Sempervirens Fund

We are all connected. Today more than ever before it is important to strengthen our connection to our environment and ourselves. In quiet peaceful places, we can find the gifts that truly nourish our souls. The preservation of the redwoods, watersheds and wildlife are crucial for our continued existence. The Sempervirens Fund can lead the way!

While my experience with the Sempervirens Fund has not been a direct one, I have taken advantage of the results of their efforts. My concerns are of the future and our ability as a society to continue to preserve the redwood forests for the generations to follow. It is up to us to continue to support the efforts of Sempervirens to preserve the lifeblood of our environment. If you have had the opportunity to walk among the redwoods and feel the peace and the solitude of the moment, you will come away with a feeling of what the future can hold for our grandchildren and the generations to follow. Our environment is now more important than ever and we must do everything we can to preserve and enlarge areas such as the redwood forests. Sempervirens is one of the oldest and most progressive in approaching the future of our planet. I truly believe in their mission.

Leading nonprofit in redwood preservation, Sempervirens Fund has a clear mission to protect the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Essential to the wildlife and biodiversity of the region, the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains face the modern perils of climate change, wildfires, and the spread of urban wildlife interface development. It is essential to the beauty and quality of life of the Santa Cruz area that the surrounding forests are left standing. No one does it better than Sempervirens Fund.

As California's oldest land trust, Sempervirens Fund founded the state's first park, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, in 1902. The organization adopts and cares for the lush, ancient coast redwood forests blanketing the Santa Cruz Mountains, helping them survive and thrive through logging, wildfires, and now climate change and its myriad effects. The Sempervirens Fund folks really know and love the complex ecosystems of these amazing coast redwoods, which capture more carbon from the atmosphere than any other tree. The world needs more of them!

There is no more peaceful environment for me than the Redwoods. The Sempervirens Fund not only protects existing groves but works to expand the acreage that can be enjoyed. My mother donated as I do so that 1500 year old living things can continue to fill their role in the coastal mountains.

I worked as an intern for Sempervirens over the summer of 2018, and I was one of the first people to benefit from the incredible work they did in building the Robert C. Kirkwood Entrance to Castle Rock State Park. This was just one of the many examples of the care and commitment they have towards their mission of preserving and promoting the beautiful coastal redwood habitat. I had an incredible experience working for such an important mission, but also working with their wonderful, tight-knit staff. I only have good things to say about my time working for this organization.

I volunteered as an intern at the Sempervirens Fund last summer and had a great experience! The projects they were working on, such as the Robert C. Kirkwood Entrance, clearly have significant impact, and it was great to be able to be a small part of that. The employees and volunteers are passionate and informed about their work, making them a very effective organization.

I grew up traveling to California every summer, and it was always so special when we got to spend time in the redwoods. As an intern, I had the opportunity to support their far-reaching conservation efforts, and I really enjoyed it.

After living in the Santa Cruz Mountains for a few years I became enthralled with the redwoods and all they do to help our environment. I learned about all that Sempervirens was doing to help preserve them and wanted to join the effort. I enjoying volunteering to help guide donors to their "trees" and helping others learn about the redwoods and their amazing benefits for our environment. The staff at Sempervirens is talented, dedicated and tireless in their efforts - it is so rewarding to volunteer!

Our family has been supporting the efforts of the Sempervirens Fund for more 20 years for several reasons: 1.) We believe in redwood forest preservation, just as the original founders did 120 years ago, for the personal inspiration and the ecological benefits they provide. 2.) We honor our relatives who have gone before us and our children and their future by dedicating redwoods trees; and 3.) We have enjoyed a wonderful association with the professional staff of the Sempervirens Fund as they have been creative and helpful, and together we have built an enduring relationship. Mike and Erin Monroe

After my wife of 55 years died, our family and friends dedicated a redwood in her memory. What else can I say about the beautiful redwoods?

