This piece was originally published in KneeDeep Times, a digital magazine featuring stories from the frontlines of climate resilience in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. The 2025 State of Our Estuary assessment, released this fall at a regional conference, takes the … Read more
Author Archives: Sonya Bennett-Brandt
Sonya Bennett-Brandt is a freelance writer interested in climate, environment, and conservation. She lives in Berkeley, California.
Climate Change
What to Do When Your Highway Is Slipping Into the Sea
Picture a giant Rubik’s cube that costs $6–11 billion to solve. That’s State Route 37.
Conservation
A Living Shoreline, Built One Oyster at a Time
Olympia oysters, whose native range runs from Baja California to southern Alaska, are being enlisted as ecological engineers in nearly 40 “living shoreline” projects in the US alone.
Spring Issue 2025
Behold the Flamboyant Mating Rituals of Grebes
Western and Clark’s grebes strike rakish figures on Bay Area waters. But for all the attention they command, the secrets of their lives are well-guarded.
Wildlife Watching
Like Top Gun, But With Falcons, and On Alcatraz
Our first sign of falcon presence is a lone pigeon feather that floats down like a sinister snowflake from the top of the Alcatraz lighthouse, the highest point on the island. “I bet that top walkway is just littered with … Read more
Wild Billions
Mud-Starved Wetlands Get a Meal, At Last
With Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, the Bay’s wetlands are finally getting some precious muck. Why have we been dumping it offshore?
