After 50,000 people made nearly 1.3 million observations worldwide, what was the most common species found in the Bay Area and in the world?
First Look
Timely news, art, ideas and science from the natural world of Northern California.
Solar Power or Open Space? North Livermore Project Reveals California’s Green Fault Lines
May 6, 2021 •
Looking at the North Livermore Valley, it’s easy to forget that three of California’s largest cities lie less than an hour’s drive away. In late winter and early spring, the rural valley’s open pastures, cradled by rolling hills and dotted … Read more
The History of Vaccines Through an East Bay Regional Park
May 4, 2021 •
Before it became a park, Sobrante Ridge was home to vaccine testing and the infamous “Cutter Incident”
Four Gray Whales Found Dead in the Bay Area as Mysterious Die-off Continues
April 22, 2021 •
April is the peak month for gray whales passing by the San Francisco Bay Area, drawing spectators to the coast to scan the ocean’s surface for a heart-shaped spout or the flick of a gray-speckled tail. But while the abundance … Read more
The Unequal Social Consequences of Wildfire Smoke in California
April 20, 2021 •
Around the American West, wildfires are increasing in size and frequency. In California, the list of Top-20 records are telling: 15 of the most destructive, nine of the largest, and seven of the deadliest wildfires have occurred since 2015. At … Read more
Circumambulating in COVID-Times: Joy and Solace on Mt. Tam During the Pandemic
April 8, 2021 •
A writer follows Gary Snyder’s ritualized walking meditation of Mt. Tamalpais in search of pandemic relief.
Home on the Range
April 7, 2021 •
This story originally appeared in bioGraphic, an online magazine about nature and sustainability powered by the California Academy of Sciences. Photographs by Sarah Killingsworth Point Reyes sits at the western edge of Marin County, California, a pick-axe shaped peninsula that juts … Read more
Now, California Waits for the Fires
March 31, 2021 •
Drought returns to California, with a long fire season ahead.
The Generosity of Trees
March 30, 2021 •
I find myself awakening to the wonder of time — the deep, slow, earth-time of trees, and dirt, and rocks — and to the aching grief of human greed and misunderstanding.
Editor’s Letter: Spring Renewal
March 30, 2021 •
You can smell a burned forest before you see it. An acrid scent hangs in the air for a long time after the flames are out. When my husband, daughter, and I drove into an area of Sonoma County consumed … Read more