In this installment of Sheltered Spring, I’m inviting you to West Cliff. This popular scenic drive is one of my favorite things about Santa Cruz, California and in this episode I’m walking you through a typical meditative session at my West Cliff sit spot. I share my observations and the entries from my field journal to bring the California coast to wherever our listeners find themselves. Here, we appreciate the invasive ice plant for what it is and we get to know the popular surf spots along this portion of the coast!
As we get to know West Cliff, I’m hoping to amplify the beauty of exposure to nature as therapy. It’s something we probably all need after a year of pandemic restrictions. Reimagining everything for a digital space may have become our normal, but that just means we each need to start reaching for an emotional affinity toward nature.
Music:
Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7614-pleasant-porridge
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Sounds:
Audio from West Cliff Drive by Naomi San Jose
Audio from Mitchell’s Cove by Naomi San Jose
Audio from Dog Beach, West Cliff by Naomi San Jose
In this episode, Emily takes you on an audio tour of her chosen sit spot at the northwestern edge of UC Santa Cruz's East Meadow. She describes what she sees, hears, and experiences throughout her spring 2021 visits. She notes differences in temperature, plant life, and widlife based on the time of day she witnessed them and notes the changes between now and when she started this naturalist journey in early spring. She noticed many changes in the span of three months spent in the environment, and asks you to visualize them as she describes her surroundings.
Attributions:
31153__uataudio__walkmeddrygrass
167455__kneedless__fly01: https://freesound.org/s/167455/
466129__pianofarm__crows-attacking-red-tail-hawk-03-13-2019: https://freesound.org/s/466129/
479610__craigsmith__r30-34-red-tailed-hawk: https://freesound.org/s/479610/
Pollinator sounds by Alex Jones, used by permission
In this episode, Megan explores the many wonders of Arcata Community Forest in Arcata, California. Joined by the cacophony of the redwood forest, this episode reflects on a life changed by the pandemic, the importance of connectivity in disastrous times, and the fascinating nature of fungus. Interview snippet with Christian Schwarz. Christian Schwarz is a naturalist currently living in Santa Cruz, the land of milk (caps) and honey (mushrooms). He studied Ecology and Evolution at UCSC, and now spends his time photographing, teaching about, collecting, and researching macrofungi. He is coauthor of Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast. Fungi satisfy his curiosity with their seemingly endless forms – from the grotesque to the bizarre to the sublimely beautiful. Besides dabbling in mushroom taxonomy, he loves fish, plants, nudibranchs, moths, and dragonflies. He is passionate about ccommunity science, especially iNaturalist.
Credits:
Introduction music by Graham Davis
Music: Thinking Music by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4522-thinking-music
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Having observed a dramatic period of change in the first episode, we now look to studies of forest ecology in order to understand the implications of our observations, as well as to receive a general education on the functioning of forests. In this episode, Peter Wohlleben’s book “The Hidden Life of Trees” is used as the main source material from which quotes are taken and sections are paraphrased, however, other works are cited and sourced from as well. This episode will effectively initiate even the novice into knowledge of how forests function, though the study is one in which one can delve infinitely into. By the episodes completion, we’ll understand why we saw the levels of destruction we did in the first episode, as well as the connections between all the organisms we had observed.
Music Attributions:
Introduction Music: Graham Davis
Resource Attributions:
Bulk Forest Ecology Material: Peter Wohlleben’s ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’
VA Mycorrhizae Information: This Article by Randy Molina of USDA Forest Services
Related but not Directly Cited: This Article by Allison Arteaga Soergel off the UCSC Newscenter
This Article by Claire Willing from UC Berkeley
Soundscapes:
Pogonip, Santa Cruz, CA
Recorded by Matt Lee
Winter 2021
Tired of being stuck inside and staring at screens all day?. . yeah, me too. So let’s go on an adventure through the forests surrounding the UC Santa Cruz campus and appreciate the beauty of the trees. This first episode documents the changes I observed after a huge wind storm swept through Santa Cruz, ensuring it did not pass unnoticed by tearing apart the canopies and shedding countless leaves and branches. These events and the subsequent observations bear intrigue and prompt us to investigate forest ecology to understand what role they play in the dynasties of forests. So listen in to wet your ecological appetite.
Music Attributions:
Introduction Music: Graham Davis
Elevator Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJMK2lIReIg&t=4s
Soundscape
Assorted Field and Narration Recordings
Jan. 4th to Feb. 5th, 2021
Matt Lee, Santa Cruz, CA
Lagunitas Creek-->Pogonip
Sam-->Matt
Winter 2021
Sam here, after exploring my sit spot I decided to reach out of my environment and take on the lens of the Lagunitas wildlife. Animating the creeks and scenery, I examined the water quality and integrities Lagunitas Creek has. In this episode I research and analyse the importance the creek carries for the endangered coho salmon. With special guest Eric Ettlinger, I tackle previous questions on my observations that I have made in relation to human to environment relationships.
Featuring:
Eric Ettlinger: Aquatic Ecologist, Marin Municipal Water District
Braiding Sweetgrass narration by Kelley Tillman
Resources on the Matter:
Three sites mar otherwise Glowing beach water quality. (2020, February 06). Retrieved March 01, 2021. https://www.ptreyeslight.com/article/three-sites-mar-otherwise-glowing-beach-water-quality
County of Marin - news releases - BEACH water quality. (n.d.). Retrieved March 01, 2021.
https://www.marinwater.org
Kimmerer, Robin Wall. 2013. Braiding Sweetgrass. Milkweed Editions, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Music :
Resonance of the Gods by anankalisto
cloth_music.aif by james_longley
Piano - Fairy Tale Intro.wav by GregorQuende
Vibrant Steps: Sparkling Indie Shoegaze Intro Music by jjmarsan
Wind_magical_Aeolus_soaring.aif by Dynamicell
Soundscape:
Lagunitas Creek
Recorded by Sam Carreno
Winter 2021
In this episode I invite you to join me at a destination spot I hold dear to me. I’m Sam and I’d like to take us on the journey of exploring my sit spot and all it has to offer. In this episode I walk through my processes of capturing the thrill of the swimming holes called The Inkwells. I examine it during two different seasons and dive into the importance it carries within its natural ecology.From swimming holes to spawning creeks, let’s observe the relationships between humans and the environment.
