The Future of Santa Cruz Rail and Trail Would be Best BY Sally Arnold Clean, Quiet, Modern Rail Can Connect Community, FamiliesAmidst all the losses, inconveniences and parenting challenges inflicted by the pandemic, there have been some positive changes as well. Worldwide air pollution has reduced, more people are using bicycles, and as supplies in the stores are short, we’re learning how to be more efficient with what we have. We also have a window of opportunity now to create a Santa Cruz County that is safer and better connected for everyone who travels to school, work, and play here. We have the opportunity to create a new system of…
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Locals Fight to Save their Community
Locals Fight to Save Their Mountain Community by Kevin painchaud and christy shults Since the lightning siege that began on Saturday, August 15, 2020, there have been nearly 14,000 lightning strikes. There have been more than 800 new wildfires during this time period, which have now burned over 1.4 million acres.– CalFire Update August 29, 2020 California’s wildfire season has started early this year, and CalFire is working on all cylinders. The CZU August Lightning Fire was still at 0% containment. Things were looking very dire on August 21, 2020 when photographer Kevin Painchaud interviewed the residents of Bonny Doon holding a protest to get more help for the Santa…
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Crisis Self Care
Crisis Self Care Stress Management for Times of Crisis BY gretchen heimsoth Pre-COVID, I had a borderline-religious health regimen. Along with varied exercise 4 to 6 times a week, I followed a plant-heavy, paleo-inspired diet, and did intermittent fasting. COVID hit and it smashed my routine. No spin class, no infrared sauna—my bodywork therapies went out the window. On top of that, the kids were home nonstop, with the stress of distance learning. I started eating late, my sleep patterns got smashed, I gained a little weight, and I started feeling slow and achy. I had to face the music and create more structure in my life. I felt the…
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Burn to Not Burn
Burn to Not Burn by jonathan collyer As I write from a rudimentary “office,” having been evacuated from our home near the CZU Lightning Complex Fire, San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties have lost 80,000 acres of forest and some 500 hundred or so structures. Across the state, what is being called “the August Lightning Siege of 2020” has brought the years destruction to 1.4 million acres and the fire season is far from finished.(1) 2020 may break all previous records for acres burned, but those records were set in 2017, 2008 and 2018 respectively. All but three of the “top 20 largest California wildfires have occurred since 2000, with…
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Wilfire Resources
Wildfire Resources BY Christy Shults View of the fire from Graham Hill Road in Felton Photo by Kara Capaldo The old-timers and local firefighters always said the San Lorenzo Valley was a tinder box, a fire here would be catastrophic. It has been long since a fire has run through our Valley, but fateful events mark 2020. Our newsfeeds were filled with spectacular imagery of the lightning storm, bolts touching the earth. While we were all in awe, our mountains began to burn, the skies filled with ominous smoke and flickering flames. Our hearts dropped as the evacuations came in. Some families were getting knocks on their doors in the…
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The First Few Days
The First Few Days Volunteering with Evacuated Animals by louanne myers Louanne Myers, retired teacher from San Lorenzo Valley USD, wrote down her thoughts about volunteering at the Fairgrounds with two young family members in the days following evacuations from the CZU Lightning Complex fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains. They helped out in the open barns housing goats, pigs, alpacas, llamas, sheep, and a few farm dogs that were staying with their charges. They also gave support in the small animal barns that housed cats, birds, rabbits, chickens, ducks and more. It was difficult to express the deep emotions, strength and compassion of the people, adaptation of the animals…
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Home Learning
Make Your Home an Ideal Learning Environment by jan pierce You are your child’s first teacher and your home is your child’s first school. You spend a good bit of time every day setting the tone for behaviors, encouraging first steps, and pouncing on those teachable moments to mold your children into the happy and successful people you want them to be. But, are you missing some opportunities to support your child’s learning? Kids will thrive in a home that makes learning a priority and creates the proper balance between direct teaching and “give it a go on your own” kinds of involvement. Every child needs a different blend of…
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Theme Park Season
Covid-19 Claims 2020 Theme Park Season By Erik Chalhoub Because 2020 won’t stop rearing its ugly head, the California theme park season is essentially over, despite the fact that it’s still summer. It’s September, but the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s rides remain closed, and likely will continue to be so through the rest of the year as the public health order is in effect indefinitely. California’s Great America and Gilroy Gardens, which never opened in 2020, announced in August that they will forget about this year and instead focus on 2021. Disneyland thought it was going to reopen in July, but pulled the plug as Covid-19 cases began to rise…
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Editors Note Sept
September Editor’s Note BY Brad kava Sometimes it seems like things can’t get any worse. Covid-19, deadly fires, a crashing economy, a country torn apart with Civil War-like ferocity…what’s a Santa Cruz parent supposed to do? While family magazines have gone out of business across the country during this time, the staff at Growing Up in Santa Cruz thinks it’s the most important time to keep going and get people information that can help them deal with troubling times. We will continue printing a physical magazine, distributed for free around the county and an online version, thanks to the support of dedicated and loyal advertisers. This issue helps answer a…
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Fires and Real Estate
What’s the Future of Real Estate After the Fires? BY SEB FREY It’s a nightmare. That’s really the best word I can come up with to describe the fire burning still in Santa Cruz as I write this. Cal Fire calls it the CZU Lighting Complex Fire, but I find that name really cumbersome, and too clinical. Calling it that, for me, disassociates the inferno from the communities and the lives that it’s torched. A week or so ago, an acquaintance of mine posted on Facebook that he thought this fire would be remembered as the worst thing to happen to Santa Cruz county since the Loma Prieta Earthquake of…
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Outdoor Learning
Why Outdoor Learning? Mount Madonna School Prepares for a Fall 2020 Return to Campus By Ann Goewert, Ph.D. There is something magical about learning outdoors, and Mount Madonna School’s (MMS) 375 acres of land includes groves of coastal redwoods and live oaks, mountain meadows, chaparral, and ponds. The ecological tapestry of biomes, rich with diverse life forms, provides an unmatched outdoor laboratory for our educators to engage students in a broad variety of learning experiences and opportunities, from the art of crafting stories to scientific inquiry and experimentation. Immersing students in nature and outdoor learning develops the whole student. Outdoor learning fuels the mind and ignites all of the senses.…
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Aug Coloring
August Coloring Page Jim Booth Swim Schools in Santa Cruz and Watsonville are teaching one on one classes: “We’re still swimming! Give us a call 831-722-3500. Come hop in!”
