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Love love love redwoods. I grew up in this area and my family camped at Big Basin almost every summer.
Sempervirens Fund’s mission is to protect these trees. They are an effective organization and I trust them to do what’s in the best interest of maintaining healthy and resilient redwood forests. For that, I am grateful.
My family loves Castle Rock State park and we learned that Sempervirens partners with the Park. We've been impressed by the facilities developed by Sempervirens for Castle Rock and by the educational family programing they have provided.
My name is Liz and I'm from Poland.I live in Chicago for almost 20 years now. Seeing Giant Sequoias was always a dream of mine,and once I finally was in their presence I cried. Those majestic beings are breathtaking and their presence creates home for so many other species. Protecting those trees is a duty of all Americans since Sequoias and Redwoods only grow in North America.Please protect them for all of humanity! I was so happy once I found Sempervirens Fund ! They actually have results and it makes me feel less hopeless when I think about dissapearing forest.
A camping trip to Big Basin in the Santa Cruz mountains marked the first time our family explored a redwood forest. Our three children, ages eleven, eight and five had taken hiking trips with us throughout California's national parks but here we were in a fragrant forest of trees that stretched their red barked trunks straight up to the sky. It was a new experience. We were all captivated by their magnificance. More than any other forest we had visited, these forest giants, the coast redwoods known as sequoia sempervirens, seemed to be an expression of nature's grand mission.
One evening, at twilight, our family gathered 'round the campfire site with other fellow campers for a sing-along led by the ranger. We raised our voices in the soft mountain air along with others, the children laughed at the funny words and reveled in the joyful friendship surrounding us. But after a few songs, I was drawn again to the redwoods nearby, especially the family of trees just beyond the campfire. I broke away from the singers and found a place to stand in the giant tree's ancient circle. I felt sheltered by the tall trunks now smoothly rounded together. I was surrounded in a protective embrace. I looked up into their branches. The wonder of reddish bark and wood still standing over thousands of of years seemed to be giving me a deeper message. I was touched by their ability to multiply and stand shoulder to shoulder. Had Nature created a tree that would stand as a living symbol, a model for humans to imitate, to stand and survive? Was this circle of trees a revelation? Were they showing a deeper message, the importance of family?
I have been donating to Sempervirens Fund since 1991, and volunteering with their stewardship program for about 3 years. Since helping start Big Basin Redwoods State Park, California's first State Park in 1902, they've continued to acquire and protect land, save our coastal redwoods, and provide access to all.
A friend worked with Sempervirens Fund to name a redwood tree in my husband’s honor shortly he passed away. I had never heard of Sempervirens Fund before, but quickly became a donor, too. Now, I’m a Redwood Ranger! Thank you, Sempervirens Fund. A great organization filled with great people!
I have been a donor and now a volunteer since 2001. Sempervirens Fund does very important work in preserving and taking care of local forests around the local urban area of Silicon Valley. In addition to this, the areas they help to protect (Big Basin Park, Little Basin Park, Butano Park, Castle Rock Park, and others) are wonderful recreation areas for many people. Within 1-2 hours, we can be camping in the redwoods or climbing rocks. What a privilege!
Also, the staff here are wonderful and caring in their work. It is really worthwhile for me to volunteer at SVF.
I lived up on Glenwood Drive for many years, and love the peace and serenity of the redwoods. I first became aware of Sempervirens Fund with their Lompico carbon project. I’ve moved to Campbell now, but wholeheartedly support the work of Sempervirens Fund, both as a donor and volunteer. The new Robert C. Kirkwood Entrance at Castle Rock State Park is amazing! Great work, Sempervirens Fund!
Sempervirens Fund is one of the oldest nonprofits in the history of environmental activism. Founded in 1900, it has been actively working to preserve the redwoods and other ecosystems in the Santa Cruz Mountains. We wholeheartedly support their work and encourage you to do so as well.
I can still remember my first time walking through a redwood forest. I felt an incredible sense of belonging, of peace, and of happiness, as I stood in awe of these majestic giants. I truly feel a part of my DNA is linked to these trees. That's why I support Sempervirens Fund. Their work in the Santa Cruz Mountains truly matters. They currently own and care for more than 11,000 acres there--that's three times the size of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco! Keep up the good work, Sempervirens Fund. All pictures taken at Big Basin Redwoods State Park--California's first state park, saved by Sempervirens Fund in 1900.
