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Sunlight filters through the forest canopy to illuminate several redwood trees at Lompico Headwaters, by Orenda Randuch

A Stewardship Story: Return to Nature

Surviving since nearly the age of the dinosaurs, redwoods are resilient—but only 5% of them have survived the last century and a half. Human impacts have left redwood forests struggling to recover. Together, we are carefully caring for the redwood forests you protect, resetting their natural systems, and helping them return to nature. Take a peek behind the trees at how you have helped the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz mountains–some of the most biodiverse and threatened on Earth–this year.

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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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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

The Opposite of Redwoods

Redwoods drew artist Jane Kim to California more than 20 years ago and today she returns the favor, drawing redwoods to help people better connect with and draw inspiration from the natural world around us. The more she learns about redwoods as Sempervirens Fund’s first Forest Fellow, the more she contemplates people as redwoods’ exact opposite. Get a sneak peek at her new art and how she hopes celebrating redwood adaptations can inspire us to adapt to our ecosystem rather than change it.

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Looking from yellow lupine blooms along one of Año Nuevo Vista’s ridges to forested slopes of redwoods recovering post-fire, and down to the glittering Pacific Ocean beneath a clear blue sky, by Orenda Randuch

Protect Año Nuevo Vista

From glittering white ridges to the glittering Pacific Ocean, Año Nuevo’s breathtaking views boast much of what makes the Santa Cruz mountains special. Its shady redwood forest and sunny chaparral interspersed with rare white sands known as “the chalks” support endangered plants and animals. Together, we can protect Año Nuevo Vista’s forest and watershed from development and help connect the largest protected lands and wildlife habitat.

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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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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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Amah Mutun Land Trust Native Stewardship Corps members Marcella and Esak wear bright yellow hard hats as they sift soil during cultural landscape research amidst bright green post-fire regrowth several feet high from the ground contrasting starkly with the back drop of blackened tree trunks from the CZU Fire rising above at San Vicente Redwoods, photo by Ian Bornarth

Indigenous Stewardship at San Vicente Redwoods: Past, Present, and Future

After the CZU Fire an opportunity arose to study post-fire effects, survey a baseline of reemerging plants, and help Amah Mutsun Tribal Band members look for eco-archaeological clues to how the Awaswas-speaking peoples lived on and cared for this land. Dive into their research at San Vicente Redwoods as they look into Indigenous Stewardship of the past and help plan for the future.

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