Big Basin Redwoods State Park secures $6 million gift to build new interpretive center

Six years after the devastating 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire burned 97% of Big Basin Redwoods State Park, California’s oldest state park has received its largest single private donation ever. The $6 million contribution from the Ranieri family of Los Altos—made through the nonprofit Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks in honor of the late Dr. Cesare Ranieri—will fully fund a new Redwood Ecology Interpretive Center in the heart of the old-growth forest. Executive Director Bonny Hawley joined the broadcast to discuss how the center will serve as the main orientation hub for visitors, outline the park's multi-phase rebuilding plan, and highlight how public visitation and future funding will help create a fire-resilient park for the future.