Loma Prieta Museum

Don’t miss this interesting and educational presentation about native redwood trees of the Santa Cruz Mountains at the Loma Prieta Elementary School Forum, on Thursday, February 27, at 7 p.m. Mark Vande Pol has done extensive research on native plants and trees of the Santa Cruz Mountains. He has a native- plant garden to tour in the spring. He is a fourth-generation Californian and grew up in the Bay Area. His parents were Sierra Club members and took him camping throughout his childhood. He is an engineering graduate of Harvey Mudd College.

Mark and his wife built their home in the Santa Cruz Mountains with the desire to save a piece of California, as he knew it as a child. The goal is for the property to function as a laboratory to restore the land and learn more about how we might use and benefit from native plants. Mark has written books about native-plant management.

This presentation will explore how the redwood tree has responded to changes in human forest management since the Spanish Conquest in 1769. We have many more stands now than stood at that time. Accumulating fuels are now a serious threat to the wellbeing of redwood-forest health, and to those precious remaining pre- colonial stands, as we learned from the CZU Lightning Complex Fires.

Theatre in the Mountains The Little Mermaid Cheryl Mennen Join us this month for Theatre in the Mountains’ middle-school production of The Little Mermaid. Come see Ariel, Flounder, Sebastian, and friends as they battle Ursula under the sea. The performances will be Friday through Sunday, February 7 to 9, in the Loma Prieta gymnasium. Get your tickets now to help support our young stars.

Scan this QR code to reach the box office. Theatre in the Mountains is currently looking for more directors, designers, and production staff. If you have a love for theater and want to get involved in our , email theatreinthemountains@ gmail.com.

Some of the data are surprising, as preservation as a policy has not been kind to those ancient trees. Just as important has been the damage done to redwood forest- floor biodiversity. The history of the 235 years since the Spanish burn ban can teach us a lot about what we can do to make things better.

In the spring we will have the opportunity to tour Mark’s native-plant Wildergarden. The tour date will be available at the time of his presentation on the 27th. Also at this event, Dr. Stephen Payne, Santa Cruz Mountain historian, will be signing his recent printing of A Howling Wilderness. You can get a signed copy of the book for a $25 donation to the Loma Prieta Museum.

Check our website at www. LomaPrietaMuseum.org to learn more about the Loma Prieta Museum and upcoming local history events. Email us your ideas, so we can provide future events that are of interest to you. If you would like us to continue with free community events, let us know by donating. We need volunteers and funds to continue these events. Email us at LomaPrietaMuseum@gmail.com, or make a tax-deductible donation to “LPCF” with a footnote “For LPM” and mail to LPM, 22951 Summit Road, Los Gatos, CA 95033.