It’s been 5 years since the CZU fires devastated the region, and in particular, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, but nature has been hard at work renewing her landscapes, and on Monday, August 18th, a special remembrance and renewal event will take place from 10am-1pm as a collaboration between Big Basin Redwoods State Park and the Mountain Parks Foundation. 

Embark on a virtual stroll through Henry Cowell's Redwood Grove Trail.

Through one of the activities in the newly launched Redwood Rx program, participants learn to write in partnership with nature. The activity is one in a series running through October that are focused on nature-based health and wellness. (Credit: Mountain Parks Foundation)

Limited public access to the fire-scarred park returns almost two years after CZU Fire

In 2020, a blaze consumed Big Basin Redwoods State Park, incinerating cabins, blackening ancient trees, and imperiling endangered murrelets. Staff now want to reimagine the park to better ensure the seabird’s future.

By Sarah Gilman
Reporter, Audubon Magazine
Summer 2022

The New York Times published a travel article where they list the 52 places across the globe where travelers can be "part of the solution" and Santa Cruz County made the list.

Rancho del Oso Nature and History Center will be open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. beginning Memorial Day Weekend, May 29 and 30.

More than eight months after the CZU Lightning Complex Fire swept through Big Basin, signs of renewal can be seen.

BIG BASIN — The Douglas fir came crashing down just a couple dozen feet from the famous “Mother of the Forest” tree Friday, and the impact shook the earth, blowing another smoldering hot spot into live flames. The fire-damaged fir was taken down with chainsaws in a controlled fall, to prevent it from toppling on its own and damaging one of the old-growth giants still standing a stone’s throw away…

Mercury News

History

Ambrose Bierce was a close friend of Josephine Clifford McCrackin, both popular writers and journalists. Bierce came to visit her Loma Prieta home on the weekend of Oct. 7 and 8,1899, bringing his 23-year-old protegee, poet Herman Scheffauer. They stayed at Hotel Bohemia, in the hamlet of Burrell, on Loma Prieta Avenue and Summit Road.

Santa Cruz Sentinel
By ROSS ERIC GIBSON

We know that for many, the Lobster Feed has been a major way you have financially supported our redwoods state parks. While we are heart-broken to cancel our organization’s largest annual fundraiser, we invite you to support us this year by donating the amount you would have spent on Lobster Feed tickets to help fund our work.

FELTON, Calif.— Mountain Parks Foundation’s (MPF) Nature Store at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park reopens Monday, June 1! The Nature Store will be open daily from 11am to 3pm in June.

This blog site recounts the stories of the resort's first visitors and the awe-inspiring landscape they preserved for future generations.

When he leads his school programs, Henry Cowell Interpreter, Steven Ellmore, often begins with a question: “Who does this land actually belong to?” The children suggest that the owner might be the governor. Maybe it’s the ranger. When he explains that this park actually belongs to each of them, their eyes and mouths open wide. They appear visibly pleased with this new information. But there’s a catch.

Santa Cruz State Parks manager of Interpretation and Education, Elizabeth Hammack, describes details of plans for the museum's renovation and exhibit design.

This project encourages visitors to assume the identity of a native park species and explore the interactive exhibits, learning about their being’s habitat, food sources, natural predators, and current chances for survival.

According to this SVT article, engaging visitors in a sensory exploration of nature will inspire them to care for California's oldest state park, the same way the nation's first conservationists did in 1902.

This segment features Mountain Parks Foundation’s very own Brenda Holmes and board member, Larry Tierney, as they discuss plans for this exciting project.