Those of us behind the technological times may bristle at the convergence of computers and nature. What, you might ask, does an iPod have to do with an egret?
“Education,” responds Caroline Warner of the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture, a consortium of agencies and nonprofits that works to protect habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife. “Some people don’t even know what wetlands are.”
The joint venture recently launched a weekly 90-second “podcast” that focuses on Bay Area wetlands and the organizations working to protect them. A podcast is a radio show made for the computer. You can listen to programs through the organization’s website or subscribe to have them downloaded to your computer for free. Commuters traveling on Highway 37 through North Bay wetlands can also hear the segments on EarthNews Radio, which airs locally on KCBS (740 AM) and KALW (91.7 FM).
Once you’ve got the hang of podcasts, grab your kids, a blanket, and an MP3 player downloaded with the California Academy of Sciences Sky Tour Podcast, and then head for the hills on a clear night. Cohosted by Jerry Kaye of EarthNews Radio and Academy of Sciences astronomer Bing Quock, this 15-minute nighttime sky tour will guide you on a journey through the summer’s constellations, planets, and meteor showers.
Listen or subscribe to the free weekly wetland podcasts at yourwetlands.org. Go to www.calacademy.org/podcasts for the Sky Tour.
