Giving to Swanton Pacific Ranch - Swanton Pacific Ranch - Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo * Skip to Content * ? * Current Students * Prospective Students * Parents * Business Community * Faculty & Staff * Alumni my CalPoly login * Quick Links * Contact Us * Operations * SP Railroad * Events * Forms * Fuels Training * Contact * Maps * * Swanton Pacific Ranch A living and learning laboratory fostering Learn by Doing. * About * Fire Recovery * News * Giving Back to the Ranch * Fuels Management Training Program Home : Giving Back to the Ranch Ranch Resources * About the Ranch * Ranch Operations * Swanton Pacific Railroad * News To provide Cal Poly students, faculty, staff and the public with a unique interdisciplinary environment in which to foster the Learn by Doing philosophy by providing educational experiences on a working ranch, supporting diversified agriculture and forest resources while maintaining the integrity of ranch operations.   —Our Mission Giving to Swanton Pacific Ranch Your generosity can help sponsor the growth and revisioning of Swanton Pacific Ranch and the future programs it offers students. The CZU Lightning Complex fires swept through Cal Poly’s Swanton Pacific Ranch in August 2020 destroying much of the ranch and its structures. Important structures, including the Al Smith House, Seaside School House, Red House, Archibald House, Staub House and yurts, Cal Barn, Little Creek House, Car Barn, rail cars, Roundhouse and Car Shop were destroyed. When alumnus Al Smith (Crop Science, ‘44, Agricultural Education, ‘56), credited founder of Orchard Supply Hardware, donated the Swanton Pacific Ranch to Cal Poly in 1993, he did so with one simple request: that it be preserved as a working ranch and living laboratory dedicated to Learn by Doing educational opportunities and that the remaining large redwoods be left untouched. Today, Swanton Pacific Ranch is a model for the practice of informed land stewardship and sustainability. We stand by that commitment. We are working closely with both our Cal Poly family and our partners in the surrounding Santa Cruz community to rise up, rebuild and grow from the ashes. You can support immediate relief efforts and future growth by donating to the Swanton Pacific Ranch Recovery Fund.   Make a Donation             Related Content Support SPR How You Can Help News * Inaugural San Luis Obispo Prescribed Fire Training Event Brings Cal Poly, Diverse Partners Together to Burn and Learn * Goats are the Latest Land Management Tool in Preventing Wildfires * Intro to Field Research and Conservation  * Cal Poly’s Swanton Pacific Ranch Receives $4.7 million Grant to Assist with Post-Fire Recovery Efforts, Increase Fire Resilience Strategies See All News Swanton Research Resources on Digital Commons * Explore the research resources available Cal Poly's library Digital Commons   CONNECT WITH CAL POLY * CP Home * Directory * Campus Maps & Directions * University Store * Calendar * Employment * Campus Policies * Contact Us * Privacy Notice * Web Accessibility Statement * Title IX © 2026 California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, California 93407 Phone: 805-756-1111