I hope your summer is off to a light and easy, relaxing start. Here on the northern California coast, the mornings are cool with blue skies, and the afternoons are sunny and breezy, sometimes full on windy. But it hasn’t stop me from riding. Last Sunday I parked at the clinic and rode the bike trail through town to the marsh, then continued along the coastal trail. The wind was pretty strong along the water, especially on the way back, but I was singing as I pedaled, “I’m riding in the breeze, past the swaying trees, and it’s eeeeease–y on my eeeee-bike.” And I wasn’t even in my highest pedal assist gear.
I am so loving my volunteer gig, stewarding in the Redwood trees for two hours, once a week. I get to the Sequoia Park Zoo a few minutes before it opens at ten, so that, even after signing in and getting my Sky Walk Steward gear, I have at least fifteen minutes alone in the trees before any visitors show up.
I walk past the flamingos and the bear habitat, turn the corner as I pass the donkeys in the Barnyard, then take my time on the ascent ramp, a zig zagging 360 foot walkway, which is almost as tall as one of the oldest redwoods in the world. I set my things on a bench on the Launch Platform thirty five feet above the forest floor and just breathe. Then I walk the quarter mile loop across the walkways and the rope bridges, feeling the change in the air, listening to the birds without needing to know their names, welcoming myself to the canopy.
Standing next to a giant redwood is magic in itself. Standing as high as 100 feet up in the redwood canopy is something even more mystical. How it sounds, how it smells, how it feels to literally be a part of the energy exchange between the branches is palpable. After my two hour shift, I feel like my heart has been bathed and massaged.
Last week during my shift, so many visitors were asking about the bears. We have three at the zoo, a brown one, a black one and a tan one, all Black Bears, all not able to survive in the wild. Their habitat is below the Sky Walk, which provides an amazing viewing platform to watch these wild creatures.
At 10:15, with the bears secured in their indoor enclosures, the keepers hide food all around their outdoor habitat. They toss heads of lettuce, bok choy, and apples on the ground, tuck carrot chunks under logs and into the holes of large plastic toys, all so that the bears can simulate their natural foraging behaviors. And then the bears are let out into the habitat to find and retrieve the various treats.
After they eat, two keepers take turns running on the outside of the fence while Ishŭng, the black colored bear, runs alongside.
Ishŭng was the first Black Bear to be placed in the care of the Sequoia Park Zoo. She was extremely overweight and out of shape when she arrived, but with her diet and exercise program, she’s now much healthier. But because Ishŭng is used to people, she cannot be released to the wild.
Tule was only a few weeks old when he was found, underweight and with many health concerns, including mange on his brown coat. He was rehabilitated at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care before being placed at the zoo because his coat is not likely to regrow, so he can’t tolerate cold winters in the wild.
Nabu, the newest bear at the zoo, is golden colored. He arrived in June, 2025, also with coat issues and unable to survive in the wild. He stays in a separate habitat, within sight and smell of Ishŭng and Tule, as he acclimates and they get to know each other. The hope is that, in time, all three bears will be able to share the same spaces.
It is mesmerizing to watch the bears move around in their world. They smell, they pace, they climb the trees. Sometimes they just sit and play with a stick. And sometimes Ishŭng and Tule will chase each other, then stand on their back legs and wrestle. And then they go their separate ways.
I’ve talked with several visitors about the ethics of zoos. While it might be hard to see animals in captivity, ethically-run zoos provide a direct way for people to know and understand animals they might only see in books or TV. The mission of the Sequoia Park Zoo is to “inspire conservation of the natural world by instilling wonder, respect, and passion for wildlife and wild places.” And that’s a mission I can stand behind. And above. In the trees.
From my bear-y happy heart to yours,
