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Tidepools at Natural Bridges are brimming with life!
Low tides reveal sea stars, crabs, sea anemones and other colorful ocean life. Pick up a free Friends Tide Book at the Natural Bridges and Seacliff ParkStores for the best time to glimpse the treasures of the deep.
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Volunteers Polish Undiscovered Gem
Thanks to a $10,000 California State Parks Foundation Grant, site sponsor PG&E and over 100 volunteers, we marked Earth Day 2012 by cleaning and restoring Santa Cruz Mission SHP. This undiscovered gem of downtown Santa Cruz now looks fantastic! Click here to see Earth Day pictures.
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Wilder Ranch
Tackle renown mountain biking trails, explore coastal bluffs, visit the ParkStore and celebrate early 20th century life on the ranch. Friends funds the ongoing restoration effort at Wilder Ranch, including urgent roof repairs underway at one of the Victorian buildings.
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MISSION POSSIBLE!
Thanks to the tireless efforts of our community supporters, we’ve saved the park from closure for the next 3 years… if we can raise the money. Your support is needed.
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Advocacy—We can’t do it without you!
For the 2012 Park Advocacy Day, Friends’ volunteers and staff took our message of park protection and more adequate funding to Sacramento and met with Senator Simitian, Assemblymembers Monning & Beall, staffers of Assemblymember Alejo & Senator Blakeslee, and others. We were also delighted to see our very own Natural Resources Secretary, John Laird.
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Pacific Migrations Center at New Brighton State Beach
Discover the hidden histories of unique local cultures — Portuguese, Chinese and other Pacific Rim societies — that migrated to this area. Also learn about today’s migrating bird, animal and aquatic species that return each season.
Hurray!
We are thrilled and relieved that we’ve reached an agreement to keep Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park open. Thanks to a high level of collaboration between State Parks and Friends, and thanks to our passionate local community, we have the opportunity to keep the park open for the next three years. But it’s going to take a strong commitment to fundraising. In the months ahead we will continue to turn to the community for help.
As pleased as we are that Friends was able to step to the plate to keep the park open, this new agreement should be viewed as a temporary, rather than permanent, solution to the state’s funding crisis for parks.
If you’d like to help us keep the park open, please click here. Your contribution will directly support our work to keep parks open, preserve natural habitat and provide services to ensure memorable experiences for visitors.
And please check out our short video in which visitors, staff and volunteers were asked, “What do you love about this park?” The answers are inspiring!
With sincere gratitude,
Bonny Hawley, Executive Director
What do YOU love about our parks and beaches?
Make new Friends.
The parks and their programs give us all the chance to experience the outdoors and all that lives there.
