Laura Hautala

Laura Hautala is a freelance reporter based in Oakland.

ACTerraGreen

January 1, 2009 •  by

Making significant reductions in your household’s energy use becomes a lot easier when people around you are making changes too. The Palo Alto-based nonprofit Acterra has developed a program that takes this into account: ACTerraGreen aims to reduce people’s carbon … Read more

GGNRA Big Year Comes to a Close

December 31, 2008 •  by

What brings together professionals and amateur naturalists, butterfly specialists and evolutionary biologists, children and adults, all in the name of endangered species? Try the Golden Gate National Recreation Area’s Big Year for Endangered Species.

The Sea Scouts Rise Again

September 11, 2008 •  by

A derelict historic building on the Palo Alto waterfront is about to find new life: As the expanded home of the 36-year-old nonprofit Environmental Volunteers, which offers hands-on science learning to thousands of South Bay schoolchildren each year.

Getting to Work on Tennessee Hollow

September 5, 2008 •  by

The Presidio’s Tennessee Hollow watershed is steeped in history. And it’s a magnet for wildlife. Now, the Presidio Trust is embarking on an ambitious restoration project. Find out how you can take part.

Argiope aurantia

Fall is the Season When Garden Spiders Live Large

August 29, 2008 •  by

Look in your backyard right now, and there’s a decent chance you’ll see the ornate webs of our local orbweaver spiders. After feeding on insects all spring and summer, banded garden spiders and yellow garden spiders get big and very noticeable in fall, just before they lay their eggs and die.

Rebuilding for California Condors

July 23, 2008 •  by

The Ventana Wildlife Society, which leads California condor restoration efforts, is looking for public support after Big Sur’s massive wildfire wiped out its rearing and release facility.