Sauntering in Muir’s Footsteps on Mount Wanda
Spring is a great time to visit Mount Wanda near Martinez. We took a tour with ranger Thad Shay, and there's a couple more chances for you to do the...
Botany
In with the Oaks at Bouverie Preserve
When Caltrans had to make good for destroying some woodlands along a road, they wanted to plant a few trees at Bouverie Preserve in Glen Ellen. Preserve staff suggested a...
Stinky Stories
For some flowers, bugs, and (of course) skunks, strong BO is a good MO for survival. Remember that the next time you’re dealing with smelly gym socks!
Vernal Splendor
The vernal pools of Jepson Prairie are transformed by winter rains and spring blooms: The dry plain gives way to muddy ponds, then concentric rings of colorful wildflowers. Don’t miss...
A Lifetime at the Garden
Lifelong Bay Area resident Stephen Edwards has run the botanic garden in Tilden Park since 1983. Well-versed in geology as well as botany, Edwards says, "My main goal in life...
Early Wildflower Blooms Help Define our California “Winter”
You know you're a true Californian when you learn to prefer February flowers to snow shovels.
The Crazy Broom Lady of the Oakland Hills
Longtime television anchorwoman Wendy Tokuda now spends many days in the East Bay hills, finding endangered manzanitas and communing with pileated woodpeckers. All because of her obsession with an invasive...
Go Nuts for Nuts
They say California is the land of fruits and nuts, which wouldn't be so funny if it weren't also partly true. But our native nuts--acorns, hazelnuts, and more--are central to...
Lech Naumovich Speaks Up for Plants
Lech Naumovich, conservation analyst for the California Native Plant Society's East Bay chapter and founding director of Golden Hour Restoration Institute, says if he's not outdoors half the year, then...
Artist Plants Comics at UC Botanical Garden
For the The University of California Botanical Garden in the Berkeley Hills is home to one of the nation's largest collections of plant life. It houses many rare and endangered...
