Resources for exploring fire ecology in Santa Cruz County and learning about the impacts of the CZU Lightning Complex. Contribute to our understanding by joining the CZU Lightning Complex and Community Science Project.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- FULL Rare Plants and Community Science in the CZU Burn Zone (In-Person Volunteer Training)
- 5/19 Coast Redwoods and Fire with Zane Moore
PAST RECORDINGS AND ARTICLES
- Rare Plants and Community Science in the CZU Burn Zone with Amy PattenThe area impacted by the CZU Lightning Complex Fires hosts a slew of rare plants. As we enter spring, the season of new growth, botanists will be paying close attention to these rare plants, but … Read more
- New Perspectives on the Past Through Freshly Exposed Rocks
In this edition of Rock Record, the Geology Gents unearth a few key examples of how newly exposed outcrops have led to important geological insights, as well as some geologic exploration into freshly exposed rock … Read more - Long-term lessons: Perspectives on three years of mushroom monitoring in the Santa Cruz Mountains with Christian Schwarz
As mushroom hunters, we enjoy traveling far and wide, bouncing from place to place and following the rains to stay with the season. But what happens when we focus on revisiting the same small areas … Read more - Fire and Mud: Why Fires Cause Debris Flows in California with Noah Finnegan
Geomorphologist Noah Finnegan provides an overview of the science linking wildfires and debris flows in California, including lessons learned from the 2009 Lockheed Fire in the Santa Cruz mountains. Particular emphasis is paid to how … Read more - Naturalist Night: Coastal Prairies
California’s Coastal Prairies are a rare and incredibly biodiverse habitat found in Santa Cruz, and the most species-rich grassland type in North America. Despite its rarity and species-richness, this is a habitat-type at risk of … Read more - Naturalist Night: Redwood Forest
Redwoods are the tallest trees on earth, with lifespans that reach into the thousands, but their range is relatively small. A combination of longitude, climate, and elevation limit where they grow to a few hundred … Read more - Rockin’ Pop-Up: Impacts of Fire on Geologic Landscapes
This month, the Geology Gents are joined by their colleague Alandra Lopez, a Ph.D. candidate in the Earth System Science Department at Stanford University who will discuss the impacts of fire on geologic systems, as … Read more