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Verónica smiles looking up at the canopy while sitting in a ray of sunshine on a bench in the sun dappled redwood forest, courtesy of Latino Outdoors

Exploring Trails and Their Benefits: Vamos Outdoors

It might be called The Great Outdoors for several reasons. It can be beautiful. It can be fun. It can be inspiring. But did you know that it can also be great for your health?

Hit the trail with our partners at Latino Outdoors to explore the beauty and benefits of the places you help us protect in the Santa Cruz mountains, and learn how visiting these places can help protect you. Let’s vamos outdoors!

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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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The shady, flat dirt Redwood Grove Loop trail edged by a low fence and sun dappled redwoods leads into the old-growth grove of trees at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, by Verónica Silva-Miranda

Healing Under Redwood Groves

“I’ve known for years that I struggled with high blood pressure, I would feel a pressure in my arm or my hands would start to throb or go numb. I learned to step away from what I was doing at that time and sit in a quiet space, close my eyes and think about what brings me peace; the redwood forest.” Hit the trail with Verónica Silva-Miranda, Latino Outdoors volunteer, to learn how the forest helps her navigate health challenges in her photo essay.

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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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An empty park bench overlooks a forested slope to the Santa Cruz mountains beyond, by Mike Kahn

ParksRx and You

Parks prescriptions, or ParksRx, is a movement based on the fundamental idea that spending time in nature is good for your health. In California’s Bay Area, most counties host a ParksRx program, often connecting parks and public health departments. They provide resources for clinicians and doctors to recommend, like reminding a patient to exercise, spending time in nature as part of your health and wellness plan.

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A sandy single-track trail disappears into low flowering plants with the tops of pines peeking up in the distance, by Orenda Randuch

Santa Cruz Sandhills

Among redwoods in the Santa Cruz mountains you can find a habitat so rare it doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world: the Santa Cruz sandhills. Species uniquely adapted to its soil cling to their disappearing habitat long interwoven with redwoods. And you could be their best hope for survival. Explore the ancient rarities of sandhills and redwoods through the lens of photographer Orenda Randuch and learn more about the species and how you can help.

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Mushrooms of different sizes, shapes, and colors found at San Vicente Redwoods lie on a white sheet for mycologist Maya Elson to identify, by Orenda Randuch

Fungi of the Forest: Meet the Mushrooms of San Vicente Redwoods

Mycologist and researcher Maya Elson teamed up with photographer Orenda Randuch for a fungi photo essay to help us meet the mushrooms hard at work at San Vicente Redwoods. Learn identification tips to recognize mushrooms above ground, and their critical work underground to help the forest recover from fire, drought, flood, and human impacts in the fight against climate change.

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Looking up a sun-dappled, lush forested slope covered in redwoods, ferns, and mosses at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, by Orenda Randuch

2023 News: What You’ve Made Possible

Without supporters like you, fewer forests would be protected and habitats restored, and they would be less resilient to fires, floods, and the increasing threats from our changing climate. You have made so many amazing things happen this year for redwood forests, and the people, plants, and creatures that need them. Thank you for protecting forests that help protect us all! Here are a few of the moments you made possible in 2023.

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Seven members of Disabled Hikers donning face masks and hiking gear, which for some members include mobility devices like wheel chairs and canes, and a fluffy caramel colored dog on leash are lined up for a group photo in the sun with a lush redwood canopy behind them, by Orenda Randuch

Conservation, Eco-Ableism, and Reclaiming Limitations

For far too long, our world has been shaped by ideologies that both imagine, mark, and limit certain bodies for inclusion and exclusion from public space and the greater natural world. Eco-ableism is a core component of the creation of public lands. The outdoors won’t truly be a safe and inclusive space if we do not also address ableism and long-held assumptions about disability.

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