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50 Years of Wonder Celebrating UCSC's First Half-Century of Natural History

Join us June 3–5, 2022 under the redwoods at YMCA Camp Jones Gulch (map location) in the Santa Cruz Mountains to celebrate 50 years of natural history education at UC Santa Cruz. This 3-day gathering will bring together the UCSC natural history community, including alumni, faculty and staff, current students, and community members. Be there to help us honor the legacy of learning that Ken Norris inspired with UCSC’s first field natural history courses.

What’s included in your registration (see pricing below):

• two nights in an indoor private room or cabin (private rooms are limited- reserve now) 

or

• two nights of camping in your own tent, car, or van/RV with access to bathrooms and showers 

and 

• five meals (vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options available) starting with Friday dinner through Sunday breakfast, access to Jones Gulch camp large outdoor pool and hiking trails.
• talks, networking sessions, music gatherings and other activities! Check out the draft program here.

Note: The registration fee is per person; kids 12 and under attend for free. The number of private rooms is limited, so book early if you prefer a private room. We ask that everyone arrive on Friday and stay for the entire weekend; we cannot offer a reduced registration cost for a partial stay or Saturday-only fee. Anyone with specific food concerns can bring their own food and cook it themselves in some of the smaller kitchens on the property; however, we can't offer a discounted fee for not eating the communal food. 

Accommodations and prices 

Private indoor accommodations: $250 per adult. These are limited in number, with roughly 100-200 spaces depending on how many are willing to share a cabin with 2+ people.

Private indoor accommodations options are divided into three categories:

• Single private rooms: there are only a handful of these- book early if you really want one!
• Double private rooms: there are roughly 22 double private rooms that can house a total of 44 folks
• Cabins: 2-10 people per cabin. These are standard "summer camp" cabins with bunk beds in one or two large rooms. There are many of these!

NOTE: When you register for private indoor accommodations, please register everyone in your party as guests on your registration form. For instance, if you want a private room for 2, please register your second person as a guest. If you want to share a cabin with 6 other people, please register yourself and 5 guests.  For families- cabins will probably be your best option, though some private 2-person rooms could work well with very small children.  For those with mobility concerns- there are several indoor accommodations that are fully ADA accessible, etc.  Please contact us directly at norriscenter@ucsc.edu for specific questions. 

Outdoor camping accommodations- $150 per person  

This options includes camping in your car, RV/camper, or in a tent. There are many wonderful places to set up tents all over the property.  You can choose to be farther away from the center of camp or right in close to where all the activities will happen.

Special accommodation categories:

• Current UCSC students: $75 per person. Note this option is for camping only (ie. all UCSC students who pay this discounted price will need to camp in tents or in their vehicle). This option does not apply to students at other schools.
• Discounted outdoor camping price: $100 per adult. Please only choose this option if you are unable to afford the full camping price.
• Work-trade options: We will consider a limited number of work-trade spots. Please contact us at norriscenter@ucsc.edu if you want more information about these positions.
• Saturday-only: $75 per person: Arrive in the AM Saturday; includes lunch, dinner, and afternoon/evening activities.
• Saturday-only for current UCSC students: $40 per person.  Arrive in the AM Saturday; includes lunch, dinner, and afternoon/evening activities

Cancellation and Refunds

Cancellation Policy

If we have to cancel the gathering due to covid concerns or other reasons you will receive a full refund of your registration fee. 

If you decide to cancel:

For all cancelations or changes to registration you must contact the Norris Center at norriscenter@ucsc.edu

• Any cancellation initiated before March 4 will result in a full refund.
• Any cancellation initiated between March 5 and April 4 will result in a 75% refund.
• Any cancellation initiated between April 5 and May 4 will result in a 50% refund.
• Any cancellation initiated between May 5 and May 25 will result in a 25% refund.
• The registration deadline is May 25. No refunds will be given after this date.
• In regards to COVID, if you test positive prior to the event, or you are a close contact, you will not be able to attend the event and will receive a full refund.

Safety is most important to us!

• Meals, talks, networking sessions, music gatherings and other activities will be held outdoors

This is the official protocol as stated in UCSC's policy that applies to our event. Below is the most relevant paragraph:

Non-UCSC-operated overnight programs and events:

• Third-party organizers, participants and attendees, including minors, are required to show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or show negative test results every four days to the third-party operator if unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated as a condition of using UCSC owned or leased facilities for their overnight program or event.
• Third parties who contract with UCSC are responsible for administration, compliance, and verification of the above requirements.
• All camp and program participants, attendees and organizers must comply with all public health requirements.

In addition to this official policy, we will ask several things:

• If someone is not feeling well, we will ask them not to attend the event.  We will give a full refund to anyone testing positive within 5 days of the start of the event.  We will have rapid tests on-hand for this possibility.
• Out of an abundance of caution, we will ask folks to wear masks in the few indoor spaces we will use at the camp.
• We will have some protocol for the music and dancing that we will ask everyone to abide by. This is yet to be determined.