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Hi Friends,
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Check Our Our New Format!
Easier to read and delivering the news YOU want about beautiful Santa Cruz County State Parks and Beaches! Simply click on the title of the item below and you will be automatically taken to the full article!
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 We know you have a million photos of our breathtaking Santa Cruz County State Parks and Beaches...well, we want to see them!
Be there for the first of our First Friday Summer Series at the Mission with the music of Michelle Kiba and the art of Summer Rhee-Pizano.
Come see new life blooming all around you at these special events.
Every day is Earth Day but you can celebrate spring and help plant the organic heirloom vegetable garden at Wilder Ranch State Park in honor of Earth Day on Saturday, April 26 from 11 am to 3 pm.
Thanks for your support of Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks.
Calling cooks, decorators and enthusiasts as volunteers!!
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Friends is on Instagram! Now you can check out and share incredible photos of your favorite Santa Cruz County State Parks and Beaches.
Just visit our @FriendsofSCStateParks Instagram page at www.Instagram.com/FriendsofSCStateParks, follow our profile and tag your most breathtaking Santa Cruz State Parks and Beaches with “#ThatsMyPark”!
Even though we’ve only just started on Instagram, there’s already a fun contest for you!
 #SCWildflowers Instagram Photo Contest!
WHAT: To celebrate spring, wildflowers and our beautiful Santa Cruz State Parks, @VisitSantaCruz is running a photo contest on Instagram so we can share the wildflower love!
WHEN: Contest began Saturday, April 5, 2014 and ends Monday, April 28, 2014
WHERE: Any Santa Cruz County State Park or Beach
HOW: Simply snap a picture of some wildflowers while you are out and about and share your photo on Instagram using #SCWildflowers! At the end of the contest a winner will be chosen and will receive a $25 gift certificate to the Nature Store at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, 2 tickets to ride a steam train at Roaring Camp Railroads and a $25 gift certificate to the Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks ParkStores!
Spring is in fully bloom in beautiful San Mateo! Friends is proud to support the following programs to compliment your Spring adventures.
Experience the Seals @ Ano Nuevo State Park
Elephant Seal Molting Season- April 1 to August 31
Northern elephant seals come ashore during the spring and summer months to shed their outer layer of skin and fur. This “molting” process takes from four to six weeks per animal as they rest along the beaches. Female and juvenile seals molt from May through June and older males from July through August.
During the “Molting Season,” the Natural Preserve is open for self-guided hiking by Visitor Permit only. Obtain your free Visitor Permit daily from the entrance station, between 8:30 am and 3:30 p.m. No reservations are required and no Guided Walks are offered. Visitors must exit the Natural Preserve by 5 p.m., which is earlier than the general parks closing hour of sunset. Please plan to arrive early enough to obtain a permit and make the three to four mile hike before 5 p.m. Most groups require about two and a half to three hours to make the round-trip hike.
April is Whale-watch Month at Pigeon Point!
Whale watching from the Point
Every weekend in April 2014: Thursday through Monday
from 10 am to 4 pm
Pigeon Point Lighthouse
From the boardwalk behind the fog signal building, watch for gray whales on their annual migration. Docents are stationed on site to help you know what to look for and share information about the migration of gray whales. While you’re there, you can learn about the other marine life that frequent the area, the history of the lighthouse and more. “Docents are reporting lots of spouts and breeching visible from shore; the migration is definitely underway,” said California State Park’s employee Julie Barrow who coordinates the docent program at the park. Pigeon Point Light Station is located off Highway One near Pescadero, California, between Santa Cruz and San Francisco. For more information, call the Pigeon Point information line at (650) 879-2120 Thursday through Sunday or visit online at www.parks.ca.gov.
(image courtesy of Peg Danielson)
WILDER RANCH STATE PARK
11:00 am to 4:00 pm
Every day is Earth Day but you can celebrate spring and help plant the organic heirloom vegetable garden at Wilder Ranch State Park in honor of Earth Day on Saturday, April 26 from 11 am to 3 pm.
The garden helps bring Wilder Ranch’s 1900s dairy ranch atmosphere to life. This is a community and family-friendly event, with activities for everyone: Children can plant and bring home their own heirloom bean plant in a recycled paper pot, and all visitors can enjoy living history demonstrations, sheep shearing, spinning and more.
Bring a pair of gardening gloves and sun hat. Snacks, drinks, tools and seedlings are provided. For more information, call (831) 426-0505. Wilder Ranch is located two miles north of Santa Cruz, on Highway 1. The event is free and bicycle riding to the park is encouraged. Day use parking fee is $10.00 per vehicle which supports the park.
Thank you for your support of New Leaf Market's Envirotoken program! Every time you reuse a bag at New Leaf, you get 10¢ to give to a local, non-profit group working for the environment.
Thanks to our supportive community, Envirotokens provide an average of more than $850/month to Friends’ programs to protect and enhance our local State Parks and Beaches..one dime at a time!
New Leaf’s Envirotoken bag reuse program is a great way to support Friends’ effort to sustain the legacy of our local state parks and beaches. Elections are coming up again throughout the month of May. We ask you to consider voting for us again to keep this very important source of funding.
Stay tuned for voting links and more information!
 Do you like to cook? Decorate? Share your knowledge of film or history? Our new Events Volunteer Team hopes you will consider joining up for our summer series at the Mission Adobe and select special events at other state park locations this fall. We have an ambitious schedule of fun activities in our precious parks. See how your talents might match our needs by contacting Events Coordinator,
Elizabeth Schilling at 239-6012, or elizabeth@thatsmypark.org.
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