Exploring Nature in the San Francisco Bay Area

Video: Bringing Back the Bay Checkerspot Butterfly

Stuart Weiss and his Creekside Center for Earth Observation have been working for several years to bring the Bay Checkerspot butterfly back to Edgewood Park in Redwood City, California. Relying heavily on citizen scientist volunteers known as “The Checkerspotters,” data collected shows that the beloved checkerspots are making a comeback at their ancestral home in the midst of the San Francisco Bay Area megalopolis.

Video: River Otters Return to the Bay Area

River Otter Ecology Project executive director Megan Isadore and her team work tirelessly to research the return of the river otter to Northern California.

Video: A Walk on Lagunitas Creek Where the Coho Spawn

NoahLani Litwinsella has been volunteering with SPAWN, the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network, since he was just a small fry. This informative walk along Lagunitas Creek includes a flashback to one of the first Bay Nature on the Air stories when we first met this committed creek naturalist and his mom, Julie.

Video: The Golden State’s Namesake Flower

Naturalist Michael Ellis explains the Golden State’s namesake flower.

Video: Bay Area Redwoods with Michael Ellis

Naturalist Michael Ellis tells the fascinating story of the Bay Area’s primeval giants, Sequoia sempervirens.

Produced by Rick Bacigalupi.

Video: Learning with Palo Alto’s Environmental Volunteers

For decades, the Palo Alto-based Environmental Volunteers have shown kids the wonders of nature all around them.

Produced by Rick Bacigalupi.

Video: Acorn Woodpeckers at Work

Environmental Volunteer Bob Dodge explains the antics of the acorn woodpecker. Produced by Rick Bacigalupi.

Video: Butterflies of the Bay Area

San Francisco’s Liam O’Brien shares his wealth of knowledge all about Bay Area butterflies.

Produced by Rick Bacigalupi.

Video: Learn More About Seagulls and How to Tell Them Apart

Those birds flying around are much more than “just seagulls.” Expert birder and guide Alvaro Jaramillo explains.

Produced by Rick Bacigalupi.

Video: Bird Banding with the SF Bay Bird Observatory

How do scientists study small birds like warblers and sparrows? Mist nets! The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory has been netting and examining birds along Coyote Creek near San Jose since 1982. Come along to learn all about how SFBBO gathers important data about our local and migrating birds.