Welcome to the Santa Cruz Mountains Reserve, UC Santa Cruz’s newest Natural Reserve!
About the Reserve
The Santa Cruz Mountains Reserve is UC Santa Cruz’s newest Natural Reserve. Explore a variety of habitats including coastal prairies, streams, wetlands, coastal scrub, oak woodland, and redwood forests, all within 25-35 minutes from campus. We work with a diverse group of land managers, agencies, and organizations in order to provide learning opportunities for students while providing research and biological monitoring across the region.
Partners and Collaborators
From the fire-scarred forests of San Vicente Redwoods, to the coastal prairies of Cotoni-Coast Dairies, stretching northwest to the bar-built estuaries of Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve; the Santa Cruz Mountains Reserve is a collective of partnering lands and organizations that allows us to learn and work collaboratively on understanding key ecologic trends and patterns across the region. Learn more about our patterns and collaborators here.
Internships
Looking to gain experience working outdoors on a number of biological and ecological surveys and research questions? The Santa Cruz Mountains Reserve has year round opportunities to work on a number of projects across our partner lands. Internships include surveying for amphibians,reptiles, mammals, birds, aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, and forest plant communities in response to wildfire and forestry management. Apply today!
In our First 2 years:
102
Interns
55
Course Visits
699
Students from Courses
21
Collaborating Partners
30
Research Projects
22,958+
Accessible Acres
Latest News and Events from the Santa Cruz Mountains Reserve:
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Winter 2025 Internship Application Now Open!
Ten Week Internships starting Winter Quarter 2025 – Monday, January 6th, 20252 unit Internships through the ENVS Internship Office or Volunteering Internships available: Background: The Santa Cruz Mountain Reserve (SCMR) is a new collaboration between UC Santa Cruz’s Natural Reserve System and regional partners in the Santa Cruz Mountains. SCMR plans to help partnership agencies…
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EEB Resource Fair
Find the UCSC Natural Reserves at the EEB Resources Fair Tuesday September 26th at the Coastal Campus Plaza from 10am-12:30pm!
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New Website
Welcome to the Santa Cruz Mountains Reserve’s new website!