As the Design & Brand Lead, you will help maintain a consistent visual identity across the chapter’s website, social media, flyers, and other materials. Ages: 18+ Create and update Canva templates within the design guidelines. Support our communications team by stepping in to publish social media posts when our primary social media lead is unavailable. This position is ideal for someone with a strong eye for design & creativity who enjoys supporting the team behind the scenes. More Info HERE.

The objectives of these workshops are to build neighborhood connections and increase community confidence, preparedness, and resiliency towards climate disasters while informing community members of resources that support sustainable and resilient habits. Our flexible, interactive workshop model aims to accommodate a wide range of formats, from small gatherings (6+ participants) to larger community events. If you are interested in hosting or participating in a workshop, click HERE.

Offshore drilling leases and deep-sea mining are once again being proposed along the California coast, despite the major risks these industries pose to marine ecosystems and coastal communities. While these activities would occur in federal waters, local governments still have powerful tools to push back through ordinances that regulate onshore support facilities within their jurisdictions. Save Our Shores is partnering with local governments to strengthen California’s historic “Blue Wall” by updating existing ordinances to include protections against facilities supporting both offshore oil drilling and deep-sea mining. Your voice matters and representatives need to hear from you. Get info and sign up to keep informed HERE.

Our natural resources staff have begun a large-scale project across Año Nuevo State Park. The project’s primary objective is to convert 30+ acres of invasive grassland back to a native coastal scrub habitat with the help of public, student, and docent volunteers. State parks staff lead weekly on-going workdays, with volunteer expectations varying dependent on season. Dry season months will primarily involve brush cutting work, sheet mulching efforts, and invasive removal, whereas the wet season months will prioritize native planting and propagation into the areas prepared during the dry season. To receive updates and workday info about all upcoming projects and to sign up go HERE.

Learn about local, state, and federal efforts to reduce flood risk in the lower Pajaro River watershed and give input on project elements. With Spanish interpretation. Important updates on featured projects, including: Levee Operations and Maintenance – Ongoing maintenance of all flood control infrastructure along both sides of the lower Pajaro River and its tributaries within Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties; Pajaro River at Watsonville – Levee improvements along the Pajaro River, Salsipuedes & Corralitos Creeks, east of Highway 1; Pajaro Bridge Infrastructure Resilient Design Project – Highway 1 Bridge replacement design; Bridge to Bay Project – Flood risk reduction west of Highway 1; Community feedback is crucial to these projects and will help shape the future of the lower Pajaro River watershed. Pajaro Middle School.

Join us this 4th of July holiday as we engage beach visitors and encourage leave-no-trace principles, hand out trash bags to prevent litter from being left behind, and discuss why trash ending up in the ocean is harmful. *Please note this is NOT a cleanup event. Meet us near the stairs to Cowell’s Beach, located on the right side of the wharf entrance. Facilities & Accessibility: Restrooms and drinking fountains are available. Parking is limited, so please plan accordingly. Registration is required. Info and signup HERE.

We welcome you to an engaging day of toes in the sand with family, friends and new acquaintances. Our local beaches are stewarded by volunteers just like you! Help beautiful the beach after the July 4 celebrations, while raising awareness about litter and plastic pollution. By taking practical action to protect the environment, your collective efforts allow Surfrider to use data to influence laws and reduce waste at the source! Sign up HERE to see meetup location.

Don't miss this educational community favorite activity! Public Tours of the Resource Recovery Facility will be offered every Friday at 10 AM from June 12th through August 14th, 2026. A single Saturday will also be offered on July 25th, so please only sign up on Saturday if Fridays are not an option for you. Discover the journey your recycling and food scraps take—and see firsthand how your actions make a difference! Visitors will see what happens to the 30 to 50 tons of material that Santa Cruzians place into their blue recycle bins every single day. We will also learn why it is important to “recycle right” avoid “wish-cycling" and why we can't relay on a triangle and a blue bin anymore. More Info and signup HERE.

Come join your local community in coastal restoration at Seabright Beach. Help make our coast a better place and learn about coastal ecology. Together we are making an impact and have now restored over 1/2 mile of coastal dune, strand and bluff habitat. Click HERE for project background. Go HERE to sign up.

On the farm, you will meet the crew, learn more about the farm, and join that day's activities which may include: weeding, harvesting, planting, building compost and more. Projects are weather dependent and defined by the day's priorities. We often can't tell you exactly what project you'll be working on in advance. Arrive any time to join our crew for a day on the farm, working on a variety of tasks. Sign up for reminders and additional information or feel free to just drop in! At Natural Bridges Farm. Far West-side. INFO.

To prevent drilling in Central California it is crucial to strengthen our local ordinances… in three ways: to integrate updated science to support the findings for why these uses are harmful to our community; to require voter approval for any onshore zoning changes needed to facilitate either offshore oil and gas drilling or deep-sea mining; and to explicitly prohibit any on-shore industrial activities that facilitate offshore oil and gas drilling or deep-sea mining, such as refining or trucking facilities, in industrially zoned areas. We urge everyone who is concerned about this threat to our coast, our environment and our way of life to submit your thoughts to cityplan@santacruzca.gov.

Rights of Nature is a growing legal and cultural movement that recognizes ecosystems — like rivers, forests, and oceans — as living entities with inherent rights to exist, thrive, and regenerate. Instead of treating nature solely as property, this framework gives communities a legal tool to defend the natural world when it’s threatened. We are a grassroots working group pursuing a ballot initiative to grant local ecological entities legal rights to exist and evolve. We're currently researching which ecosystem or species — such as the San Lorenzo River, salmon, or wildlife corridors — should be the focus of the policy. We need researchers now, and will need help with communications and signature collection as we move forward. We hope you will join us. Please visit our website HERE.

The UC Santa Cruz Arboretum & Botanic Garden relies on 100+ volunteers year-round to keep this place growing! By volunteering you become part of a community that directly supports the Arboretum’s overall mission to connect people with plants. No matter what group you work with, you will learn by working side by side with home gardeners, experienced and amateur naturalists, active and retired professionals as well as people who are just beginning to explore the world of plants. To become a volunteer at the Arboretum, prospective volunteers review available volunteer opportunities then fill out an online application form. More info HERE.

Do you love hands-on science and getting out in nature? Watsonville Wetlands Watch partners with the City of Watsonville and County of Santa Cruz to regularly collect water quality data at a number of sites throughout the Watsonville Slough System. Join our water quality testing team and help us monitor the health of our sloughs in Watsonville! You'll receive basic training in water quality testing methods. We provide volunteers free snacks on the day of our monthly water quality data collection. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old and able to hike on rugged or muddy terrain. For more info, or to sign up, email Geniva HERE.