Seacliff State Beach

Dangerous ocean conditions today! Please stay safe if you're visiting a state beach by staying out of and away from the water.

As Native American Heritage Month draws to a close, we want to acknowledge the Amah Mutsun Native Stewardship Corps and their work co-managing ancestral lands with California State Parks today. The Native Stewardship Corps of young adult tribal members learn and perform traditional land management techniques and Traditional Ecological Knowledge, such as using fire to promote biodiversity and reduce fuel loads that contribute to catastrophic wildfires. Native Californians mana...ged their lands with fire successfully for thousands of years prior to European colonization, creating one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. Since June 2018, the Native Stewards have worked with State Parks to form and implement a co-management plan in Año Nuevo by using traditional land management practices to reshape the landscape to more resemble what it looked like historically, when it had been managed by the Quiroste tribe. These changes are increasing the plant and animal populations that the Indigenous ancestors managed for food, medicine, and tools and that today’s tribal members continue to use for cultural practices. As California State Parks and other land agencies reevaluate their fire management policies in the wake of devastating wildfires like the CZU Lightning Complex Fire, we are grateful that the Amah Mutsun Native Stewards continue to preserve and share their ancestors’ ecological knowledge. www.amahmutsunlandtrust.org #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth #NAHM

Halloween is almost here. Do you have your costume ready to go? If not, check out this awesome tutorial on how to become a moon jelly!

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!

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!

There is so much to be thankful for at Seacliff from the cool ocean breeze to relaxing walks on the beach. Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and safe Thanksgiving! #thanksgiving#seacliff#thatsmypark #castateparks

As we continue celebrating Native American Heritage Month, this week we want to spotlight a very important person in our local history. Maria Ascensión Solórsano (1855-1930) is an ancestor of members of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band (comprised of tribal families with historic ties to Missions Santa Cruz and San Juan Bautista). She was a healer, collector of tribal lore and traditions, and the last fluent speaker of the Mutsun language. Ethnographer John Peabody Harrington recor...ded many of her stories and the Mutsun language over the last years of her life. The Amah Mutsun are now drawing on her stories and teachings to re-learn the Mutsun language and to introduce her wisdom to a new generation of tribal members. Without Ascencion’s dedicated efforts to preserving Amah Mutsun culture, much tribal knowledge would have been lost. The Amah Mutsun revere her memory as a guiding force during a critical time in their history. To recognize her social contributions, she was inducted into the Gilroy Hall of Fame in 1995 and Ascención Solóranso Middle School in Gilroy was named in her honor in 2003. To learn more about the Amah Mutsun and their history, visit www.amahmutsun.org. #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth #NAHM

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 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

Great interview with the Director of State Parks, Armando Quintero at the Castro Adobe State Historic Park!

Seize the opportunity to play Missions all over the Bay Area! Join Agent Palo to explore Seacliff State Beach with California State Park's fun and engaging Mission. Remember, if you complete 4 Missions, you will become a Bay Area Explorer and earn a special patch. Complete 7 Missions and have the chance to be entered in a draw to win a Golden Poppy Annual Day Use Pass! Find out more here: https://agentsofdiscovery.com/bay-area-explorer/

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

Happy Native American Heritage Month! This week, we’re zooming into the map of California to learn about tribes in the greater San Francisco Bay-Monterey Bay area. California was home to many different Native tribes, with their own unique languages and cultures. Our local area is especially diverse. You may have heard the Ohlone historically lived in this area, but did you know the Ohlone are not one tribe? The people known as Ohlone today were historically comprised of 50 di...stinct tribes who spoke 8 different languages. This map, created in 2019 by our district's State Parks historian in collaboration with Ed Ketchum, Amah Mutsun tribal historian, shows estimates of the historic territories of the many local Ohlone tribes. Do any of their names look familiar? Some of them have become local place names, like Aptos and Sayanta (Zayante). #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth #NAHM

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

R-E-S-P-E-C-T! Hard to imagine a catchier way to catch up on tidepool etiquette. Nice work, Crystal Cove State Park!

Just because Labor Day is over, doesn’t mean summer fun has to end! Our virtual Junior Ranger programs are now available on YouTube! This fun program is designed especially for 7 to 12 year olds. For each program, junior rangers can earn a unique stamp to put in their logbook. Participate in multiple programs and they can earn some very cool rewards!

A bit of good news in the middle of statewide fire and worldwide virus.

CREATURE FEATURE: Found in the deep sea, bone eating worms feast on the bones of dead whales. These creatures have no eyes, legs, mouth or stomach and rely on acid to dissolve the bones. Whale falls are a critical food source for all deep sea animals. #animalmadness#cabiodiversityday#deepsea

Happy California Biodiversity Day! This day falls on September 7th each year and is a time for everyone to celebrate the unique flora and fauna in California. Our golden state has more than 30,000 species of insects, 6,500 plants, 650 birds, 100 reptiles, and 170 species of fish. You can participate in the fun of documenting this biodiversity by participating in a BioBlitz. Swipe right for more details! #cabiodiversityday#wildlife#inaturalist #bioblitz#animalmadness #wildlifeconservation