Explore the nature of Santa Cruz — wherever you are! Connect with local experts and join your community in deepening understanding about nature, science, and stewardship online and in-person. Stay updated about upcoming events by signing up for our newsletter.
Upcoming Events
- Saturdays | Mobile Museum at Seabright Beach
Join us every Saturday from 1-3 p.m. for a pop-up at Seabright Beach! We’ll share marine specimens from our collections and play games inspired by the wonders of the ocean. - FULL 7/24 Member Meet-Up: Fort Ord Natural Reserve with Gage Dayton
Fort Ord Natural Reserve in Marina protects rare maritime chaparral habitat endemic to the Monterey Bay region that is home to threatened and endangered species such as the Smith’s blue butterfly, … Read more - 7/24 Beach Clean-Up at Seabright Beach
Summer is here and our beaches will be needing some extra love! Help provide a positive example to others by picking up trash while enjoying the beach. Thanks to Save Our Shores, we’ll provide everything you need to clean Seabright Beach safely and effectively. - 8/3 Amah Mutsun Fire Relationships (online)
Fire is many things to the Amah Mutsun and other California Indian Tribes — it is sacred, it is a tool gifted by Creator, and it is a way to restore … Read more - FULL 8/7 Exploring the Burn Zone: Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve
The Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve is an example of the unique Santa Cruz sandhills habitat and home to many of our local rare plants. It has also experienced multiple fire events since 2008, … Read more - FULL 8/14 Exploring the Burn Zone: Rancho Del Oso
While the majority of Big Basin State Park remains closed to the public after intense impacts suffered from the CZU Lightning Complex fires of August 2020, its coastal portion, Rancho Del … Read more - 8/16 A Striking August: Lightning and Wildfires with Chris Giesige (online)
In August 2020, Northern California was ignited by a series of 650 wildfires spurred by dry lightning from rare, massive summer thunderstorms. Today, all of California is experiencing drought conditions and … Read more - 8/21 Exploring the Burn Zone: TBD
Witness the impacts of the CZU Lightning Complex fires with your own eyes through this series of walks exploring different habitats that burned last August. Throughout the series, naturalists from the … Read more - 8/21 Saturdays in the Soil
It’s time to get your hands dirty! Learn about local ecology, native plants, and sustainable gardening while coming together as a community to steward Tyrrell Park through the City’s Adopt-A-Park program. … Read more - 8/24 Fire and the Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve with Dr. Jodi McGraw (online)
Many of our native plants in the Santa Cruz Mountains are fire adapted, from the familiar coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) to the extremely rare Santa Cruz cypress (Hesperocyparis abramsiana) and Santa … Read more - 8/28 Fire as Friend: Exploring Fire Ecology with Kids
Join the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History for an interactive program focused on Fire as Friend. We’ll explore how fire can be helpful to humans, plants, and animals through guided … Read more