What’s new in San Lorenzo River news?
Celebrating CWC’s 2018 Accomplishments
Thank you so much for making 2018 great! Yes, you. People like you who follow CWC's work, who participate, act and advocate for your river are generating positive change for your San Lorenzo River. You've accomplished a lot in 2018 and, as a result, your river is...
Enjoy 2019 at the San Lorenzo River!
What does 2019 have in store for the Coastal Watershed Council? We are looking forward to more walks along the Santa Cruz Riverwalk, blooming native plants along the San Lorenzo River and getting to know Santa Cruz’s network of river lovers and...
DeLaveaga Kindergarteners Become Watershed Rangers
On behalf of the Coastal Watershed Council, I want to congratulate each of the brilliant students in Ms. Zúñiga’s dual-language kindergarten class at DeLaveaga Elementary for achieving the highly coveted status of Watershed Ranger! These amazing youngsters...
Vrinda Quintero Transforms the San Lorenzo River with People and Food
For many of us, the holiday season is a time of coming together with family and friends, old and new. We gather and connect. We eat, tell stories and maybe even find time to bicker about politics. Within our communities, there is often someone who convenes...
Announcing 2018 Volunteer of the Year
As we wrap 2018, we reflect on what we have accomplished over the past year. We recognize the youth and the adults, the corporate teams and community groups that took action to enhance the San Lorenzo River, the Santa Cruz Riverwalk and riverfront...
San Lorenzo Trestle Bridge Slated for Upgrade By Memorial Day 2019
If you've ever crossed the San Lorenzo River at the Trestle Bridge in the peak of summer, you know it can be a harrowing experience. There are bikers, dog walkers and beachgoers bumping past one another to get to the opposite bank. Next summer, that will change. On...
Your Support Matters
Your support drives each and every accomplishment of the Coastal Watershed Council from engaging 500 volunteers and helping to empower 2,500 youth each year for a cleaner and healthier San Lorenzo River. The impact that CWC and these volunteers and youth create...
Thank you to the Santa Cruz Fly Fishermen!
Do you remember the first time you put on waders and stepped into a river? Walking forward, you watched your boots disappear as the water deepened. You felt a cold pressure wrap around each leg, and maybe you wondered, is there a hole where the water is seeping in? If...
Illuminated River
Contributing AuthorArticle originally published by the City of Santa Cruz Economic Development Office. Written by: Joel Hersch View Original...
After School Programs Teach Fly Fishing Along the San Lorenzo River
This school year the Coastal Watershed Council will bring 600 students to see, touch and explore the San Lorenzo River ecosystem. During these field trips, students learn about steelhead trout, native plants that create river habitat, and the bugs that...
Growing along the River: Yarrow
This winter, the Coastal Watershed Council will lead volunteers in planting almost 2,000 plants on the banks of the San Lorenzo River during River Health Day habitat restoration events. Yarrow is one beneficial plant that you might spot growing along the river. What's...
CWC’s Environmental Leaders Fellowship
The Coastal Watershed Council is committed to fostering the leadership of the next generation of environmental leaders and is proud to do through our summer fellowship program. This year, Francisca Fazzio spent her summer working with the Coastal Watershed Council as...
Watershed Rangers Head Back to School
No matter your age, you can make a difference. This school year, CWC will teach over 2,500 youth through scientific investigation and study of the San Lorenzo River watershed, increasing their awareness of environmental issues and how they can be part of...
Snapshot Day 2018 Monitoring Suggests Increases in Common Pollutants
The 19th Annual Snapshot Day took place on Saturday, May 5, 2018. Led by the Coastal Watershed Council, volunteers from Santa Cruz joined volunteers across the Central Coast in studying water quality in local streams running to the Monterey Bay and nearby...
Why Santa Cruz CORE Donates to the Coastal Watershed Council
Article originally published by Santa Cruz CORE Fitness + Rehab. At Santa...
