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"Take Action for Redwoods" appears with the Sempervirens Fund logo over a photo of a hiker looking up at the redwoods towering over the trail at Henry Cowell Redwoods, by Orenda Randuch

Water and Wildfire Protection for Redwoods

At Sempervirens Fund we are proud to support Prop 4, a $10 billion statewide climate bond, and Measure Q, which would establish the Santa Cruz County Safe Drinking Water, Clean Beaches, Wildfire Risk Reduction, & Wildlife Protection Act. Learn more below and take action.

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A branch of oak leaves changing from greenish-yellow to rusty orange hangs above a view a green canyon to the forested slopes of the Santa Cruz mountains beyond from Castle Rock State Park

Fall and Winter Hikes

As thermometers and leaves drop, crisp air and leaves beckon us outside to appreciate a different side of the Santa Cruz mountains’ wild beauty – colorful leaves, sparkling creeks, migrating birds, curious mushrooms, and of course banana slugs and elephant seals. If you’re looking for trails and places to enjoy the change of seasons this fall and winter, you’re in luck! Our staff are revealing their favorite places to go in the Santa Cruz mountains now.

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A person stands on a sun-dappled trail looking up at the redwood trees towering above, by Canopy Dynamics

Introduction to Forest Bathing

Forest bathing, or “Shinrin-yoku” as it’s called in Japan where the practice was founded, is a way of immersing your senses in nature that has proven benefits for our physical and mental well being. Time in nature can boost our immune systems and creativity, settle our minds, and lower our stress levels. But how do you forest bathe? While an actual bath in the forest is not required, here’s an introduction to get started improving your connection with nature and your health.

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Silhouetted forest descends to glittering sea out to mountains against a hazy sky tinted by sunset, by Orenda Randuch

Help Rebuild State Parks

Help California State Parks rebuild Big Basin, Butano, and Año Nuevo State Parks and protect the region’s incredible biodiversity devastated by the 2020 CZU Fire. Stay tuned for the next step to ask state leadership to rebuild State Parks and protect priority lands in the Santa Cruz mountains.

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Epiphytes, including different species of lichen and moss, grow in different shapes and shades of green on an old growth redwood called Methuselah in the Santa Cruz mountains, by Orenda Randuch

Lichens

You may know redwoods hold mini ecosystems on their branches, but did you know a lichen on just one of those branches is a micro ecosystem of its own? Climb into the hidden biodiversity of redwood forests with lichenologist and curator of The Lichenarium at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Dr. Rikke Reese Næsborg.

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A group of five vertical panoramas shows a healthy old-growth redwood tree pre-fire on April 28, 2017 and as a charred standing snag post-fire from February 18, 2021 as the forest floor and surrounding redwoods recover with green growth through June 3, 2023, by Ian Bornarth

Awakening of the Silent Forest

See the resurgence of forest life after the 2020 CZU Fire through photographer Ian Bornarth’s lens. Over three years, Bornarth visited Santa Cruz mountain redwood forests every few weeks to capture their recovery and has captivated us with documentation of their resilience and signs of new beginnings.

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Redwoods and Climate Part 4

In the final part of the redwoods and climate series by Julia Busiek, we explore research about how climate change is already affecting redwoods across their range, and how it informs our new plan to save redwoods, and the plants and wildlife that rely on them, before its too late.

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An illustration of hands cupping acorns, cones, and wildflowers with flames dancing up to silhouetted redwood trees against a dark orange sun on a smokey background, by Jane Kim, Ink Dwell

Redwoods and Climate Part 3

In the third part of a new series by Julia Busiek about the impacts of climate on redwoods, we explore how human-caused conditions that led to the CZU fire have been building since the beginning of European colonization, and what, if anything, can be done to prevent it from happening again.

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