Volunteer French Broom Pull near Highway 17 Wildlife Crossing

The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County invites you to join us for a morning of invasive W**d management—pulling French broom—near the Highway 17 Wildlife Crossing! This is a unique volunteer opportunity to visit an impactful project that is not usually open to the public and supports local wildlife.

Upon completion of the Highway 17 Wildlife Crossing, our staff has noticed an extensive amount of French broom growing on the lands surrounding the undercrossing. We need YOUR help pulling this invasive plant to maintain critical habitat for wildlife.

• When: Saturday, March 15, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM*
• Where: Glenwood Cutoff, Scotts Valley, CA 95066 (We will be working on private property and public access outside of this event is prohibited; the address and detailed directions will be sent via a reminder email one day before the event)

Our goal for this volunteer day is to provide our community with an opportunity to see why this land was protected to establish the Highway 17 wildlife crossing, manage invasive plants, have fun, and care for the incredible spaces that keep Santa Cruz wild. We hope to see you there!

*Extreme weather and/or red flag days will cancel

Due to the location of the work area, participants must be 16+ years of age. Signed volunteer waivers are required for all participants.

If you are under 18 years of age, please have your legal guardian sign the liability waiver before/upon arrival and email Events Manger, Audrelina Mendiola-Arriola, at [email protected] for more information.

The Land Trust will provide hard copies for participants to sign day-of. If you would like to review/print beforehand, please find the liability waiver here.

• 10:00 am – Meet and greet with coffee and pastries
• 10:15 am – Land acknowledgement, project brief, and safety talk
• 10:30 am – Walk to work site and pull French broom
• 12:45 pm – Wrap up and walk back to parking area
• 1:00 pm – End of event

• A filled reusable water bottle, to-go coffee cup, and snacks in a packable bag. Please leave no trace.
• Long sleeve shirt, pants, a hat or other sun protection, and good shoes suitable for hiking on uneven terrain. Preparing for rainy and sunny weather conditions is highly recommended.
• Personal work gloves (and W**d wrenches) are encouraged but not required. No power tools please.
• If you are allergic to bees/yellowjacket wasps, please bring your prescribed epinephrine pen and/or allergy medications.

• Coffee, water (for reusable water bottles), trail snacks, and pastries!
• Work gloves, a limited supply of W**d wrenches, and other hand tools to get the job done.
• First aid

• Volunteers will walk up to a half mile with their personal gear and tools to and from the work site.
• Poison oak can be found in the work area. Please be mindful of your surroundings. We will have Technu wipes on hand for folks to use throughout the workday.
• Ticks can also be found in the field. Always do a tick check before you get into your vehicle!
• All updates about the event will be communicated via email. Please register with a valid email to attend.

Please contact Events Manager, Audrelina Mendiola-Arriola at [email protected] or (831) 281-0386.

The Highway17 wildlife tunnel at Laurel Curve provides long-ranging wildlife — most notably black-tailed deer and mountain lions —with safe passage under the heavily trafficked highway. The UCSC Puma Project and Pathways for Wildlife used information from collared pumas, wildlife cameras, and animal-vehicle collision data to determine this area as the optimal location for a wildlife crossing. Their report garnered support and buy-in from Caltrans, elected officials, several major funders, Land Trust members, and the surrounding community.

The stretch of highway at Laurel Curve is built over large natural drainage, creating the ideal place to install a large box culvert. The roadway above serves as a bridge. The undercrossing is wider and more welcoming for wildlife than a tunnel.

To learn more about the Highway 17 Wildlife Crossing, visit our website here.

Land Trust members know Santa Cruz County is where the wild things are! A donation to the Land Trust directly supports our work to improve wildlife connectivity, preserve and protect farmland, and build new trails that connect our community to Santa Cruz's wild spaces—and makes you a Land Trust member! Together, we are improving wildlife connectivity from the Santa Cruz Mountains to the Gabilan Range by protecting habitats and building wildlife crossings. We’re restoring flood-prone farmland back to wild wetland habitat. And we’re building trails that connect our community to Santa Cruz's wild spaces.

A gift of any size makes a difference! Let's work together to preserve our outdoor spaces for all wild things, big or small! Make a gift to support our county’s wild things.

By attending this event, I hereby grant Land Trust of Santa Cruz County permission to use my likeness in photograph(s) in any publications or publicity materials (including but not limited to books, newsletters, videos and Web use), in perpetuity. Please email [email protected] if you have questions or concerns about photo permissions.

Host or Publisher Land Trust of Santa Cruz County