Laura Hautala is a freelance reporter based in Oakland.
The high cost of installing solar panels is a major obstacle for Bay Area residents wanting to go solar to reduce their carbon footprint. Even though photovoltaic solar panels more than pay for themselves eventually through lower energy bills, many … Read more
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.
by David Carle, UC Press, 2008, 236 pages, $18.95 This year’s record fire season made it undeniable: Fire is a fact of life in California. Ever wonder why some residential areas in California are susceptible to wildfires? Perhaps you’d like … Read more
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.
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.
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.
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.
Though surrounded by houses, Lime Ridge in Walnut Creek is rich in rare plants, including two new species discovered by an amateur botanist.
If butterfly watching sounds sedate, perhaps you've never witnessed the excitement of the territorial chase...
Find out the latest on California's effort to establish some of the strongest marine protected areas in the world.
Independent, nonprofit environmental journalism connecting people with nature in the San Francisco Bay Area.
