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Hi Friends,
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Community Day @ Downtown Santa Cruz New Leaf, March 19th!
Several Thursdays a year, New Leaf Market kindly donates 5% of their sales to a local non-profit. On March 19th, that lucky non-profit is Friends!
New Leaf Community Day funds are important to sustaining our mission of protecting and preserving our beautiful Santa Cruz State Parks and Beaches, and we couldn’t do it without locally-minded businesses like New Leaf Market and YOU!
Effortlessly help us by choosing to shop at the Downtown Santa Cruz New Leaf on March 19th! The more you shop, the more we get to keep our parks wonderful!
Check out New Leaf Market’s website here and thank you for adding us to your shopping list!
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Big Screen, Big Messages at
Watsonville Film Festival
March 5th-8th
Times and locations vary.
(Click image for a larger version)
The 4th annual Watsonville Film Festival brings together filmmakers and audiences for three days of cultural celebration and an exploration of film.
Friends is co-sponsoring the event and we will have a short film playing on the big screen throughout the day about our highly successful annual Mole & Mariachi Festival.
We're greatful to the Watsonville Film Festival for their sponsorship of last year's Mole event!
The Watsonville Film Festival is a non-profit, grass-roots organization, with Arts Council Santa Cruz as its fiscal sponsor. Festival proceeds help sustain the Film Festival and its ongoing programs. We are honored to be a part of this event.
For more information, please visit www.WatsonvilleFilmFestival.org!
Salamander Saturday @ Rancho Del Oso Featuring Newt Night!
 Saturday, March 7th from
11am to 7pm
Salamander Story time at 11am
- Drop-in FREE Salamander Critter Crafts from Noon to 4pm
- Salamander Scavenger Hunt at 1pm
- Newt Night! at 5pm
Join the Waddell Creek Association as the Ranch of the Bear becomes “Ranch of the Newt,” celebrating our amphibian friends that make their way from beneath rocks and under logs to the creeks, wetlands and puddles of the park.
Start out your day with Salamander Story time at 11am where children will learn about salamanders and their habitats around the fireplace!
Drop in from Noon to 4pm for a FREE family-friendly Salamander craft. At 1pm, meet at the gate across Highway 1 from Waddell Beach for a 3-mile guided Salamander Scavenger Hunt on the trail!
Later, join us for “Newt Night” at 5pm to hear tales and songs of toes growing back, barking salamanders and poison so deadly it could kill you!
Event is free, parking is $10 which goes to support the park.
For more information, call (831) 427-2288.
Wildness of Wilder Ranch
Saturday March 14th, 9am-12pm
 Wild about Wilder? Come and explore with Friends and The Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History as we continue to celebrate the 40th year of having Wilder Ranch as a State Park with a special walk inland led by Museum Naturalist Elizabeth Evans.
The 3-mile interpretive hike to explore the relationship between geologic forces, unique native plant communities, and wild animals that call the park home. A great event for Wilder buffs and newbies alike!
Admission is $10 General, $8 Natural History Museum Members. Fee includes free parking.
Pre-registration is required, and you can do so at SantaCruzMuseum.org
Volunteering Opportunities at Henry Cowell
Tuesday, March 10th through Tuesday, April 14th
 Interested in Becoming a State Park Volunteer? On Tuesday, March 10 through Tuesday, April 14th, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park will be offering a Docent Training for 2015.
This is your opportunity to learn about the park, reach out to the public and be a part of an amazing volunteer community. The training requires attendance to classes on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Classes typically last for 2 hours. Once a docent, we require at least 6 hours a month of volunteering.
Please stop by the Henry Cowell Visitor Center to fill out a Docent Application!
Santa Cruz Redwoods National Monument Campaign Kick-Off
Thanks to everyone who came out to the Santa Cruz Redwoods National Monument Campaign Kick-Off held at Kaiser Permanente Arena on February 12th!
 Attendees were treated to a rousing, ukulele-accompanied rendition of “This Land is Your Land” by school children from Gault, DeLaveaga, Bay View and Westlake elementary schools (pictured right). Speakers including former County Treasurer Fred Keeley, former Councilwoman Hilary Bryant, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo via video link, Chair of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Valentin Lopez, State Secretary of Natural Resources John Laird and keynote speaker Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt spoke of their support for the creation of a National Monument within the 5,800-acre Coast Dairies area.
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Above: Friends Staffer Meets Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt
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Check out this awesome interview of Bruce Babbitt over at Hilltromper.com, their article “Bruce Babbitt: Monument Man”, and the write-up of the event over at The Sentinel.
To find out more information about the Santa Cruz Redwoods National Monument Campaign, please visit the website at SantaCruzRedwoods.org.
Vote for California’s best beach!
USA Today has nominated our very own Sunset State Beach in a competition to find the top spot among 20 of California’s most beautiful beaches, and you can vote with just a couple of clicks!
 The historic Van Laanen farm provides the backdrop for this large park in south Santa Cruz County. Surrounded by fertile farmland, Sunset State Beach features a wooded campground, picnic area, group campground and 200-foot high dunes (the largest in the country) built up in front of coastal bluff. The beach itself stretches down to where it meets the mouth of the Pajaro River, giving 3 miles of unobstructed and spectacular shoreline.
 Visitors enjoy broad vistas of the Monterey Bay from two main overlooks. During the summer and autumn, it is possible to see large groups of bottlenose dolphins. The beach features pine trees, mountainous sand dunes and ocean side picnic spots.
Vote for Sunset State Beach as California’s best beach by clicking here! You can vote once per day, and voting is open until Monday, March 16th at 8am PST.
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