Music:
Grahams Jam by Graham Davis
Soundscapes:
Rain Fall Through Trees by acollier123
Birdsong and crows in fog.aiff by andymanister
Gravel path countryside ambience.mp3 by watercool
People talking loud in the distance at late night - Outside Ambience by clawbase
Lagunita Creek Flow
Lagunitas,CA
By Samantha Carreno
Rainfall
Lagunitas,CA
By Samantha Carreno
Inkwells intro audio
By Samantha Carreno
Red-winged blackbirds settling in for the evening at Kalkar Quarry. Mild mannered humans conversing in the background; try not to get too distracted.
10 October 2020
Santa Cruz, CA
Recorded by Alex
What is this place— an abandoned rock quarry? A neighborhood park? Is that pond natural? Were those trees planted? These questions ran through my mind as I first stumbled upon this ”natural” space...
Welcome to Kalkar Quarry: a piece of land that has taken on a variety of identities throughout the past 200 years. As I got to know this place, I questioned and analyzed the definition of nature through the eyes of residents to the quarry, local mineralogy records, and even children’s outdoor education programs. Join me as I piece together the evolution of this space, and why it is so important to our past, present, and future community.
Check out https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8570621/kalkar-quarry-purchase/ for a few more things not mentioned in the podcast.
Special thanks to Ron Goodman, Kate Jaffe of Santa Cruz Kids in Nature, and Maddie's grandpa.
Episode written and produced by Maddie Pyorre
3:30 am rain and thunder from the event that sparked the CZU Lightning Complex Fire. Thunder so loud it made my car's "back-off" alarm sound.
16 August 2020
Aptos, CA
Recorded by Alex
At her sit spot in Escondido, California, Jessica notices a strange anomaly for fall 2020--clean air. This sparks some discussion and research into the impacts of climate change on California's now nearly year-round wildfire season.
Credits:
"The african moon lullaby-for danke" by Orlando51
Boruna, Alejandra. 2020. The science connecting wildfires to climate change. Published online at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/09/climate-change-increases-risk-fires-western-us/#:~:text=Increasing%20heat%2C%20changing%20rain%20and,they%20have%20in%20the%20past on 17 September 2020.
Coyote barks while sitting next to a backyard chiminea fire, wood a little wet (sizzlepops start part way through).
9 Dec 2020
Branciforte Creek, Santa Cruz, CA
Recorded by Alex
After smelling smoke from his sit spot in San Francisco, and the subsequent clean air as fall progressed, Razi remembers childhood visits to California Indian acorn grinding rocks. This episode recounts his research into the Traditional Ecological Knowledge and land management practices of California Indians that stewarded oak trees and their acorn crops.
Music credits:
1. Soundscape Premium - Nature and birds 1 by MINOR2GO
2. Armando by LiddellC
Relevant articles used for research:
Frederica Bowcutt "Tanoak Landscapes: Tending a Native American Nut Tree," Madroño 60(2), 64-86, (1 April 2013). https://doi.org/10.3120/0024-9637-60.2.64
Anderson, K. M., & Moratto, M. J. (1996). Native American Land-Use Practices and Ecological Impacts (Vol. 2, pp. 187-206) (United States, USGS). Davis, California: University of California, Centers for Water and Wildland Resources. https://pubs.usgs.gov/dds/dds-43/VOL_II/VII_C09.PDF
Anderson, K. M. (2007). Indigenous Uses, Management, and Restoration of Oaks of the Far Western United States (Vol. Technical note No.2) (United States, USDA, NRCS). Davis, California: National Plant Center.https://directives.sc.egov.usda.gov/OpenNonWebContent.aspx?content=25907.wba
Pileated woodpecker feeding pecks on Douglas-fir snag, with lots of bits of tree falling down around the base of the tree and the recorder. "Background" birds: red-shouldered hawk, pygmy nuthatch, chestnut-backed chickadee, American robin.
29 Dec 2020
Nisense Marks State Park, Aptos, CA
Recorded by Alex
Hello! I’m Jennifer, please join me on exploring Oso Flaco Lake and its surrounding areas. This podcast will give a general overview on the local oil industry and a specific spill that occurred under Unocal, and it’s relation to the land on the California central coast. This group of small towns have a story that can relate to many worldwide. It’s had to grapple with global struggles of the repercussions of industry and current day efforts for remediation and restoration. If you want to read more depth of the history of the oil spills on the central coast here are some sources that have covered the Guadalupe Oil Spill specifically:
“Huge Oil Spill Cleanup Advances” - Sally Ann Connell
“Silent Spill: The Organization of Industrial Crisis - Carol M. Parker
Music Attribution:
“Nostalgia of an ex gangsta rapper” by deef is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike.
Morning birds adajcent to Valencia Creek, Polo Dr. Highway One and Soquel Ave in the background. And camcorder noise too. But hey. It's real life. Oak titmouse, acorn woodpecker, California scrub jay, American robin, oak titmouse, American crow, European starling, and likely other stuff too.
2 November 2020
Recorded by Alex (audio ripped from some acorn woodpecker video footage)