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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

I have been a Trustee and supporter of Sempervirens Fund for over fifteen years. I am very proud of what this organization has accomplished, not just for the many mission focused initiatives it has successfully completed but also for the way it has gone about its business. The Board and staff of Sempervirens Fund serve, for me, as the model of an effective, efficient and well governed non-profit organization.

My family camped at Big Basin every year when I was growing up. Now I take my nieces and nephews to introduce a new generation to these magnificent trees. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people who had the foresight to protect them. It would be an absolute shame for our country to lose such treasures.

The Sempervirens Fund has been active in protecting land, educating people of all ages, as a model for many other conservation organizations and providing a beautiful and wonderful forest and open space experience for local people and those from around the world. There management, staff and volunteers are excellent and provide an unusually fine opportunity for many to learn and enjoy the forests.

By providing camp sites in Big Basin State Park they started a backpacking tradition for my son and I 35 years ago. Sempervirens is at the top of my list of charities for its aggressive pursuit of public lands and responsible logging.

One of the greats. They have a clear vision and concrete goals, and a plan to achieve those fairly specific goals, so one can be assured of progress and clarity as the process unfolds.

Sempervirens Fund does work that lasts for generations. I give to the trees monthly as a Redwood Ranger because I KNOW that an overwhelming amount of my support goes towards programs that preserve, protect, and connect vital ecosystems in Northern California.

If you met me, you'd never guess that I've never went on a hike until I was in my 20's (I'm a lover of nature) and my very first hike was at Big Basin. One of the first thoughts that ran across my mind was, "Wow. This is what I've been missing?!" All this in my own backyard (i.e. w/in a 30 mile radius) and to know that a place like this was that close made it that much more special. When I found out there was an organization that has a mission to protect places like Big Basin and the redwoods, it gave me a very comforting feeling. I truly hope Sempervirens will continue to protect these places and the wildlife that cannot protect themselves. Thank you Sempervirens!

Sempervirens is an amazing organization that protects the Coastal Redwoods in the Santa Cruz Mountains. They are responsible for starting some of the best parks in the area such as Big Basin and Castle Rock. These parks and many others that Sempervirens has started not only protect these gigantic majestic trees, but also provide the community with a place to hike, camp, and enjoy nature. Even after protecting all these areas, they are continually working to protect more, both for the better of the environment as well as provide more areas for the public.

For me, Semper Virens protects the essential parts of our fabulous coastal forests. These huge and beautiful trees provide for every other living member of nature's bounty. I consider the soil, the water and the air to be the living warp and weft of the great fabric we call nature. These redwoods clean the air and water and hold the soil in place in addition to enriching their components. They provide an anchor for the flora and fauna that decorate this carpet of life and give us a gift of peacefulness and beauty that turns our prosaic existence into joyful bliss. The noblest response we can muster is to support this cause with our gifts and energies. To this end Semper Virens is the perfect vehicle of action.

I've always had a special place in my heart for the redwoods of the coast range in Northern California. The Sempervirens Fund helps protect and preserve this precious resource for our kids and their kids someday. I've been particularly impressed with what Sempervirens has done over the years with Big Basin State Park. I'm an HP employee, and was glad to see Little Basin (which used to be a getaway for HP employees) move into the public domain, with help from the Sempervirens Fund and POST. Keep up the good work!

The Sempervirens Fund has greatly contributed to the creation and expansion of many of the State Parks in the Santa Cruz Mountains. They developed a regional, science-based plan to guide their work to further expand and connect existing protected lands, in order to protect redwood forests, conserve biodiversity and wildlife connectivity, and create more opportunities for compatible public uses of the land in this important bioregion. Sempervirens Fund staff are hard working, dedicated, and innovative; the organization is highly collaborative, and works effectively with diverse groups including local, state, and federal agencies, other conservation organizations, private landowners, and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band of Ohlone/Costanoan Indians--the native people of the region. I look forward to witnessing the next era of conservation in this region, which I call home.

I love going hiking in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It was amazing to
encounter the beautiful redwoods in Big Basin. And I learned how
Sempervirens Fund was instrumental in protecting these trees back then
and how they continue to protect more of them today. It's such an
important mission and they undertake it with great dedication. I highly
recommend them as a place to donate or volunteer.