Trees Planted along the Santa Cruz Riverwalk
Did you know that the City of Santa Cruz received a grant to plant 500 trees throughout Santa Cruz this year? Thanks to volunteers and staff from the Coastal Watershed Council, Patagonia Santa Cruz Outlet and City of Santa Cruz Parks and...
San Lorenzo Summer Camp
Nearly 100 youth explored the San Lorenzo River this summer. Youth from the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter, Nueva Vista Community Resources and the downtown Boys and Girls Club explored, investigated and examined the lower San Lorenzo River as part of their...
Describe the Santa Cruz Riverwalk of your Dreams
The year is 2025 and you have created the Santa Cruz Riverwalk of your dreams. You decided what activities you can do there, what features to add, how to connect the Riverwalk with the San Lorenzo River and how the Riverwalk makes you feel. Maybe your...
Into Being – The River Revisited
Written By: Diana Hobson Diana is an English born artist, now living in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Northern California. Diana's work has evolved through glass/mixed media, sculpture, installation and photography to include video and sound installation. The...
Unique Collaboration Inspires Wonder and Curiosity for Watershed Rangers
When educators inspire wonder and curiosity in their students, the students learn differently. They build an interest in observing more, in research and in understanding what they see. Students seek to develop their own explanation of how, why or what...
Honoring Santa Cruz’s Chinese-American History
Santa Cruz's Chinatown once stood along the lower San Lorenzo River, built on "China Lane" between the city's downtown business district east of Front Street, where today stands Regal Riverfront Cinemas. As the Coastal Watershed Council looks to the river's future, we...
New City of Santa Cruz Rebate Program for Sewer Lateral Repairs
Repair your sewer lateral. Save money. Protect the San Lorenzo River. On June 12 the City of Santa Cruz launched an incentive program to support Santa Cruz homeowners and business owners in completing repairs on their sewer laterals. The incentive program includes a...
June is San Lorenzo River Month
Did you know that June is San Lorenzo River month in the City of Santa Cruz? How will you be celebrating and getting to know your river? At CWC, we believe that when you care for your river, learn about its significance and build a...
Volunteers Fuel River Habitat Enhancement
By Alexandra Baldwin, CWC Restoration Ecology Intern Have you noticed the hundreds of pink flags along the lower San Lorenzo River between the Laurel and Soquel Avenue Bridges? Each flag marks a young beneficial plant that was planted by a community...
Rally ho! Lessons Learned at River Rally
This May, hundreds of river advocates from nonprofits, federal and state agencies and local municipalities gathered at the Truckee River in Tahoe, CA, for the 2018 River Rally conference. Among the advocates were Greg, Laurie, Mollie and Alev from the Coastal...
Student Solutions to Prevent Impacts of Human Development
How does the San Lorenzo River change as it flows towards the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary? This is the very question students participating in the Watershed Rangers after-school program at San Lorenzo Valley Middle School investigated at three sites along...
Are there plague minnows in the San Lorenzo River?
Gambusia affinis is one of the most widely introduced species across the globe. When they are destructive in their non-native ecosystems, they’re deemed an invasive species, yet in other contexts they may cause little to no harm. Read on to find out...
Connecting Youth to Their River
“Bugs! There are bugs in the water!” Kindergartners from Tierra Pacifica Charter School stand side by side peering through magnifying lenses into the San Lorenzo River just next to Mike Fox Skate Park to get a glimpse at the aquatic bugs that call the San Lorenzo...
Tannery Residents Enhance San Lorenzo River Habitat
Tannery Arts Center residents gathered on a beautiful Sunday in March to care for their neighbor, the San Lorenzo River. Youth and adults planted a mix of native plants on the banks of the San Lorenzo River. Among them were gumweed, blackberry, primrose,...
CWC’s Big Move
The Coastal Watershed Council (CWC) is moving our office to the lower San Lorenzo River so that we can more easily care for the river on a daily basis, see what’s happening at the river from our desks and more easily host events that bring you to the river. CWC's...
