\n\t\tWelcoming Everyone to Explore the Outdoors\n\t<\/h2>\n\t
Sempervirens Fund was created to protect redwood forests in the Santa Cruz mountains for all people to enjoy for generations to come. In 1900, we helped establish California’s oldest state park, Big Basin Redwoods State Park<\/a>. Big Basin is a globally important protected area, and it was also the catalyst for creating California’s state park system (now made up of 280 state park units and enjoyed by over 75 million people annually).<\/p>\n We are proud to have played a role in also establishing\u00a0Butano<\/a>, Castle Rock<\/a>, and Portola Redwoods State Parks<\/a>, as well as regional parks such as\u00a0El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve<\/a> and Long Ridge\u00a0Open Space Preserve. More than two-thirds of the 35.000 acres of land we’ve protected are now public parkland. Today, Sempervirens Fund continues to protect land to expand state parks and other public lands, in order to preserve critical habitats so people can experience the wonders and inspiration of healthy, vibrant redwood forests.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, not everyone can stand in the shadow of a towering redwood tree. For some, our state parks and other protected redwood forests are easy to access and feel as safe and welcoming to visit as their own backyard. For many, getting to a redwood forest, much less trekking around the Santa Cruz mountains, is no more than a dream. And for members of the region’s Indigenous tribes, access to these forests means more than just walking among the trees. It’s about reconnecting with their sacred lands, millennia of knowledge, and deep cultural traditions.<\/p>\n We have worked for 120 years to create public lands that, in theory, can be enjoyed by all members of the public. In practice, however, public lands are not equally accessible to or welcoming for all. That means we have work to do to achieve our vision for a network of protected redwood forests in which the forests are thriving and all visitors feel safe, welcome, and included. Here are some of Sempervirens Fund’s past and ongoing projects to help improve access to nature for all.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Sempervirens Fund, the redwood conservation movement, and Big Basin State Park may not be here today if not for Andrew Putnam Hill. Born in 1853, Hill was a painter and photographer whose work inspired him to become a leading environmentalist. He organized groups from Stanford University and Santa Clara University, and mobilized scientists and local activists to join him in the fight against the rampant logging that was rapidly destroying Northern California’s redwood forests. Together they formed Sempervirens Club in 1900<\/a>, now known as Sempervirens Fund. They raised $250,000-an enormous sum in those days-to secure the land and in 1902, California’s first state park, Big Basin Redwoods State Park<\/a>, opened to the public. Hill helped begin the California State Park system and founded Sempervirens Fund, so we can continue to protect and restore these amazing natural lands in the Santa Cruz mountains for everyone to enjoy forever.<\/p>\n Over the decades, Sempervirens Fund has grown with California State Parks, and the parks have grown with us, and our support, both in buying land and in helping shape the experiences for\u00a0generations to come.\u00a0Learn more about our innovative work to help establish, expand, and save Castle Rock State Park<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\t Connecting the Next Generation with Nature<\/p>\n\t Despite the fact that the Santa Cruz mountains are just a short bus ride away from home, many local youth have never spent time in a redwood forest-an experience that can be not only awe-inspiring, but also truly transformative. Sempervirens Fund works with partners to help the next generation experience the redwoods first-hand.<\/p>\n For years, Sempervirens Fund has invited students on\u00a0educational field trips<\/a>\u00a0for a day of history, science and fun in the redwoods guided by Web of Life Field School naturalists. Our goal was to encourage new experiences and lasting connections between local youth and our local redwoods-the kind of\u00a0connections that make history<\/a>. Following the field trip, Sempervirens Fund presented the\u00a0Tony Look Scholarship<\/a>, established in the name of one of our Founding Directors, to a graduating senior of Andrew P. Hill High School, who is college-bound and dedicated to the community and the environment. Recently, the\u00a0Web of Life Field School<\/a>\u00a0closed and we are turning our attention to new partners to work with to continue these efforts.<\/p>\n In 2018, we also began to support a program,\u00a0Kids2Parks<\/a>, operated California State Parks and Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks. Our support has helped ensure that thousands of school children from local Title 1 schools are able to attend field trips at Castle Rock State Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n Starting in 2017, Sempervirens Fund has sponsored the\u00a0California State Parks Backpacking Adventures<\/a> program, which helps create opportunities for local underserved youth to experience their first ever guided backpacking trip into the Santa Cruz mountains.<\/p>\n Thanks to our supporters, we are able to partner with organizations like the\u00a0Web of Life Field School<\/a>,\u00a0Andrew P. Hill High School<\/a>,\u00a0Latino Outdoors<\/a>, and\u00a0California State Parks<\/a>\u00a0in our youth outreach programs.