Give Green for the Holidays!

Have a redwood seedling planted in one of California's redwood parks in honor of an individual or organization or in memory of a loved one. A seedling will be planted for each $50 donation, and your gift will support our reforestation program. Order by December 12 using our secure online form to ensure delivery by Christmas.

Dedicate a redwood grove or tree through a gift to Save the Redwoods League®. This unique and memorable holiday gift helps preserve the beauty of the redwoods, while setting aside a special place in this unique forest where you and your loved ones may enjoy the trees, rivers and wildlife. Please visit our Web site for more information or contact Megan Ferreira by e-mail or by phone at (415) 820-5809 to discuss how you can share the gift of the forest with friends and family this holiday season.

More Sightings of Threatened Birds

Fourteen sightings of marbled murrelets this year in two redwood parcels likely mean that protecting the land is working as the League intended. Protected by League conservation agreements in Del Norte County, the former redwood timberland provides the large branches that the birds need for nest platforms (pictured). This year’s sightings are up from zero detections last year. The stands were protected by agreements as mitigation for an oil spill in Humboldt Bay that polluted marbled murrelet habitat. We monitor the stands annually according to the agreement, with special attention in the next 22 years to the birds’ presence. Photo: Tom Hamer

Reminder: Support New Parks Ballot Initiative

In response to service reductions and backlogged maintenance at California state parks, Save the Redwoods League and partners need your help to put a parks funding proposal on the 2010 ballot. Please help us gather signatures and show your support for this measure, the California State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund Act of 2010. The first of many workshops for signature gatherers will be from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, December 12, 2009, in Santa Rosa. E-mail stewards@mcn.org or call (707) 869-9177 to make a reservation and get directions to the workshop. Watch this space for workshops in other California locations. Learn more. Photo: Christopher Schroeer-Heiermann

Grants Improve Redwood Trails

Thanks to our members, two grants from Save the Redwoods League enabled high school students to maintain trails in California state parks in 2008 and 2009, improving access to redwood groves. The grants totaling $49,000 supported projects carried out by the Student Conservation Association, which fosters career development in land conservation and resource management. Students cleared trails in Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park and built a 16-foot bridge in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in 2008 (pictured). They cleared overgrown trails in Navarro River Redwoods, Russian Gulch and Mendocino Headlands state parks in 2009. Photo: Stephen Fisher

High School Curriculum Integrates Redwoods

A San Francisco high school curriculum integrated science, English, social studies and the redwoods thanks to a grant from the League’s education program in 2008-9, inspiring students to produce a video of their experiences. While camping, hiking and restoring habitat in four redwood parks with the grantee, Wilderness Arts and Literacy Collaborative, the 70 primarily low-income students explored four ecological concepts— flux equilibrium, ecological succession, interconnections and diversity. The program fostered a love of redwoods among the students and gave them a framework in which to analyze and understand literary texts, historical events and scientific data.

Favorite Redwood Hike: Fall Creek Trail, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Santa Cruz County

In this recurring feature, our staff members and volunteers share their favorite places to experience redwoods.

Name and Title: Suzanne Moss, Director of Development (pictured, pointing)

Difficulty/Distance: Moderate; about 3 miles round trip.

Why I Like It: Fall Creek tumbles crystal clear through a fresh, lush, remote-feeling canyon. Creek crossings add to the adventure through this forest of larger, second-growth redwoods. The trail leads to old kilns used in the late 1800s to prepare lime for San Francisco cement. Great interpretive signs tell the story.

More information on the park and hike

Featured Photo

The Giant Forest of giant sequoias in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks is a picturesque setting for winter hikes, cross-country skiing and snowshoe walks. Photo: Janne Huttunen, Entrant in the 2009 Walk Among Giants Online Photo Contest

Featured Favorite Redwood Memory

"My husband, Jim, and I have to walk amongst the redwoods every year. Being inside a redwood forest helps renew my spirit and gives me hope that more redwoods, both coast and giant sequoia, will be saved. "

— Elinor, member since 2005

PS

• Share your favorite redwood hike in our forum.
• About 200 Save the Redwoods League members attended our thank-you reception last month in San Francisco. Watch this space for the date of the Southern California membership event next year.