I have hiked extensively in the Santa Cruz mountains, but only in the last two years have I realized the importance of Sempervirens Fund in creating the state parks and preserving this wonderful resource for all the people living in Silicon Valley and the surrounding areas.

Since 1900 when Sempervirens Fund was founded, the donations to Sempervirens Fund have create Big Basin Redwoods State Park (the first state park in California), and Castle Rock State Park, and the fund is trying to create an uninterrupted wildlife corridors and an ecological preserve in cooperation with existing land owners, as well as by acquiring land as it becomes available.

This is important to our present as well as to our children's future.

Jim Mott, Oakland, CA

I have been a donor for around 14 years and now also a volunteer since 2013. Preserving and managing local redwood forest is so important for the present and the future. Sempervirens Fund does a great job to accomplish its goals. All the staff, board members and volunteers work very hard. Every cent of my donation is put to good use. I will keep on donating to Sempervirens Fund. Thank you so much.

I am so grateful to Sempervirens Fund for preserving the redwood forests of California and the wildlife habitat they provide.

The redwoods are an American legacy that held a storied place in my childhood, spent all the way across the country in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. My Granddaddy loves trees, and he loves none more than California's redwoods. He drove all the way across the country, twice, just to see them.

They are magical. Even if I had never had the joy of living in Santa Cruz and seeing them everyday, I would (and did) support the mission of preserving them for future generations. Thank you Sempervirens!

When my husband and I first met almost 20 years ago, we went hiking most weekends. We'd go to Big Basin, Waddell Creek, Fall Creek or Wilder Ranch, often coming out at dusk. Our partnership was forged on those long walks as we talked, laughed and wondered together.

Today we have an outdoor recreation website that we started precisely because we wanted to share our enthusiasm for and love of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Naturally that means parks and open spaces, and you cannot find an organization more integral to open spaces in the Santa Cruz Mountains than Sempervirens Fund. From starting the movement to protect old-growth trees in Big Basin more than 100 years ago -- a movement that culminated in the first state park -- to spearheading an innovative approach to conservation with the San Vicente Redwoods, Sempervirens Fund has proven time and again that it is a forward-looking leader in conservation. You could even say we owe our livelihoods to them! After all, without open spaces, Hilltromper would not exist.

Nor, probably, would our marriage!

My young kids absolutely love to camp among giant trees, and Sempervirens Fund continues to make this possible. California's coastal redwoods are a treasure that needs to be protected.

I was in the fifth grade the first time I camped in Big Basin. That was around l955. I still remember the magic of it all. To me ,redwood trees are the land's equivalent to the ocean's whales. Fabulous nature that must be protected and preserved! Many many thanks for your decades of important work.
Rob Caughlan

Best place near Silicon Valley to hike and camp. The view of the Santa Cruz Mountains is unreal! Having bathrooms and fresh water at the campsites really helps keep the place clean and accessible. I have been here with friends and Girl Scouts and each experience we all walk away feeling like we have reconnected with a part of nature that is missing from our high paced lives. What I loved most is the people we met while backpacking that would stop and help us identify plants and trees. Truly a park that calls one back, including me!

I am a newcomer volunteer working with the Sempervirens Fund to help raise funds for the critical work of protecting the remaining redwoods in the Santa Cruz Mountains where only 5% of the original forest remains and much of that is at risk. I initially contacted Sempervirens to partner with a local Santa Cruz group to protect a redwood forest about to be timber harvested. Together we were able to save the trees! I was so inspired by our partnership, their strong history of accomplishments and their visionary goals that I agreed to join their Great Park Campaign Committee. Sempervirens Fund is leading the way to protecting as much of what remains of the redwood forest as possible utilizing the most strategic, cost-effective, and creative pathways. And have been doing so since 1900! Supporting Sempervirens enables you to become a partner in creating a permanent legacy of giant redwood trees, clear-running streams and an extraordinary forest where wildlife thrives and people find peace, joy and renewal.

