As we celebrate our 46th anniversary this month, we’re reflecting on the many stories of the lands we all love throughout Monterey County. We are excited to share “A Corridor of Change,” an interactive story map about the ecology and history of Big Sur Land Trust’s conserved property at Marks Ranch in Salinas.
In 2023, students from the Middlebury Social Impact Corps at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies immersed themselves in studying and experiencing Marks Ranch. They spent over 600 volunteer hours creating this story map which presents original research and institutional knowledge in an engaging, easy to use format. If you’d like to learn more about these inspiring humans, you can see their bios here. We are beyond grateful for all of their efforts!
Want to learn even more about the history of Big Sur Land Trust? Check out this story map that covers the lands we currently own, the voluntary land conservation agreements (also known as conservation easements), and the many land transfers we’ve made to partner public agencies.
We also have a fantastic story map on our park project at Carr Lake! See it here.
Post-Storm Update
Like many places around Monterey County, Glen Deven Ranch in Big Sur, Marks Ranch in Salinas, and Mitteldorf Preserve in Carmel Valley all suffered varying degrees of damage. All hiking trails are closed until further notice. Please check our hike request page for the latest updates.
One of the most demanding jobs for our stewardship team is keeping our nature preserves open for emergency service access and safe for hikers. You can help by donating today!
Carr Lake Weed Warriors Volunteer Event
Saturday, February 17
9:00am – 12:00pm
Carr Lake
With the recent rain, the native plant garden is thriving – and so are the weeds. We need several volunteers to help us maintain the garden, remove vegetation from the walkways, and pick up litter. Volunteers will work in the native garden to hand pull invasive plant species and pick up litter. Register >>