Awesome work done by this organization. Thankyou for giving me the opportunity for volunteering for tree planting at castle rock state park park. Every one enjoys hikes , runs , walks with nature, but building these forests is quite a lot of work. It takes 10 years for the plants we planted yesterday to turn into a full fledged tree. And minutes to cut them! Stop deforestation!! Let’s make earth greener again!! I look forward to be a part of more events of volunteering like this .
Sempervirens Fund is a primary reason why the south bay area still has such amazing redwood forests. They are dedicated professionals who care deeply about what they do, and do it well. They have long term sustainable plans in place that they communicate well to their supporters so that we feel like we are truly engaged in helping preserve the Santa Cruz redwoods.
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Sempervirens Fund does great work and does it well. I have been a volunteer and donor for about the last three years. I am consistently impressed by the professionalism of the staff and the quality of the work they do. Their annual picnic is a wonderful event in the Santa Cruz mountains that brings together people from many walks of life in one park to share outdoor stories and our hopes for the environment. All in all, a great organization to dedicate time or money to.
Redwood trees play an important role in the ecosystem of the Santa Cruz Mountains and Sempervirens Fund has been doing a great job of protecting them for the last 118 years. Inspiring others through their mission and commitment to providing access and recreational
opportunity in this unique part of the world.
Sempervirens Fund is perhaps one of my all-time favorite non-profits. Great mission, friendly staff, and they just get things done. My family volunteers at their annual picnics every year. My dad isn't very mobile anymore, but this event is something he looks forward to. It's October and he is already talking about how he wishes it were summer so he can pour the beer. I thank the staff for accommodating my dad. They make him feel welcome and valued. How can I not love that? Thanks from the bottom of my heart.
The Sempervirens Fund contacted me last year to give a talk about culturally modified trees in California. They did a fine job in promoting and hosting the talk. I'm extremely thankful for their interest in support of my work on fire mimicry. Speaking of fire mimicry, here are some recent results with redwoods . . .
Kind Regards,
Lee Klinger, MA PhD
Sudden Oak Life
I've been a Sempervirens Fund board member for the past 24+ years because I strongly believe in the wildlands preservation that it accomplishes in our Santa Cruz Mountains. If you live in the greater Bay Area and donate, you will see the results!
Nick Wyckoff
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I have worked with Sempervirens Fund as a board member for many years. It preserves wildlands in the Santa Cruz Mountains and usually provides public access to the acquired properties. I enjoy being able to use the newly opened trails with friends. Because Sempervirens efforts are focused locally, staff, volunteers and contributors can readily see and experience the consequence of its activities.
Sempervirens Fund helped me find the perfect redwood grove in Big Basin State Park to dedicate to my mother. Such a genuine, caring, and passionate staff committed to an important cause!
Sempervirens Fund enables the preservation of acres upon acres of redwood forest. While much of it is left in a wilderness state, in the last decade they have evolved to have a more active relationship with land that will be used for state parks. They intervened in 2012 to help keep Castle Rock State Park open in the face of state wide cuts. And they continue to work to upgrade Castle Rock with the new entrance that is in progress.
I have donated to Sempervirens Fund as a Redwood Ranger monthly donor for several years now. I am consistently impressed by all the behind-the-scenes work that Sempervirens Fund does to protect redwoods and other wildlife in the Santa Cruz Mountains. They often partner with other, larger organizations with more name recognition, providing their intensive local expertise while not demanding the credit. I am proud to support them.
Sempervirens Fund is exactly the non-profit my family and I were searching for. We were looking for a way to remember and honor a beloved family member, while at the same time providing a small measure of support toward a much larger cause important to us, in this case the protection and preservation of California's coastal redwood forests. Sempervirens Fund invited us to fund a particular sequoia, a redwood tree in the Big Basin area of the Santa Cruz Mountains, designated as "our" tree, which we personally selected from among a number of trees nearby, and to plant a memorial stake at the base of that sequoia with a plaque inscribed with words of our choosing. Sempervirens Fund will assure that the memorial stake stays in place for years to come, certainly through the next several generations of our family at least. Indeed, we have invested in the right to plant other memorial stakes nearby, with their own plaques, to form a quiet, secluded grove for the extended family to visit and enjoy whenever they are able to do so. A special feature of Sempervirens Fund is that anyone, family or friend, can donate to any designated tree, and so remember especially a friend or family-member in perpetuity. We could not be happier with the opportunity that Sempervirens Fund has provided us for honoring a loved one while simultaneously supporting an enormously important earthly cause, the imperiled redwoods. Signed, Ted Dietz, of Kenmore, WA, July 14, 2017 (dietzted@comcast.net)
