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Notes from Glenwood Preserve
by Land Trust Santa Cruz
on February 19, 2021

The past couple of months have brought many changes to the Glenwood Open Space Preserve. The big news is the improved entrance at West Glenwood. After several iterations and construction projects we’ve finally landed on a good flow for bicyclists and hikers at the west preserve.

The trail is now re-surfaced and rocked, and the city of Scott’s Valley installed a nice new stairway for folks parking on K street. The improved channel will help take water off the slope, preventing the erosion we saw last winter. We’ve got a few more finishing touches, but it’s looking good!

During the fires last August, Santos pond was used as a water source for firefighting. We feared the western pond turtles were scooped up, but we are happy to report we are seeing them again. Whew! Please enjoy viewing the turtles but give them some space. They need basking time to keep their shells healthy.

We had our first trail failure during this past large storm. A small section of land at east Glenwood slumped onto the trail. Our experts came out and advised us to “ramp” the trail to protect the hill from more erosion. We had hoped to plant native vegetation in the area for extra reinforcement, but the lack of rain has made survival transplants improbable.

We plan to get out there next year and get some planting done. Volunteer day anyone? We’ll bring the tools, snacks, and our big smiles 😊.

And speaking of seeing cool wildlife, have you checked out the red tailed hawk that isn’t so red? You can see this beauty at East Glenwood.

Thank you to our new volunteer, Orenda Randuch for that great photo.

Happy trails to you all.

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