<\/p>\n Sempervirens Fund has had an extended partnership with the\u00a0Girl Scouts of Northern California<\/a> to manage permanent protection of two forested properties in the Santa Cruz mountains-Camp Butano Creek and Skylark Ranch<\/a>-where thousands of girls visit each summer to learn from, and fall in love with, the land. Sempervirens Fund purchased conservation easements on the properties, permanently protecting their majestic redwoods and other important natural resources while also providing the Girl Scouts much-needed income\u00a0to keep both camps operating<\/a>, ensuring outdoor learning opportunities for girls and young women from across the Bay Area and beyond.<\/p>\n Sempervirens Fund introduced the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to the Girl Scouts<\/a>, and tribal members now visit Skylark Ranch each summer to teach the young campers native traditions.<\/p>\n Land and water conservation policies are often common ground for\u00a0voters and elected officials of all parties.\u00a0As a\u00a0non-partisan organization,\u00a0Sempervirens Fund\u00a0advocates for policies, legislation, bonds, and other referenda that\u00a0expand equitable access to nature,\u00a0improve and expand state parks,\u00a0and support regional efforts to protect the most important lands and waterways from development.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t After nearly sixty years of efforts, in 2020 the\u00a0Land and Water Conservation Fund\u00a0(LWCF)\u00a0was made permanent,\u00a0with\u00a0dedicated, annual funding of $900 million for LWCF and up to $9.5\u00a0billion annually\u00a0in the first\u00a0five years to address the urgent and deferred maintenance needs on federal lands, parks, and forests. Butano State Park<\/a> is among the many Santa Cruz Mountain parks to be expanded with support from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund.\u00a0LWCF has not only been essential for land conservation, but also to ensure more people have access to nature. Safe, welcoming, and inclusive access to nature for all is vital for our well-being and for the future of a diverse environmental movement. LWCF also can spur new investments in our outdoor economy, which in this critical time can mean important job opportunities.\u00a0<\/p>\n Just north of Santa Cruz, the\u00a0Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument<\/a>\u00a0spans 5,800 acres of scenic land in California’s Coast Range and represents a globally-recognized biodiversity hotspot. In addition to being a refuge for many rare plants and animals, the land is also home to four registered ancestral Native American archaeological sites, and many more still may be identified through formal archaeological surveys. The Cotoni (pronounced “Cha-toni”) were the Indigenous Peoples who inhabited the area before European contact. They were part of the greater Awaswas nation whose descendants are members of today’s\u00a0Amah Mutsun Tribal Band<\/a>.\u00a0Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument\u00a0is the first national monument to be named in honor of the indigenous people of California. Sempervirens Fund led the Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument campaign to ensure that President Obama recognized the Cotoni-Coast Dairies for its national significance and bestowed upon it one of the highest levels of federal resource protection.<\/p>\n The members of the\u00a0Amah Mutsun Tribal Band<\/a>-descendants of the Mutsun and Awaswas speaking peoples-have lived in the greater Monterey Bay region for centuries. Prior to European contact and forced removal<\/a>, the Amah Mutsun lived in close harmony with the land. The Amah Mutsun have not yet received federal recognition, so they are not eligible to hold land in a tribal trust. Without the means to protect sacred sites and lands, each new generation of Amah Mutsun grew further from the popeloutchom<\/em>: the landscape across which their tribal culture developed and flourished<\/a>. To protect this landscape’s natural and cultural resources, Sempervirens Fund helped\u00a0the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band form the Amah Mutsun Land Trust<\/a>\u00a0(AMLT) from 2012 to 2016.<\/p>\n With the\u00a0Amah Mutsun Land Trust<\/a>\u00a0in place, they were able to acquire and steward lands integral to the preservation of their tribal culture. Building on this success, Sempervirens Fund facilitated the transfer of a\u00a096-acre conservation easement at the nearby Costanoa Lodge<\/a>\u00a0to the Amah Mutsun Land Trust to protect both valuable cultural heritage and wildlands for people, wildlife, and future generations to enjoy.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Located upstream from the Costanoa Lodge property is the\u00a0Quiroste Valley<\/a>\u00a0(pronounced “Keer-osh-tee”), believed to be the “first contact” village site described by the Portola Expedition. The Amah Mutsun and their Native Stewardship Corps are\u00a0reintroducing traditional native land-management techniques<\/a>\u00a0to care for their easement near Costanoa Lodge and the Quiroste Valley Cultural Preserve (which is State Park Land).\u00a0Quiroste Valley and these innovative partnerships\u00a0are featured on NBC Bay Area’s television program, Open Road with Doug McConnell, and in a new film by the Bay Area Open Space Council. Their ground-breaking research at Quiroste Valley is fundamentally changing our understanding about how native people lived and how they managed the land around them. There is evidence, for example, that native people made regular use of controlled burns to stimulate seed production for food and animal forage. The Amah Mutsun are re-learning and passing on spiritual and ecological traditions<\/a> to young tribal members and also sharing long-lost stewardship practices with other land managers.