Community Science Matters
Community science is important. Learn why from CWC Executive Director Greg Pepping. You too can be a scientist by signing up for the 19th Annual Central Coast Snapshot Day on Saturday, May 5th, 2018.
Santa Cruz Warriors and Partners Team Up in River Restoration
On Saturday, March 17, volunteers from the Santa Cruz Warriors and Big Brothers Big Sisters worked together to plant over 400 plants along the San Lorenzo River. The crew of 80 river stewards included staff, players, coaches, season ticket holders and Big Brother Big...
Community Foundation CEO Susan True Becomes a Sworn Watershed Ranger
How do you take action for the lower San Lorenzo River and the Santa Cruz Riverwalk? There are so many ways to make a difference! Hear from Community Foundation CEO Susan True about how she takes action to transform the lower San Lorenzo River into a community...
Coho Salmon: Rooting for a Comeback
By: Katie Kobayashi PhD Student, UC Santa Cruz Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Talk to a long-time resident of the San Lorenzo Valley, and they might recall the days when Santa Cruz winters brought rain, a raging river and swarms...
Willows: Stewards of the San Lorenzo River
Willows are an essential component of river or marsh habitats. Thriving in saturated riparian soil, willows grow extensive root systems that stabilize river banks, by holding sediment and soil in place and protecting the bank during high flow events. Willows support water quality by preventing sediment from entering the stream …
Youth Find Fish in the San Lorenzo River
Imagine living along the lower San Lorenzo River all your life, but never getting to see what lives in the river. That recently changed for students who live in the Lower Ocean and Beach Flats neighborhoods who attend the after-school program at Nueva...
Rainbow Trout: Should I Stay Or Should I Go?
Article originally published by FISHBIO in their weekly e-newsletter, the Fish Report. Written by fisheries biologist Michael Hellmair of FISHBIO View...
City Leaders Announce Plan for River Street Camp
Over one hundred people asked local leaders to publicly communicate their plan for their encampment located at the benchlands of San Lorenzo Park along the lower San Lorenzo River. You asked them to share who is in charge, what the next steps were and when those...
Youth Investigate How Water Consumption Impacts Fish
“It can’t swim anymore!” Swarming around a tupperware container filled with water representing the San Lorenzo River, youth at the Boys and Girls Club excitingly use a turkey baster to remove water from the creek representing the extraction of water from
Environmental Leaders Fellowship Application Open
Are you interested in spearheading change for the San Lorenzo River?Are you ready to practice your leadership? Do you like working with others to benefit the environment and the community? If you (or someone you know) wants to spend their summer honing their...
San Lorenzo River Water Quality Update
The San Lorenzo River is cleaner than you might think. Still, there are a number of challenges to a healthy San Lorenzo River, including pollution from bacteria, sediment and nutrients. A unique partnership, consisting of water quality experts and stormwater...
Mysterious Visitors to Coastal Lagoons
By Megan Sabal, UCSC, Graduate Student, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Department Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) are anadromous fish that spawn in freshwater and travel to productive ocean waters to reach impressive sizes. Within this...
American Public Works Association Awards Honor City’s Work on the Santa Cruz Riverwalk
The Santa Cruz Riverwalk's 5 mile loop was completed in 2017 with the construction of the Branciforte Creek Bicycle Pedestrian Bridge. On January 24, this project and its engineer -City Engineer/Assistant Public Works Director Chris Schneiter (pictured here, left) -...
American Coots: Seriously, Not a Duck!
By Katherine Dale, PhD student, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz Take a walk along the San Lorenzo River and you’ll almost certainly see black, football-shaped birds speedily swimming around. They might be...
Main Street Elementary Watershed Rangers Design Tools to Reduce Stormwater Runoff
"There's a pencil in the storm drain! We need to get it out!" exclaimed 4th grade students at Main Street Elementary after they found several objects in a school storm drain they knew would eventually make its way to a local creek. Over the course of four lessons,...
