Arts Commission Cultural Equity Statement

The San Mateo County Arts Commission, which views the arts as an essential part of a healthy and vibrant community, champions policies and practices that promote social and cultural equity. We strive to promote inclusive and diverse programming and to ensure equitable access to arts and culture for all, with consideration for race, ability, sexual orientation, age, gender, economic status, and cultural background. We also commit to partnering with artists and arts organizations that represent and celebrate the diversity of our county, through the fair and equitable distribution of programmatic and financial support. Through these actions, arts are a vehicle for social change.

Meet Our New NRM Interns - Winter 2021

We're excited to introduce our new Natural Resource Management interns. Meet Johanna, Alissa, and Aidan!

San Mateo County Supervisors Allocate $1.5 Million To Support Local Learning Hubs For Students In Need

Today, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors approved $1.5 million to create the Learning Hub Expansion Fund to increase the number of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged families who can participate in “learning hubs” – programs that provide safe, supportive places for K-12 students to engage in distance learning in underserved communities. Grants will be awarded to youth-serving organizations that already run such programs.

Reseeding a Natural Preserve with Native Grass

Our task was to level and install seed beds for the Green Grass Project at Edgewood Farms —an amazing project spearheaded by the Friends of Edgewood group, which has been helping steward the park and its incredible diversity of plant life for over 25 years.

San Bruno Mountain Elfin Monitoring

Every other year the Natural Resource Management team does a survey of San Bruno Elfin, an endangered species on San Bruno Mountain. Their larva, or caterpillars, feed an attractive native succulent that grows on rocky outcrops.

Boys & Girls Club Of North San Mateo County Receive Grant From San Mateo County For Childcare

Today, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors approved a grant of $50,750 from Measure K funds to the Boys & Girls Club of North San Mateo County (BGCNSMC) to support an emergency school aged child care program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Oh No! I Think It's Dead, It Has No Tail!"

It is quite common to mistake a lizard that has just lost its tail for dead! While unfortunately the lizard is now tail-less, it isn't dying, far from it actually. It is very much still alive. Lizards utilize caudal autotomy (tail dropping) as a survival strategy for predatory response! When being chased or spotted by a predator a lizard may drop his or her tail and speed away while the piece of tail continues to wriggle and squirm, mimicking another lizard. If a lizard is bit by a venomous snake it may drop its tail as well, to ensure that the toxin does not reach the rest of the lizard’s body. In some cases, the tail will even grow back, however the regenerated tail does have less function.

Meet the Pacific Purple Sea Urchin

As a Natural Resource Management Intern I visit many of the parks to analyze different habitats and support vegetation management activities.

Stalking the California Golden Violet

A few feet farther up the slope I saw the telltale yellow flowers, looking like a garden “pansy,” peaking out of the mass of green. It was California Golden Violet, Viola pedunculata

Meet Our New NRM Interns

In January of 2020 San Mateo County Parks Natural Resource Management was excited to welcome our first intern team. Meet Alex Wilbanks, Johanna Harrison, and Olivia Kurz.

Call 2-1-1 for Non-Medical, Non-Emergency Questions About Coronavirus

The County of San Mateo has replaced a local call center number with a new service that will more than double the hours residents can get information about the coronavirus (also known as COVID-19) – 2-1-1.

San Mateo County Supervisors Provide Grant For Early Childhood Education Teacher Training

Today, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors approved a grant for $50,000 from Measure K funds in support of Community Equity Collaborative’s (CEC) Teacher Pipeline Project. This program offers tuition-free Early Childhood Education classes to address the shortage of high-quality child care providers in San Mateo County.