Seaside Crafts at the Seymour Center | Sept. 2 (1-3 p.m.)

Create fun crafts that feature the cool creatures of the tidepools. Make a seastar suncatcher, or create your own sea anemone! There are activity sheets, scavenger hunts, and a take home souvenir of your day.

Seymour Marine Discovery Center
End of Delaware Avenue, Santa Cruz
831-459-3800, seymourcenter.ucsc.edu

Take a Hike-Compass Skills for Kids | Sept. 2 (2-4 p.m.)

Learn the basics of how to use a compass to make or find a trail. Free. Age 6+.

Quail Hollow Ranch County Park, Ben Lomond
831-454-7930, www.scparks.com

First Tuesday Free at the Seymour Center | Sept. 4 (10 a.m.-5 p.m.)

Visit our aquarium, exhibit hall, and touch tanks. Take a tour or explore on your own. Join us as we explore Monterey Bay with our hands-on family programs!

Seymour Marine Discovery Center
End of Delaware Avenue, Santa Cruz
831-459-3800, seymourcenter.ucsc.edu

UCSC Farm & Garden Fall Plant Sale | Sept. 7-8 ( noon-6 p.m. / 10 a.m.-2 p.m.)

Plant vegetable crops that will extend your gardening season and give perennials a good head start for next spring's blossoms. The region's best-suited varieties of organically grown winter vegetables and landscape plants are featured at the Fall Plant Sale.

UCSC Campus - Barn Theater Parking Lot
831-459-3240, zzyx.usc.edu/casfs

Highland History Walk | Sept. 8 (Noon-3 p.m.)

Join ESF's Land Acquisitions Specialist Kevin Contreras as he leads a group of 20 through the panoramic highlands at Brothers Ranch. Priority given to Elkhorn Foundation members.

Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Reerve
1700 Elhorn Rd.
831-728-5939, www.elkhornslough.org

Seaside Crafts at the Seymour Center | Sept. 9 (1-3 p.m.)

Create fun crafts that feature the cool creatures of the tidepools. Make a seastar suncatcher, or create your own sea anemone! There are activity sheets, scavenger hunts, and a take home souvenir of your day.

Seymour Marine Discovery Center
End of Delaware Avenue, Santa Cruz
831-459-3800, seymourcenter.ucsc.edu

Monterey Sea Canyon Birdwatching Tour | Sept. 14 (7:30 a.m.-3 p.m.)

Travel just a few miles off the coast to the Monterey Bay's 6,000 foot deep canyon where more than 70 bird species travel from both hemispheres to feed on these rich waters. Monterey Seabird Tours are available during peak migration seasons, limits the number of travelers on a tour, and are led by expert naturalists and birders.

Monterey Boat Charters, Monterey Wharf
831-375-4658, www.montereyseabirds.com

Apple Varieties for the Central Coast Workshop | Sept. 15 (10 a.m.-1 p.m.)

Garden Manager Orin Martin leads this special workshop about growing and harvesting apple varieties that thrive under Central Coast conditions. An apple tasting will follow the lecture.

UCSC Campus - Farm and Garden
831-459-3240, zzyx.usc.edu/casfs

Sept. 15 (9 a.m.-noon) | Sept. 15 (9 a.m.-noon)

Coastal Cleanup Day is a great way for families, students, service groups, and neighbors to join together, take care of our fragile marine environment, show community support for our shared natural resources, learn about the impacts of marine debris and how we can prevent them, and to have fun! Coastal Cleanup Day is also the kick-off event for Coastweeks ? three weeks of coastal and water-related events for the whole family. For complete information about participating in a Coastal Cleanup project, locations throughout the Monterey Bay region and other Coastweek events, visit www.coastal.ca.gov

Join 50,000 volunteers by lending a hand in keeping the state's coastline pristine.
Sign up details found at: www.coastal.ca.gov.

The World of the Small | Sept. 16 (2-4 p.m.)

Discover nature's small creatures in the wild and under a microscope. Free. Ages 6+

Quail Hollow Ranch County Park, Ben Lomond
831-454-7930, www.scparks.com