2017 Urban Watch Report Released
Over the past 17 years, Coastal Watershed Council has been partnering with the City of Capitola on the Urban Watch monitoring program. From June to September each year, volunteers study water quality in Soquel Creek, local tributaries, and stormwater...
Santa Cruz Gives
You've heard of giving challenges - the Ice Bucket Challenge, Giving Tuesday and more. Here's another opportunity to join in and give back. And this time, it's directly in your community. Santa Cruz Gives is a holiday fundraising program that’s new to our county, but...
CWC announces 2017 Volunteer of the Year
As 2017 comes to a close, we reflect on what we have accomplished together over the past year. We recognize the youth and the adults, the corporate teams and community groups that explored and took action to improve the San Lorenzo River and other...
How Groundwater Sustainability Affects San Lorenzo River Flow
By Sierra Ryan,Water Resource Planner, County of Santa Cruz Environmental Health Did you know that 40 to 50% of dry season flow of the San Lorenzo River comes from the Santa Margarita Basin? Groundwater, like that from the Santa Margarita Basin, and surface water are...
River Health Day volunteers enhance lower San Lorenzo River habitat
Each year, CWC organizes River Health Days along the San Lorenzo River. These volunteer events aim to improve riparian habitat by removing or slowing the spread of invasive exotic plants and supporting native plant growth. From August to October 2017, CWC organized...
2017 Annual Report Released
What a difference you have made in your community this year! You have contributed your time, energy, donations and ideas towards a healthier, cleaner, safer and more vibrant San Lorenzo River, for everyone. You've worked alongside the Coastal Watershed Council and...
Mar Vista Elementary Watershed Rangers Share Green Engineering Practices
Build a Rain Garden because "the runoff will go the aquifer" shares sixth graders Alendra, Teana and Audrie. Combining their knowledge of permeable surfaces, the infiltration and storage capacity of four earth media (sand, soil, pebbles and black sand),...
Volunteer at a Santa Cruz Warriors game and support CWC’s work along the San Lorenzo River
The Coastal Watershed Council (CWC) is partnering with the Santa Cruz Warriors to raise money for stewardship, monitoring and education programs along the San Lorenzo River. CWC will be coordinating the ball toss at each Santa Cruz Warriors home game this season and...
City Council Votes to Approve the Downtown Plan Amendments
UPDATE: The Santa Cruz City Council voted Tuesday, November 14 to approve updates to the Downtown Recovery Plan. Thank you to all of those who shared your voice. You can read more about the meeting from the Santa Cruz Sentinel here. The Coastal Watershed Council (CWC)...
Snapshot Day Volunteers Measure Lower Bacteria Levels across County
The 18th Annual Snapshot Day took place on Saturday, May 6, 2017. 55 volunteers visited 43 sites from Año Nuevo Creek to the Pajaro River to get an annual “snapshot” of water quality in Santa Cruz County. Led by the Coastal Watershed Council, volunteers...
Downtown Streets Team Cleans Riverwalk 7 Days Per Week
By Greg Pensinger, Project Manager, Downtown Streets Team Santa Cruz Team A recent article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel highlighted the passing of the baton – or should we say trash picker – from the Leveelies, who have been diligent cleaners and defenders of the Levee...
Giving Gratitude to Santa Cruz County Teachers
By Mollie Behn, CWC Education Coordinator Thank you Santa Cruz County teachers! Over the past two years, as CWC Education Coordinator, I have had the incredible privilege to work with K-8th grade teachers across Santa Cruz County. Last year, I partnered with 68...
Meet Lindsey, CWC Environmental Educator
By Lindsey Hutchison, CWC Environmental Educator My days growing up in Santa Cruz were filled with running around Soquel Creek where I would catch crawdads and count fish that swam by. At an early age I was encouraged to participate in beach and river cleanups and...