<\/p>\n In 2016, the Amah Mutsun Land Trust shared their\u00a0fire ceremony\u00a0with us and participated in a\u00a0controlled burn<\/a>\u00a0with CalFire to restore the forest’s health and reduce the risk of future catastrophic wildfire in the critical forest habitat on our\u00a0San Vicente Redwoods<\/a>\u00a0property. This burn was special, providing an opportunity for\u202fmembers of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band\u202f<\/a>to restore a\u00a0traditional stewardship practice<\/a> to the land. Members of the Amah Mutsun Land Trust’s Stewardship Corps are studying the native plant regeneration in response to the fire. This is a modern example of native traditions and wisdom being practiced, once-again, in the Santa Cruz mountains.<\/p>\n In 2017, the Amah Mutsun Land Trust Native Stewardship Corps Program began the\u00a0multi-year restoration of a meadow\u00a0of high ecological and ethnobotanical significance on one of our properties, which is now open to the public as part of the new Robert C. Kirkwood Entrance at\u00a0Castle Rock State Park<\/a>. The Muwekma Ohlone and Amah Mutsun Tribal Bands also tend a Native Plants Garden to share the importance of local plants and their uses by the indigenous people who lived on the land for centuries.<\/p>\n Castle Rock State Park<\/a>‘s new Robert C. Kirkwood Entrance amenities, including accessible pathways and amphitheater, will make visiting the park a draw for old and new audiences, helping more people connect with the wonders of nature in the Santa Cruz mountains.<\/p>\n For those who are unable able to experience the majesty of the Santa Cruz mountains’ redwood forests in person, a virtual visit can be the next best thing. So, if you can’t get to the forest, we’re bringing the redwoods to you to share the mood boost they can provide and the awe they can ignite, even virtually. Explore the Virtual Redwoods<\/a> of the Santa Cruz mountains from anywhere through virtual hikes, videos from our stewardship team, webinars and podcasts with renown experts, and even an inspirational playlist.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t In 2020, we witnessed extraordinary cultural moments in terms of human health and racial justice. As in many other places, our Santa Cruz mountains communities are suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the death of George Floyd is galvanizing communities across America to advance racial justice. You can read our Statement on Racial Justice<\/a> here. As we continue protecting and preserving the remaining redwood forests of the Santa Cruz mountains, we will also build on our legacy of improving access to nature for all, work to reflect our community in the board and staff representing our organization, and expand our partnerships to create opportunities for rewarding access to nature by all.<\/p>\n We hope you will join us. The best is yet to come.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDonate Now\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRelated News\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n Exploring the diverse ecosystems and marvels of coast redwood forests can be a rich, rewarding, and life-changing experience. But not everyone feels welcome in nature or comfortable visiting our region\u2019s parks. We believe everyone deserves safe, welcoming, and inclusive access to the coast redwood forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":12455,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"node_moved":[],"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[162],"class_list":["post-12453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-nature-for-all"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Big](\"https:\/\/sempervirens.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/big-basin-redwoods-state-park-redwood.jpg\" "\\"Big")
\n\n\t\tFrom Our Founding to the First State Park: How A.P. Hill Changed History\n\t<\/h2>\n\t
\n\t\tField Trips and Scholarships \n\t<\/h4>\n\t
\n\t\tBackpacking\n\t<\/h4>\n\t
\n\t\tYouth Outreach\n\t<\/h4>\n\t
\n\t\tGirl Scout Camps\n\t<\/h4>\n\t
\n\t\tPublic Policy and Funding\n\t<\/h2>\n\t
![\"LWCF](\"https:\/\/sempervirens.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20190722-SVF-AKrauss-Butano-110601-web.png\" "\\"20190722-SVF-AKrauss-Butano-110601-web\\"")
\n\n\t\tLand and Water Conservation Fund\n\t<\/h3>\n\t
\n\t\tReconnecting Indigenous Communities with Tribal Lands\n\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t
![\"Cotoni](\"https:\/\/sempervirens.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/cotoni-coast-dairies-bison.jpg\" "\\"Cotoni")
\n\n\t\tCotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument\n\t<\/h3>\n\t
\n\t\tAmah Mutsun Land Trust\n\t<\/h3>\n\t
\n\t\tConserving Costanoa\n\t<\/h3>\n\t
![\"Skylark](\"https:\/\/sempervirens.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/skylark-ranch-ceremonial-fire.jpg\" "\\"Skylark")
\n\n\t\tThe Quiroste Valley\n\t<\/h3>\n\t
\n\t\tStewardship: Preserving the Past and Improving the Present\n\t<\/h3>\n\t
\n\t\tImproving Access to the Majesty of the Santa Cruz Mountains\n\t<\/h2>\n
\n\t\tRobert C. Kirkwood Entrance at Castle Rock State Park\n\t<\/h4>\n\t
\n\t\tVirtual Visits to the Forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains\n\t<\/h4>\n\t
![\"Castle](\"https:\/\/sempervirens.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/castle-rock-state-park-kirkwood-entrance.jpg\" "\\"Castle")
\n\n\t\tWhat’s Next\n\t<\/h2>\n\t
\n\t\tMore to Explore\n\t<\/h2>\n\t
\n