Getting Grounded
Long, long ago, in a time before time, the place where we now live was a deep sea. Beneath the waters, however, the earth stirred. A coast range was lifted...
Science and Nature
Notes from Underground
It is often the smallest things that get overlooked, and life in the soil is probably the most neglected habitat of all. Tilling the soil or weeding the garden puts...
Resources for Healthy Soil
General Information Sources and Websites Bio-Integral Resource Center www.birc.org (510)524-2567 Extensive information resources for least-toxic pest management. California Integrated Waste Management Board www.ciwmb.ca.gov/organics/gardening Information and resources for organic materials management...
Soil-Friendly Practices
Organic matter is the most important part of the soil because it is fodder for the many organisms that keep soil alive and elastic. And because it is consumed by...
Refuge Volunteer: Eileen McLaughlin
The baylands’ swampy smells and power lines are distasteful to many. But to Eileen McLaughlin, Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge was unknown territory to be explored. This energetic woman started...
Scientist: Howard Shellhammer
Howard Shellhammer is known as the champion of a very rare mouse. A world expert on the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse, the former San Jose State biology professor has...
Shrimper: Tom Laine
Tom Laine knew the salt ponds long before they were making salt. “I was born here in 1937, and I’ve been on the Bay since I was five,” the Alviso...
Still Hanging On
Nearly forgotten today, the native oysters of San Francisco Bay once formed large shallow-water reefs, providing critical habitat for other creatures and a major food source for Native Americans. Now,...
Old Oaks Fleck Franklin Ridge Above Martinez
John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez. Trail: 7.8 mi, 1,505 ft elevation gain, out-and-back
Book Review: Introduction to California Spring Wildflowers and Introduction to Shore Wildflowers
Introduction to California Spring Wildflowers of the Foothills, Valleys, and Coast, Revised Edition, by Philip A. Munz, edited by Dianne Lake and Phyllis M. Faber, University of California Press, 2004,...
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