Rapid Evolution of Threespine Stickleback in the San Lorenzo River
By Ben Wasserman, PhD Candidate - Palkovacs Lab, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California at Santa Cruz Before the heavy winter rains return, the San Lorenzo forms a large lagoon at the river mouth near Main...
Watershed Rangers at Amesti Elementary Share Advice on Reducing Stormwater Runoff
Jesus, Danny, Angel would like to tell you "not litter because it could go in the storm drain.” After three weeks of learning about storm drains and permeability, almost 120 fourth graders at Amesti Elementary School were ready to come up with solutions to...
Get Ready for Rain
The first significant rainfall of the season is technically known as the ‘first flush’. First flush events have a scouring effect on local neighborhoods, moving bacteria, sediment, fertilizers, cleaners and metals into local waterways. During the “first flush” or...
Riverwalk Compositions
Written By: Alan Martin, Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Department Editted by: Laurie Egan, Coastal Watershed Council "My name is Alan Martin and I am a temporary employee of the Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Department, working in the east maintenance zone. My job...
Watershed Rangers Share Stewardship for Steelhead
"People should care about steelhead trout because they are threatened species!" Huddled in groups, fifth and sixth grade students at Pacific Elementary School discussed the various threats to steelhead trout survival based upon their investigation...
Invasive Largemouth Bass Languish in San Lorenzo River
“Although we understand the basic seasonal cycle of breaching in the winter and lagoon formation during the summer, a lot differs from year to year: rain and surf conditions have a major impact on what shape the bar takes, how high the water backs up behind it and how it eventually breaches. We don’t yet fully understand what impacts different types of water years will have on tidewater goby populations.”
CWC’s First-Ever Environmental Leaders Fellow
The Coastal Watershed Council is committed to fostering the leadership of the next generation of environmental leaders. Throughout the year we incorporate leadership development into our environmental education program Watershed Rangers, we work alongside local high...
Rainwater Only Please!
Storm drain gutters on your street move rain water untreated into local waterways including the San Lorenzo River and Monterey Bay. The City of Santa Cruz sweeps streets and vacuums out storm drains to make sure they’re functioning before winter storms arrive. During...
Volunteers Improve San Lorenzo River Habitat
What does a healthy river look like to you? You may imagine people playing in the river, or a river teeming with spawning steelhead in the early winter. Perhaps a river with tall and short trees surrounding it. In order to support animals and humans a river must have...
Corralitos Creek Steelhead Rescue
"The lower reaches of Corralitos Creek were drying up by August 3, 2017. Already long stretches were dry with small pockets of clear water; some pools were already dead due to heat and lack of oxygen, but most were still alive with small Steelhead, stickleback,...
We’re Headed Back to School
School is a place for development, learning, challenge, creativity and discovery. At schools, youth build a deeper sense of community both on the school campus and with our neighboring world. The Coastal Watershed Council has had the privilege to work with teachers...
Intern Story: Mary Snook
Mary Snook is a student at Reed College, whose family lives in Santa Cruz, and who spent her summer as an Environmental Education Intern at the Coastal Watershed Council. Through the summer, Mary had the opportunity to learn while teaching others. Read Mary's story:...
The Noble Mystery
By Samara Rosen It’s impossible to ignore that there is something special going on at Noble Gulch. A block from Highway 1 and shrouded by eucalyptus and ivy, this trickling stream has clouds of bright orange! For weeks, the Urban Watch volunteers had trekked down to...
Intern Story: Samara Rosen
This summer, the Coastal Watershed Council team grew with the addition of five new interns. Samara joined the CWC team in June 2017. Hailing from Oakland, Samara currently studies Water at Hampshire College in Massachusetts. As a Monitoring and Science Intern, Samara...