Although I've only recently been introduced to Sempervirens Fund, I have been enjoying the fruits of their labors all my life. Some of my favorite memories growing up consist of the family's annual camping trips to Big Basin.

One of my favorite things about living in the Bay Area is just how close these redwood forests are... where else can you be in the heart of a big modern city one minute then a beautiful redwood forest in less than an hour? It's amazing!

These forests need to be protected and Sempervirens Fund has been at the forefront doing so. They may be a small organization, but they give big bang for every buck they get! I am proud to be a supporter!

Look at a map of the Santa Cruz Mountains, south of San Francisco, and you will see lots and lots of parkland. Better yet, go there and get out and hike amid the many groves of redwoods and other kinds of forest habitat, and experience the many animals that depend on these habitats for their survival. We can all of us have this experience, and our grandchildren will be able to as well, partly because of the difficult and patient work that Sempervirens Fund has been doing for more than a century to help achieve protection for these areas. The raising of funds, the analysis of properties, the negotiations with willing sellers--all of this requires sustained, painstaking work. Being even a relatively small change donor as I am, I find myself having a sense of pride at every new land acquisition, at every story of a threatened species offered a fighting chance for recovery--I feel proud that I played some small part. I look up at these mountains and I breathe a sigh of relief--and I breathe more oxygen!--because these people have worked so hard and so successfully to preserve a quality of life that very much deserves being preserved.

My friends got me involved with Sempervirens Fund this year and I volunteered at the Anniversary Picnic at Castle Rock Sate Park. I was impressed by the numbers of supporters Sempervirens has and I plan to volunteer again.

This is a worthy cause that benefits everyone. The recent controversy over the proposed desalinization plant has highlighted just how valuable our forests are. Nature is indispensable and the more we destroy it, the more we destroy ourselves.

Preserving the redwoods is an important task that Sempervirens Fund has taken to heart. Their dedication to preserving these important areas is crucial to our heritage as well as the wildlife that live and pass through the area, including some endangered species. Many of the old growth redwoods that they protect would never be seen again at this age for generations had it been allowed to be logged.

This is a REAL non-profit run organization. Love their mission and how their staff truly believe in it.

Sempervirens is trying to protect all of the redwood forests and other natural features in
the Santa Cruz Mountains This is an area of 224,000 acres--bigger than most national parks--
of which nearly half is now protected. I am working at finding linkages between protected
parcels to assure wildlife corridors and develop a self-sustaining ecosystem.

As a young lawyer in the 60s I worked with the founder of Sempervirens in setting it up, and also helped lay out one of its popular trails. Since then it has been spectacularly successful in preserving thousands of acres of irreplaceable redwoods in the Santa Cruz Mountains, between Silicon Valley and the coast. It works creatively with a combination of gifts, purchases and conservation easements. It has also taken the lead in bring other groups together to cooperate in making large purchases.It has a played a major part in giving the Bay Area more recreational parkland than any other urban area.

I didn't know much about the Sempervirens Fund or what it was till a good friend from California introduced it to me. Their history & legacy really touched my heart - the struggles they faced to protect & preserve the redwoods of California, showed just how much heart the people of California have. The sights of the redwoods are awe inspiring and breathtaking to say the least. It is truly amazing that what started off a club passing around a hat; to collect a small donation to finance their efforts and to launch a fundraising and lobbying campaign; has become the heart & soul of so many who have witnessed, the true untouched beauty of the redwoods. They have raised over 50 million dollars to preserve and protect over 34,000 acres!!! For the past 100 years and for generations to come - their efforts are outstanding and highly commendable!

We have been buying rewood forest land for over 100 years. Currently we are working on "The Great Park" initiative. Please view our web site and check us out, thank you.

This year Sempervirens Fund protected Late Serial Redwood Forest that has beautiful Marbled Murrelet Habitat and old growth trees. Places like these need to be protected and Sempervirens Fund is working hard against many odds to accomplish that goal. Thank you Sempervirens Fund! Keep up the great work!