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Summer Stone Fruits
Summer Stone Fruits The Advantage of Seasonal Eating by gretchen heimsoth *Recipe card at the end of article Summer is upon us! The time of year that stone fruits make their appearance in the farmers’ markets and local produce purveyors. The family of stone fruits includes cherries, plums, pluots, apricots, nectarines, and peaches. Lesser known in the family are avocados, which are also in supply at the local markets with a wide variety, and mangoes, which sadly for Northern California are not local. Mangoes are delicious and rich in nutrients. But for this feature, I am going to focus on locally grown stone fruit and save avocadoes for another conversation.…
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Which School
Private School? Homeschool? Public School? Let’s Look at the Options for 2020 By Suki Wessling At the time of this writing, one month before school starts, a lot of school parents are in limbo, not knowing what school will look like for their students. Some are considering alternatives to their neighborhood schools. So what are the options? Move to private school?Most local private schools have announced plans to reopen site-based instruction part- or full-time. If you’ve been thinking about trying private school anyway, this may be a good time to explore the options. Smaller schools do have more flexibility. However, all schools will have to change their plans if the…
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Pandemic Child Care
Six Ways to Care for Kids During the Pandemic By Suki Wessling Throughout the time that I homeschooled my children, I also worked. Most of the homeschooling parents I knew also worked, at least part-time. A few of them were wealthy enough to afford professional childcare, but they were the exception to the rule. Most of us took part in the informal childcare economy that homeschooling often requires. In this article, I’ll attempt to lay out a framework for a variety of ways to get care for your children during this pandemic, but of course, it will be necessary for you to look at your own household and think creatively.…
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Jovanna Vera
Jovanna Vera LOCAL ARTIST When I was young, I loved arts and crafts and found out that I enjoyed being creative. However, it wasn’t until I started high school that I began to pursue art passionately and started focusing on improving my technical skills. I’ve had the opportunity to work as an assistant art teacher a few times in different schools and teach arts and crafts at the Castroville Public library before the state lockdown began. I even got to work on an art website for six years. I love art, and I love to share my passion with others and to get others to enjoy it as I do.…
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Chinese Medicine
A Doctor of Chinese Medicine By Jeanette Prather “From what we’ve seen in Chinese medicine, COVID-19 is really going to take root and be a harder disease for patients who have cold lungs and cold digestive systems,” local doctor of Chinese medicine, Dr. Nihal Kaur, offered freely. “This means no sugar, sweets, ice cream, drinks, etc., but rather hot drinks like tea, soups and broth are best. Make sure that your digestive system is warm, with a combination of ginger and licorice tea being the best.” This is just one of the small anecdotes that Dr. Kaur offers her patients via online sessions instead of her traditional in-person appointments. Dr.…
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Dominican Best for Baby
Only the Best for Baby and Mama Newsweek Recognizes Dominican Hospital as a Best Maternity Care Hospital Distinction places the hospital among just 231 medical facilities nationwide recognized for superior maternity care SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (July 17, 2020) Dignity Health Dominican Hospital has been designated as one of Newsweek’s Best Maternity Care Hospitals 2020. According to Newsweek, this honor recognizes Dominican for its extraordinary service to mothers, newborns, and families in our community. To compile the list, a panel of experts set rigorous requirements and reviewed key data. They looked for hospitals with low rates of C-section, episiotomy, and early elective deliveries, and that follow crucial protocols to protect mothers…
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Aug Editor Note
Editor’s Note As if our country wasn’t divided enough, we now have important questions splitting our local community every day. Should we send kids back to school as the president has firmly advocated? Is distance learning a valid replacement for classroom teaching? Should we find private schools that have found ways to do in-person teaching? Should we home school, or form pods and hire teachers to teach kids in small, safe groups? What can we do to keep the education fair and available for everyone? Are only families with enough money for private schools going to be able to get their kids a good education? Should we be wearing masks?…
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Staff Bios
Brad Kava – Owner | Editor Brad Kava is a lifelong journalist who got his start working for Santa Cruz weeklies and then spent many years commuting over the hill to newspapers in San Jose and Gilroy. When he had a son four years ago with Jennifer Ford, he found a way to stay in the county he loves and writes about what he was learning: raising kids. He has two teenaged stepchildren with Jennifer and together they are plugged into the spectrum of child-rearing from birth to almost college. Their bold adventure together inspires them to put out a resource for local families and all the challenges they face.…
