The city’s new naturalist is revealing the impact of preservation in the woods

Many people, especially senior citizens, have been reserved about going for walks in Pogonip due to its reputation for homeless camps and potential violence. However, as Browning says, “It has become a lot safer and cleaner since Measure H passed. Three more park rangers have been hired here and we busted eight people today (Sunday June 8) who had camps set up.” Pogonip’s 640 acres have been renowned for being an ideal place for people to camp out whether they can’t pay rent, are on the run from prison, or have harsh drug addiction. Now that Santa Cruz has hired Browning to step up and help patrol the area, illegal camping out is no longer a safe bet.

Hikers follow Browning up Golf Club Drive, leading to the old Golf Club House, now boarded and closed to the public. Upon reaching the field overlooking Santa Cruz, Browning explains how Dorothy Deming Wilson (1895-1975), Pogonip’s founder, came to turn what was formerly a golf course into the polo grounds for the nation’s first women’s polo team in 1937. Deming went on to create the first Women’s Mounted Corps to assist the Red Cross during World War II.

Oaks, firs, and redwoods overhang, lining the trail, covering it with shade along the ridge between the water sheds ascending Pogonip past the old Golf Club House. The history hike, described as moderate to difficult, involves a few steep paths worth sweating for. Browning’s other expedition, the nature hike, sets out earlier in the day and rates moderate, but easy enough for slow goers and the elderly.

Ferns, trees and blooming forget-me-nots burst out of the historic preserved limekilns or “pot kilns.” The lime industry prior to the twentieth century was peaking in Santa Cruz. Browning suggests that, “The cement company in Davenport may have influenced the decline of the lime industry.” The walk to the quarry atop the limekilns displays a tiny village some hiker has carefully placed in a nook of the limestone. Complete with tiny figurines, a disco ball, guitar pick and other small trinkets, the little civilization lightens the moderately difficult hike with a chuckle from Browning and his hiking troops.

Heading back down the Spring Box trail, the hiking group emerges into an open meadow overlooking the city and Monterey Bay. Browning takes this picturesque moment to point out that, “Santa Cruz County has more parks per acre than any other county in California.” The only county to house more variations of plant and animal life in the state is Santa Barbara, with Santa Cruz following a close second, despite Santa Barbara’s massive size.  

On the trail, Browning is careful to point out different types of plants and animals, both local and invasive foreign ones. Among the edible plants Browning suggests sampling are blackberries, black cap raspberries, yerba buena, hedge nettle, and young fir needles. Eucalyptus trees, originally from Australia, also line some of the paths through Pogonip. Eucalyptus, along with vinka or periwinkle, and rattlesnake grass are a few of the invasive plant species that threaten the natural habitat of the land. “The greenbelt initiative kept this land preserved,” says Browning. “Taxpayers are making it possible to preserve places like this. We need to raise that awareness so it doesn’t get developed.”

Volunteer work with the state parks initially got Browning involved in his work as a naturalist. “Volunteering is very important. Without volunteers there is no hope of clearing out invasive plants and keeping places like this clean and preserved,” says Browning. One of the issues people working in parks like Pogonip face is deciding what stays preserved from what invasive species to remove. In one section along the trek back to Golf Club Drive, Browning stops to talk about the fenced and preserved pool surrounded by a grove of eucalyptus sheltering the massive amounts of vinka growing beneath. “This area is being preserved, as you can see,” says Browning. “But what is also being preserved is the eucalyptus and vinka which are choking out native plants, killing them.” Browning is optimistic that by showing people in the area what he knows on his hikes, they will too be inspired to volunteer for the parks or they will at least want to take advantage of living in such a pristine and beautifully preserved area.

“I really love this job,” says Browning. “I get to learn all kinds of new things constantly from researching and by meeting people in my groups who are very knowledgeable.” Browning is careful to point out details on the trails that speak loudly about the actions and history of Santa Cruz, sudden oak death being one of the forest killers Browning can show examples of on the walk. Park foresters had previously come into the park to remove infected oak branches to keep sudden oak death from spreading. However, what the tree maintenance did not know that Browning recently discovered, is by cutting branches infected with sudden oak and using the same blade on uninfected trees, sudden oak death is spread similarly as the shared use of a dirty needle between two people.

Important information like this is the reason why Browning is needed in Santa Cruz parks. Browning has much knowledge to share on his tours, yet is always fascinated to hear stories from his companions about their experiences and varied sources of facts and anecdotes. “I love learning about nature and history,” says Browning. “This job has been like going back to college in the way it forces me to learn. It’s great.” 

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