Get Involved

Several members of the public and park staff look at large maps pinned to the wall at a meeting to discuss future park plans.

Big Basin Redwoods State Park is an iconic landscape that hosts rich natural and cultural resources, recreational opportunities, and cherished memories for many Californians. California State Parks celebrates all the ways in which park neighbors, partners, and the broader public want to get involved in the recovery and reimagination of Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

During the Reimagining Big Basin Visioning Process (2021-2022), California State Parks gathered feedback on the vision and guiding principles for future planning at Big Basin Redwoods State Park, including for the BBFMP. These participation activities and their resulting feedback are catalogued in the Compendium of Community Engagement and are incorporated in the Vision Summary.

Throughout the planning process for the Big Basin Redwoods State Park Facilities Management Plan (BBFMP), there will be several opportunities to participate, which are outlined on this page.

Overview of Participation Opportunities

The BBFMP has three planning phases between Summer 2023 and 2025. Each of these phases will include a series of public engagement opportunities and consultation with experts and park partners. California State Parks will work intentionally and creatively to reduce barriers to participation for groups that are less likely to be represented in the planning process. The diagram below illustrates a summary of these engagement activities.

Current and Upcoming Participation Opportunities

Throughout the BBFMP process, public participation opportunities will be presented is this section and will be publicized through social media, e-newsletters, and other channels. If you would like to receive updates about opportunities to participate, please provide your email in the form at the bottom of this page.

Past Participation Opportunities

As public participation opportunities are completed throughout the Reimagining Big Basin and BBFMP process, they will be presented in this section.

Volunteer Opportunities

A large group of people are posing happily around a wooden entryway outline over a road. In the middle is a banner reading Welcome Back To Big Basin.

Recovery

Opportunities to help out on the ground are currently limited due to site conditions. However, we encourage you to complete the Big Basin Recovery Volunteer Application. California State Parks will contact you when opportunities come up that fit your skills and interests.

Interpretive

California State Parks works with docents who interact with the public and share their knowledge of Big Basin at a “staging area” near the park entrance. Docent trainings occur annually. To apply, fill out the interpretive volunteer application.

Donate

As a public agency, California State Parks does not receive donations. However, the following four non-profit partners are collecting donations to support recovery efforts at Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Click the links below to learn about these organizations.

Logo of Mountain Parks Foundation

Mountain Parks Foundation

Donate to MPF’s Big Basin Recovery Fund

Mountain Parks Foundation (MPF) is a nonprofit organization that has been providing resources to enrich visitors’ experiences at Big Basin and Henry Cowell since 1973. MPF funded the Big Basin Nature Museum and Research Center scheduled to open in early 2021 before it was destroyed by the fire. MPF has established a recovery and restoration fund exclusively dedicated to rebuilding Big Basin.

Sempervivens Fund

Donate to Sempervirens Fund’s Big Basin’s Future Fund

Sempervirens Fund is California’s first land trust and the only organization dedicated exclusively to protecting the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains. California State Parks is planning for Big Basin’s Future following the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex wildfires, and your support can help Sempervirens Fund participate in the planning, designing, and rebuilding of Big Basin.

Logo of Save the Redwoods League

Save the Redwoods League

Donate to Save the Redwoods League’s Wildfire Fund

Save the Redwoods League is one of the nation’s longest-running conservation organizations that has been protecting and restoring redwood forests since 1918. The League has created a Wildfire Fund to ensure work crews, scientists, and other project team members have the funding needed to help speed the reopening of Big Basin Redwoods State Park and create fire-ready redwood forests.

Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks

Donate to the Friends’ Fire Relief Fund

Friends is a vital partner with California State Parks, creatively working to ensure our cherished local parks and beaches are thriving and available to all. They created the Friends Fire Relief Fund for direct, short-term assistance as well as longer-term recovery efforts at Big Basin Redwoods State Park and other parks in the Santa Cruz Mountains impacted by the CZU Lightning Complex Fire.