Natural Bridges State Beach

Have you ever heard of the term BOFFF? No? Well, let's dive into some science! BOFFF stands for big, old, fertile, female fish! These larger, more mature fish (think trophy fish) tend to produce many more young than smaller fish, and their babies also tend to survive better! Inside marine protected areas (MPAs), fish are able to grow to larger sizes and, therefore, increase their reproductive output, or the number of babies they have. This is just one way MPAs benefit... fisheries! For more information, check out this publication: https://academic.oup.com/icesjms/article/71/8/2171/748104 Photo credit: PISCO #MPAMonday #CaliforniaMPAs #CalifMPAs #ProtectWhatYouLove #MPAscience #FishForever #YayMPA #CiteYourSources #NaturalBridgesStateBeach #NaturalBridges #MontereyBay #SantaCruz #Fisheries #OceanConservation #WeLoveOurMPA #ThatsMyBeach #CAStateParks

No matter what your Halloween plans are for this season, California State Parks has you covered! Join interpreters around the state for ghoulish crafts, spooky pumpkin carving and live campfire program. These programs will be livestreamed on California State Parks Facebook page.

Have you ever kayaked along the coast of California? If so, where is your favorite place to get on the water? If you haven’t tried coastal kayaking yet, we recommend kayaking in one of our state marine protected areas (MPAs) - they are prime for exploration! Locally, you can rent a kayak from @montereybaykayaks or @kayakconnection to explore the Monterey Bay, or paddle inland from Moss Landing up Elkhorn Slough estuary.... And across the state, there are many more incredible spots to kayak. While Van Damme and Edward F. Ricketts State Marine Conservation Areas (SMCAs) offer open water kayaking, Drakes Estero and Upper Newport Bay SMCAs provide calm inland waters to paddle. Wherever you decide to launch, you're sure to see plenty of marine life and birds! Photo credit: Gary Cziko #CaliforniaMPAs #CalifMPAs #ProtectWhatYouLove #OptOutside #KnowYourMPA #YayMPA #MPAMonday #NaturalBridgesStateBeach #NaturalBridges #CAStateParks #ThatsMyBeach #SantaCruz

Check out the amazing Home Learning Programs line-up being offered by PORTS this week! Partner programs with Monterey Bay Aquarium and REI and a visit to the Temple of the Forest Beneath the Clouds, wow! All free and available to any school-age children and their families. Registration is required and spots are sure to fill up quickly, so visit www.ports-ca.us to reserve your space now!

We are excited to offer our Monarch Butterfly field trips in a virtual format this year. We hope to serve as many students as we can through our program, but spots are limited. Sign up to secure your spot by submitting a request form here: https://bit.ly/3lVRX5F Looking forward to seeing you soon!

If you enjoy learning about local history, then you'll love our neighboring park, Castro Adobe State Historic Park. Located in Larkin Valley near Watsonville, the two-story Castro Adobe is one of the finest examples of a rancho hacienda in the Monterey Bay area. This past week, new Parks Director Armando Quintero joined our local Interpreters, Sandra Raya and Carolina Mejia, for a tour of the Adobe and a conversation in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Check it out!

Did you miss the Hispanic Heritage Month video premiere on Seacliff’s page? No worries, we've got it here for you! Hispanic Access Foundation's short film, #IAmCheo, will inspire you to fight climate change and pollution and Seacliff's Interpretive Park Aide Carolina Mejia shares some great tips on how to do your part to protect our oceans!

This Hispanic Heritage Month we want to highlight an amazing Mexican-American interpreter at Rancho del Oso! Meet Interpretive Park Aide Michelle Garcia! She has been an outdoor educator for two years, working with California State Parks and other outdoor agencies. She loves being outside and introducing new visitors to the parks’ natural beauty. Please join her or one of our other wonderful Latina interpreters Thursday, October 15 at 3PM for a Facebook Premiere on Seacliff State Beach's page to learn more about their stories and view Hispanic Access Foundation’s short film, #IAmCheo. You’ll be as inspired as Michelle to protect our environment and fight climate change after watching! #HispanicHeritageMonth #LatinxHeritageMonth

Because of COVID 19 we will not have our annual monarch celebration. A few monarchs have arrived but some are still around town looking for flower nectar to get energy for winter. Teachers if you would like a school virtual fieldtrip,. please go to this link to apply using our form below: https://docs.google.com//1FAIpQLSef8lqU6xwuEYqhRs/viewform

In honor of Hispanic heritage month, meet Martin Rizzo. He recently joined State Parks as the Historian for the Santa Cruz District. His grandfather, Santiago Jim Martinez, was born in Gallup, New Mexico, where he raised goats and traded with the local Diné (Navajo) families before moving to California in the 1920s. Their family’s Martinez and Chavez ancestors trace back to the initial Spanish colonial settlement of Santa Fe in the early 1600s. Martin grew up hearing storie...s about the Spanish borderlands of New Mexico, about his grandfather’s mixed blood heritage, and their ancestors participation in the Spanish and Mexican military. His father gave him his name, Martin, in honor of their Martinez family roots. In fact, it was Martin’s fascination with these family stories that inspired him to study history, and to focus on Spanish colonial and Indigenous history as themes for his dissertation and publications. #HispanicHeritageMonth #LatinxHeritageMonth See more

Michelle Garcia is an interpreter at the Rancho del Oso Visitor Center in Big Basin Redwoods State Park. She is proud of the work she does sharing her love of n...ature with others, and she is proud of her Mexican-American Heritage. As part of our celebration of Latino Heritage Month, Save the Redwoods League is sponsoring a virtual California screening by the Hispanic Access Foundation of "I Am Cheo," a powerful film about a young boy's experience of today's environmental challenges. "I Am Cheo" because a rallying cry for those willing to take action for a better future. The California screening will take place on October 15, and is free of charge. It will be followed by a roundtable discussion of the issues in the film. Learn more and register here: https://www.hispanicaccess.org//1043-haf-to-hold-virtual-s

Meet California State Parks’ new director, Armando Quintero.He has been a life-long student of State and National Parks. Throughout his career he has engaged with public lands as a park ranger, personnel specialist, volunteer, science professional, fundraiser, resource manager, elected official, avid park visitor, dad and more. He loves parks, public lands, and waters and feels there could be no greater privilege in his life than to serve parks and the public. Please join us on Monday, October 12 at 10:45 a.m.on California State Parks (@CaliforniaStateParks)Facebook for an interview with the new director to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month from Castro Adobe State Historic Park! #HispanicHeritageMonth #LatinxHeritageMonth

Sometimes we are asked if the ocean gets close to the cliffs in our tide pool areas. As you can see in this photo the answer is yes, yes it does.

Enjoy this recent photo taken of the sea urchins in our tide pools. Please remember that we are a Marine Protected Area so please look with your eyes (or camera) but don't poke at the tide pool animals. Thank you for your help in bringing back the balance to our marine area. -Photo taken by Ashley Wemp, Interpreter