Giant Thoughts Newsletter Issues

Reading the Redwoods contest. Photo by Annie Burke

Fostering A Sense of Wonder with Reading the Redwoods

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Reading the Redwoods, a free online contest for kids in grades K-5 throughout the U.S., embodies the spirit of Rachel Carson’s A Sense of Wonder and delivers it in thoroughly modern ways. Through this contest, Save the Redwoods League is bringing the redwoods to more children, regardless of where they live, and connecting families to forests and nature through reading and stories.

Rue Mapp, founder of Outdoor Afro.

Redwoods Hold Particular Significance for African Americans, Says Rue Mapp

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In 2009, Rue Mapp started Outdoor Afro. Initially, the website served as a frame for Mapp’s blogs on her personal connection to nature, but it quickly evolved into a national conversation platform for the African-American community. And as people connected online, they got together to hike, camp, bike, fish, and ski.

Donate your car to help save redwoods. Photo by Nicolas Boullosa, Flickr Creative Commons

How and Why You Should Donate Your Vehicle to the League

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To help protect the marvelous redwood forests, there are many ways to give. But did you know that we accept car donations? Through CARS, our trusted partner, anyone can easily donate a vehicle. It doesn’t matter whether your vehicle — be it a car, truck, van, boat or motorcycle — is in good shape or not. Proceeds will go towards supporting our urgent work to protect and restore redwoods.

The League plans expanded access to the breathtaking Headwaters Forest Reserve with support from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. Speak up to reauthorize the program. Photo by Mike Shoys

Join Our Advocacy Campaigns, Contact Your Lawmakers

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Use your vote and voice to speak up for California’s iconic coast redwood and giant sequoia forests. Save the Redwoods League needs you to join our campaigns and stand for the redwoods: Learn the latest on three crucial funding sources and one bill that would protect our national monuments. And celebrate a conservation success in Oregon!

Wendy Hayward and her husband Rich Wendling.

A Women’s Day Tribute to a Redwoods Champion

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In honor of International Women’s Day, commemorated annually on March 8 to celebrate women’s achievements throughout history, Save the Redwoods League honors the late Wendy Hayward, a tireless advocate for the redwood forest.

Photo courtesy of Brittney Mcguire

Storm Patrol Crew vs. the Road

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At Redwood National Park, a two-person storm patrol crew is working to fight erosion. As Janette Parsons and Brittney Mcguire ended their summer season working at the park last year, they were asked to continue as part of the League’s winter storm patrol crew.

Rolando Cohen, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, and Harry Pollack, General Counsel, for Save the Redwoods League led a hike at Portola Redwoods State Park for our Free Second Saturdays at Redwood State Parks event in February. Photo by Rolando Cohen

Finding Strange Marvels in Portola Redwoods

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We’re nine people, trekking through Portola Redwoods State Park on a sunny Saturday afternoon led by Rolando Cohen and Harry Pollack from Save the Redwoods League. Our hike was a component of the League’s Free Redwoods Days, which will happen every second Saturday of 2018.

Can You Play Forest ‘Match’-Maker?

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In honor of Valentine’s Day, we’re thinking about the iconic redwood forest duos—those essential relationships between the trees, the environment, and the creatures who make the redwood forests their home. Can you guess any of these amazing duos?

Teresa Baker at Muir Woods National Monument.

Teresa Baker Blazes Trail for Racial Diversity in Parks

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“America is changing demographically,” said Teresa Baker, founder of the African American Nature & Parks Experience. “People of color will soon be in the majority, and we need to do everything possible to connect them to the outdoors, to help them experience the power of nature.”

15-acre addition to the Grove of Old Trees park

The Grove of Old Trees is Growing

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The Grove of Old Trees is a 33-acre “island” of ancient redwoods surrounded by vineyards and homes in Sonoma County. And, with the help of Save the Redwoods League and LandPaths, this protected island just got 50 percent larger.

Coast Redwoods #1 Travel Destination: Plan your trip!

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Lonely Planet just named their top 10 U.S. travel destinations for the year and the coast redwood range claimed the number one spot! I’m thrilled to share this news and to announce that Save the Redwoods League launched a brand new Explore Redwoods trip-planning tool to help you plan your next trip out into these incredible forests.

Free Second Saturdays at Redwood State Parks 2018. Photo by Paolo Vescia"

Celebrate the League’s Centennial in Redwood State Parks

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In celebration of the League’s Centennial year, we invite everyone to experience the sights and sounds of more than 40 of California’s redwood state parks—for free! Every second Saturday of each month in 2018, Save the Redwoods League and California State Parks will be hosting a Free Redwoods Day.

Join us for Tea with a Tree at Tu B’Shevat in the Park!

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Tu B’Shevat is a day to celebrate the trees and the work we all must do to keep our planet green and healthy for generations. Come celebrate Tu B’Shevat in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park this Sunday, January 28, 2018.

Janet Jackson Explores Local Redwood Watershed with Inner City Youth

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Jackson does what she can to expand the horizons of her students. Each month she takes three or four students to a regional park for an extended hike. She has also participated in outreach programs sponsored by universities and conservation groups, including Exploring Your Watershed, a Save the Redwoods League project that teaches kids about the linkages between the East Bay’s redwood forests and San Francisco Bay.

Update on the Long-Awaited Pfeiffer Falls Trail

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After a tumultuous decade for Big Sur, we can expect a new Pfeiffer Falls Trail in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park to reopen in early 2019, thanks to our funding partners and lots of hard, sweaty work.

Students participate in the League's Exploring Your Watershed program.

“Best of” List for 2017

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As 2017 comes to a close, it’s that time again for the “best of” lists to come out. Best movies of the year, best music, etc. So here is my own “best of” list for the past year.

Cathedral Grove at Muir Woods National Monument. Photo credit: Tonatiuh Trejo-Cantwell

Want to go to Muir Woods? Be sure to RSVP!

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Beginning January 16, 2018, visitors will need reservations to park at or ride the shuttle to Muir Woods National Monument. The new reservation system will prevent visitor overcrowding and help keep the forest green and vibrant for generations to come.

The California condor is listed as "Critically Endangered." Pacific Southwest Region USFWS, Flickr Creative Commons

A Second California Condor Comeback is on the Horizon

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California condors have been absent from the Pacific Northwest for over a century. But the Yurok tribe — whose ancestors lived along the Klamath River in Northern California — still revere and celebrate them. The sight of a condor flying over the redwoods has been erased from living memory, and, as tribe chairman Thomas P. O’Rourke told Audubon last March, “His absence is a hole in our hearts.”