Skip to content
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.

Read More
Family circles of coast redwood trees, their bark gray from the 2020 CZU fire but covered in the bright green fuzz of new growth, stand tall against a bright blue sky in Big Basin State Park in 2022

Big Basin Returns

In July 2022, Big Basin re-opened its gates, and as we see our way past the two-year anniversary of the CZU fire, people are visiting once more. We talked to staff and interns about their experiences and spoke with our director of conservation about our work at the park and at a newly acquired nearby property that may well have a role in the park’s future.

Read More
End Of Rain DSC03767 By Scott Ordway

The End of Rain

As temperatures soar, droughts become more frequent, and fire seasons lengthen, does it change how we see the land? Scott Ordway, an award-winning composer and multimedia artist, explored those questions and shared his reflections through words, sounds, and images with the hope that art experiences like these can help strengthen connections with nature–the basis for action.

Read More
Land Director Laura McLendon surveys Big Basin State Park with Rangers after the CZU Fire.

Reimagining Big Basin

In August 2021, a year after the CZU fire, California State Parks launched a visioning process for Reimagining Big Basin. A year later, they have a vision for the park’s future. Learn more, connect, and stay involved.

Read More

Wildflowers After Wildfire

The Santa Cruz Mountains are a rich and dynamic place with diverse habitats and landscapes rising from the shores to the ridges. In this guide you can explore three key plant communities – Santa Cruz Sandhills, Chaparral, and Redwood Forest – and the special flowers, plants, and trees to look for as fire-scarred landscapes reset and rebound. Photo by James Maughn.

Read More

Stay Connected

All Gifts Matched