Photos or Videos Needed of February 7th River Flows in Beach Area
The City of Santa Cruz on February 7th of this year experienced the highest water flows in the San Lorenzo River since 1982. As part of its future storm preparation efforts the City has collected a wide variety of river related
Summer Campers Change their Watershed Perspective
By Mollie Behn, CWC Education Coordinator “Where does the river start?” I ask. “At the Santa Cruz Boardwalk” responds one of the youth. To those that have lived at the river mouth all their lives, it does seem that way, but it's not actually the case. The headwaters...
Thank you, Rotary Club of Santa Cruz!
“On June 26, the Rotary Club broke ground on a 366-sq. foot parklet on the northeast corner of the Soquel Avenue bridge and River Street. Led by Ecological Concerns Inc. staff, Rotarians planted natives like sticky monkey flower, California lilac, coffee berry and black sage alongside the existing mugwort and California poppy.”
Invasive Plant Profile: Castor Bean
Streamside plants play an integral role in a healthy river ecosystem. Native trees distribute leaves for nutrients and they provide shade to cool water temperatures and shelter fish from predators. Their root systems slow and sink urban and natural runoff and...
Tidewater Goby and the San Lorenzo River Lagoon
“Although we understand the basic seasonal cycle of breaching in the winter and lagoon formation during the summer, a lot differs from year to year: rain and surf conditions have a major impact on what shape the bar takes, how high the water backs up behind it and how it eventually breaches. We don’t yet fully understand what impacts different types of water years will have on tidewater goby populations.”
Summer Camp in Full Swing
By Mary Snook, CWC Education Intern The Coastal Watershed Council’s summer programming is focused on working with local youth to spread awareness of the San Lorenzo River, and to introduce students to their own role in maintaining its health. Youth often grow up in...
Urban Watch Field Notes: Learning from Local Streams
By Samara Rosen, CWC Science & Monitoring Intern I would love to learn the language of streams. I've explored so many creeks and wondered what the water has seen. How many generations of salmon, mayflies, or ducklings has it supported? How hot or cold do it's...
City of Santa Cruz Approves Hiring of Full Time River Coordinator
You’ll often hear the Coastal Watershed Council talk about how we’re focused on the Transitional Reach of the San Lorenzo River. While the river is roughly 30 miles long, and we honor the importance of a full watershed approach for the entire 137 square...
Lamprey in the San Lorenzo River
During Snapshot Day 2017, a team of volunteers spotted spawning lampreys in the San Lorenzo River. The rare sighting of this native San Lorenzo River fish piqued our interest so we caught up with Liam Zarri to learn more. Liam is a master's student in Eric Palkovacs'...
San Lorenzo River Month Success
Did you know that the City of Santa Cruz for the third year in a row has proclaimed June as San Lorenzo River month? June is the time of year when we kick-off summer, students break from school and we start thinking about vacation and spend more time outdoors with...
Riverwalk Reflections by Rachel McKay
Since 2014, the Coastal Watershed Council's Riverwalk Usage Study tracks who is using the Santa Cruz Riverwalk and what type of activities park users are engaging in. Rachel McKay, who has been volunteering for the Riverwalk Usage Study for a year, shared her...
Join a Pet Waste Survey Team and protect the San Lorenzo River!
Do you walk your dog near the river? Do you ever notice pet droppings left behind with no Poop Fairy to clean them up? Coastal Watershed Council and the City of Santa Cruz Public Works Department invite you to help your river and your community by participating in the...
Intern Story: Christian Torres
Throughout the year, CWC is excited to host interns across all of our programs. Interns learn a lot and contribute a lot to CWC’s work to reconnect healthy watersheds to vibrant communities in Santa Cruz County. This spring, the CWC staff had the opportunity to work...
Meander Guests Pledge Action for the San Lorenzo River
On Sunday, June 11th, the Coastal Watershed Council welcomed two hundred guests to the banks of the San Lorenzo River for an unforgettable evening. Together, guests meandered along the river banks enjoying champagne, cocktails, dinner and dessert while viewing the...
