’s next for the Reimagining Big Basin project.

Saturday, August 12, 2023
9:30-12 p.m.

Location: Big Basin (there will be carpooling and meeting details will be shared upon registration).
Accessibility notes below.

$20 Suggested Donation

This program has reached capacity. Email events@santacruzmuseum.org to be added to a waitlist.

About the CZU and YOU Series

Explore the role of fire on our landscape through a series of walks that invite our community to reflect on the CZU Lightning Complex fires of August 2020, while learning about proactive steps being taken throughout the County to manage the landscape both for and with fire. Explore fire resources from past events here.

In Partnership With

CZU and You Events

Accessibility and What to Expect

  • We will be carpooling from our parking spot to the walk site, so please be prepared to be with us for the duration of the program.
  • Participants should be prepared to walk 1-2 miles on mostly paved and flat trails.
  • Restrooms are available near the parking lot.
  • Wear layers, comfortable shoes, and bring any snacks/water you might need.
  • Please leave your pets at home. Trained service animals are permitted.
  • Youth under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult.

Naturalist Night: Reintroducing Fire (watch recording)

Fire is a natural part of the California landscape and plays an integral role in our local ecology. For millennia, Indigenous communities have stewarded the land with fire, but centuries of fire suppression, periods of extreme drought, and an expanding populace into the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) have led to increasingly intense fires that threaten communities. The burning question in recent years has been: how do we protect our communities from fire while also supporting “good fire” on the landscape?

Join a panel of experts from Amah Mutsun Land Trust, Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County, and Sempervirens Fund at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History for a series of talks exploring this question and the many ways that local groups are managing the landscape both for and with fire.

Below is a recording of the presentation, recorded at the Museum on August 10, 2023.

Resources

8/5 CZU and You: Henry Cowell

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park has implemented a new prescribed burn program that allows community members to actively participate in forest management practices that support the health and resiliency of the park. Join us for this two part program where we’ll:

1. Learn about fire ecology in the redwoods and current forest management practices underway in the Redwood Grove of Henry Cowell Redwoods, including burn piles that are being created by community volunteers.

2. Practice building burn piles alongside State Parks staff and volunteers for future burn days. This is a unique opportunity to actively support land management both for and with fire in Santa Cruz County.

Saturday, August 5, 2023
10 a.m. to noon

Location: Henry Cowell (meeting details will be shared upon registration).
Accessibility notes below.

$20 Suggested Donation

Register

About the CZU and YOU Series

Explore the role of fire on our landscape through a series of walks that invite our community to reflect on the CZU Lightning Complex fires of August 2020, while learning about proactive steps being taken throughout the County to manage the landscape both for and with fire. Explore fire resources from past events here.

In Partnership With

CZU and You Events

Accessibility and What to Expect

  • Participants should be prepared to walk 1-2 miles on mostly paved and flat trails.
  • Restrooms are available near the parking lot.
  • Wear layers, comfortable shoes, and bring any snacks/water you might need.
  • The first hour of the program will be a guided tour, and we will end with an opportunity to help build brush piles for those who are interested. NOTE: We will be building the piles, not burning them. Please wear boots, bring work gloves, and be prepared to work in varying terrain/conditions should you like to participate in this portion of the program. Please watch this video before attending.
  • Please leave your pets at home. Trained service animals are permitted.
  • Youth under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult.

8/4 First Friday After Hours | Fire

Get to know Santa Cruz’s WILD SIDE at the Museum of Natural History. Nerd out on your night out during monthly after hours events, featuring rotating themes, vendors, and activities. Free admission to the Museum all day 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., with special outdoor festivities 5-8 p.m.

August’s First Friday explores the hot topic of fire in Santa Cruz County as part of our CZU and You series. Reflect on the three years since the CZU Lightning Complex Fires with local community groups that steward our open spaces, artists who are inspired by our local forests, and experts who can share their hot take on fire.

Friday, August 4, 2023
5-8 p.m.
Location: Outside the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History

Community Organizations

California Native Plant Society
City of Santa Cruz Climate Action Program
Ferd Bergholz, Woodwooker
Friends of Juristac
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
Land Trust of Santa Cruz County
Patricia Larenas, Artist
Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County
San Vicente Redwoods with Peninsula Open Space Trust
Sempervirens Fund
Areperia 831
…and more!

Accessibility

  • Drop-by anytime 5-8 p.m. to join the festivities!
  • Admission to the Museum is free all day from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Follow the latest guidelines for for covid safety.
  • Restrooms and water fountains are available inside the Museum.
  • Artist booths and activities will be on somewhat lumpy grass.