This is the 100th issue—Vol. 25 No. 4—of Bay Nature magazine, and as frequent readers know, our 25th year of publishing. We’ve been reflecting on that milestone throughout the year—first with a look back last winter at memorable magazine covers, then a shout-out in spring to our cumulative 55 Local Hero awardees, and a refresh this summer of 25 trail-related stories. And now, this fall in this 100th issue, we want to recognize Bay Nature readers.
This magazine and organization are a reflection and measure of you: your passion, curiosity, expertise, and care for the Bay Area’s natural world. Bay Nature is your collective creation, and in a sense more so than for any of us who come and go in our roles here.
Many millions of people, literally from around the globe, have read Bay Nature stories online and in print. But there’s a special subspecies of Bay Nature reader who has been with us for the full 25-year trek and held on to every issue of the magazine. Some of those rare folks responded to my invitation last year to introduce themselves and say hello. With permission, I’m sharing a few of their notes.
Malcolm Margolin, a Bay Nature cofounder and emeritus publisher of Heyday Books, said something to me that I think of often: A magazine is interesting when it brings people together. And that’s the intent, 100 times now, to create a conversation that helps us find each other.
“Bay Nature has been a consistent education, inspiration, and pleasure for me during the entire journey [from young techie in Cupertino to land trust board member in Nevada City]. Thank you and the team at Bay Nature for 25 years of such a valuable and unmatched regional publication. I still read every issue cover to cover and every online article, and I look forward to doing so for many years to come.”
—Rod Brown, Nevada City
“I am one of those who has happily received and read (and kept) every issue of Bay Nature from the very beginning. From the “get go,” or “from the gecko” as a mother once told me her young daughter mistakenly wrote in a school assignment. Thank you all!!”
—Lynne Cutler, Berkeley
“I had the opportunity to speak with Wes Radez when he joined your team and told him how much I appreciated the in-depth articles about nature in the Bay Area, which Bay Nature has provided over the years, answering so many questions that my family and I have had as we hiked, strolled, and paddled around the region. I remember that it was one of your first articles about how chert was formed from radiolarian skeletons that induced me to subscribe. Your coverage of the Vision Fire and its consequences, information about the convergent ladybugs (which we see every year, mostly in Muir Woods), and introductions to nature preserves around the Bay Area (with lovely detailed maps) are among the articles that send your magazine to the top of our “must read” pile. Best wishes for the next 25 years!”
—Shirley Fischer, San Rafael
“I remember reading about your magazine coming out and walking down to a closet-sized newspaper and magazine place on Grand Avenue to order a copy. For a while I had a second subscription for the elementary school where I was a librarian. Congratulations on 25 years of wonderful issues, nature talks, events, etc. I so appreciate what you do for our environment, local and otherwise.”
—Barbara Flores, Oakland
“I came to your first office, which was upstairs from Picante, to subscribe to the brand new Bay Nature magazine. I have saved most every issue. We have a basketful in our guest bedroom for visitors to read. I honestly can hardly believe that it’s been 25 years! It’s always a happy day when a new issue arrives in our mail box! Thank you for all your efforts!”
—Joan Johnston, Walnut Creek
“It drives my wife crazy (OK, this and other things, too), but I have saved every issue of Bay Nature, starting with the Great Blue Heron Premier Issue, and I keep them in order in a filing cabinet. Thank you for a great magazine and all the other work you and others do at Bay Nature.”
—Dave Halligan, Berkeley
“We’ve kept each and every issue these 25 years as an archive—no, a trove—of illuminating articles, illustrations, and timeless natural history tid-bits, which our family and friends can enjoy rereading.
One of the joys of being a naturalist is that, in finding the answers to questions that pique our curiosity, we always stumble into several more intriguing questions along the wayóa ìfree lifetime supplyî of exciting wonder and discovery. Bay Nature has provided a wealth of fascination and interpretation to a broader audience, all in our local ìbackyardî of the greater Bay Area! Itís well known that such understanding of nature inspires caring about and protecting our wild places, be they a neighborhood alley or the vast wildlands and waters which surround us.
Thanks to Malcolm, David, and you for providing a quarter century of “speaking for the trees”—and for the wrentits, star tulips, whales, ladybugs, trilliums, lampreys, newts, and our other fellow travelers.”
—Kurt and Nancy Rademacher, Corte Madera