Field Volunteers Needed for Urban Watch Monitoring
On June 6, the Coastal Watershed Council will start the 17th year of the Urban Watch water quality monitoring in the City of Capitola. During Urban Watch, citizen science volunteers and CWC collect water samples and field measurements to understand the presence of...
Action Sport Companies that Fuel Themselves on the San Lorenzo River
We all know that Santa Cruz is a mecca for action sports. Locals and visitors alike enjoy world-class surfing, mountain biking, and road biking, and our county is full of lively skateboard parks. Climbers can visit Castle Rock and other amazing local climbing sites. But even many locals do not know that Santa Cruz also has a deep tradition of developing the technology behind many of their action sports hobbies.
Fly Fishing and Our Waters
The Coastal Watershed Council's recent event "Fly Fishing and Our Waters" in partnership with Patagonia, The Santa Cruz Fly Fishermen and the Steinbeck Country Chapter of Trout Unlimited, brought together fly fishermen, new to the sport and old-timers to reflect upon...
2016 Riverwalk Usage Study Report
The Santa Cruz Riverwalk is the longest park in the City of Santa Cruz, running along either side of the last mile of the lower San Lorenzo River before it flows into the Monterey Bay. The Riverwalk provides a great path for jogging, walking your dog or enjoying San...
Snapshot Day 2017 Success
Thank you to the citizen scientists who convened at the San Lorenzo Park for the 18th Annual Snapshot Day event on Saturday, May 6! Volunteers of all ages were there to play an integral part in the annual monitoring of streams in Santa Cruz County that flow into the...
Weaving a River of Past, Present and Future
"Reflection", "Pollution", "Music", "Water", "Birds". When you think of the San Lorenzo River, what do you think of? Ask yourself this question, just as CWC asked the youth participants at Nueva Vista Community Resources after-school program. Their responses...
Whitewater Winters on the San Lorenzo River
Daren Commons was raised in Santa Cruz, kayaks avidly, and teaches history in Watsonville. When the San Lorenzo River rises each winter, he grabs his kayak and heads into the mountains to whitewater kayak the San Lorenzo River. Read, in Daren's own words, what it's...
Ebb & Flow River Arts Project 2017 Update
It’s time to go with the flow! Led by the Arts Council of Santa Cruz County with partners including City of Santa Cruz, the Coastal Watershed Council, City of Santa Cruz Arts Commission, City of Santa Cruz Economic Development Department, Tannery Arts Center, First...
Volunteer for the 2017 Riverwalk Usage Study
The Santa Cruz Riverwalk Usage Study, ongoing since August 2014, establishes data on who visits the Santa Cruz Riverwalk, the two-mile long city park that lines the banks of the lower San Lorenzo River, and how visitors use the park. A team of dedicated volunteers...
3rd Annual State of the San Lorenzo River Symposium Focused on Flow
The 3rd Annual State of the San Lorenzo River Symposium drew a crowd of 100 to dive into the topic of flow of the San Lorenzo River. Kicking off with an overview from City of Santa Cruz Watershed Compliance Manager Chris Berry, attendees took an ecological,...
Can Steelhead Trout Survive Here?
"Steelhead Trout can survive here!" exclaims a 4th grader at Main Street Elementary School. I ask him why. "Well, there is enough dissolved oxygen, the transparency is high, pH is 6.5 and its not too cold!" With either a thermometer or test kit in hand, 4th graders...
First Flush 2016 Report Released
Do you know what is in your stormwater? During a rain event, an accumulation of rain drops hitting the sidewalks, roads and driveways collect and move particles downstream. This stormwater takes everything from dog waste, fertilizers, paint and soap and by the time it...
Urban Watch Results Show Water Quality Improvements in Soquel Creek
Every year the Coastal Watershed Council in partnership with the City of Capitola and volunteers like you completes Urban Watch, a 15-week study that measures the water quality and health of Soquel Creek, tributary Noble Gulch and water Soquel Creek receives from...