With Instruments of Rocks and Shells, Cheryl Leonard Brings Nature’s Music To Life
“Anything can be musical instruments!” Leonard exclaims, in a studio full of bones, driftwood, feathers, stones, and homemade instruments.
Water
Why a Mouse Matters
Salt marsh harvest mice are hard to find, and their fates offer a glimpse at our own coastal society’s future. A reporter tags along on an epic rangewide survey of salties—the Bay Area's own endemic mouse species.
Can We Prevent Another Algaepocalypse in the Bay?
Researchers and water agencies are searching for ways to lower the risk of another worst-case bloom by reducing the amount of nutrients in the Bay.
Recharge Alone Won’t End California’s Groundwater Drought
Groundwater recharge is a useful way to put surface water back underground, but experts say it is a limited solution.
The Rewilding of California’s Parched Central Valley
As SGMA deadlines loom, groundwater sustainability agencies, environmental organizations, and farmers in the San Joaquin Valley are scrambling to prepare for a drier future by experimenting with ways to repurpose fallow farmland.
Historic Money for Bay Area Nature Has Started to Flow. The Challenge? Spending it.
Meet BIL and IRA—two federal bills with forgettable names that belie their enormous potential impact on the environment.
After the Algal Bloom Cleared Out of Lake Merritt, the Nudibranchs Came to Party in Droves
Oodles of nudibranchs showed up in Lake Merritt after the harmful algal bloom of August 2022. These sea slugs appeared in record breaking numbers, taking Oakland's beloved tidal lagoon by storm.
How the DNA We Leave Behind Can Help Conservation
Bits of DNA linger on the forest floor, in the ocean, and even in the air—and these strands have stories to tell, back at the lab. Here's how environmental DNA (aka 'eDNA') is starting to transform how ecologists work in the Bay Area and beyond.
Is The Western Drought Finally Ending? That Depends On Where You Look
After three years of extreme drought, the Western U.S. is finally getting a break. Mountain ranges are covered in deep snow, and water reservoirs in many areas are filling up following a series of atmospheric rivers that brought record rain and snowfall to large parts of the region. Many people are looking at the snow and water levels and asking: Is the drought finally over? There is a lot of nuance to the answer.
