Fellow naturalists,

Mark your calendars now for June 3-5, 2022, a weekend to celebrate 50 years of natural history at UC Santa Cruz!

This coming year will mark the 50th spring since Ken Norris started the first natural history field class at UC Santa Cruz. Since then, the Natural History Field Quarter (NHFQ) course continues to inspire a new cohort of students each year helping them develop nature-focused careers and lives.

Along with all of NHFQ's cohorts, we're excited to celebrate this 50th year with everyone-- students, alumnus, staff, faculty, and Santa Cruz community members -- who feel part of the UCSC natural history community. Today, this community embraces those who've developed a love for natural history through numerous field classes and programs, our outdoor recreation department, at our natural reserves, the CASFS Farm, the Arboretum, the Seymour Center, and the Ken Norris Center for Natural History.

This year is also a critical time to strengthen our ties as a naturalist community and especially to support the young diverse generation of naturalists who are beginning their post-college lives and careers amidst major global challenges. Ken once said, "Just as we perceive our commonality of purpose, we grow more accepting of each others diversity. The poet, the artist, the teacher, and the scientist become equal partners in our seeking." More than ever, the natural world and all of us need our diverse talents, our love, our wonder, and our work.

Our big event will happen on June 3-5, 2022. We have reserved a large summer camp for an entire weekend in the Santa Cruz Mountains. We hope you will join us to reminisce, celebrate, network, and envision what the next 50 years of natural history will look like at UC Santa Cruz. We also plan to have smaller events throughout the year leading up to this big celebration.

For now, pencil in June 3-5, 2022 on your calendars and stay tuned for official registration information to go live in October. In addition to finding financial sponsors for this event, we will offer a sliding scale registration fee that we hope will make this event accessible to all who wish to participate.

Finally, please forward this on to your UCSC friends and colleagues who would want to know about this celebration. We're excited to see many of you this coming year and especially in June!

Chris Lay, Norris Center Director and NHFQ Instructor

Planning Committee for 50 Years of Natural History at UCSC Celebration