You may have heard about the surprising discoveries of the League’s Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative (RCCI) program, which drew unprecedented media coverage yesterday. Did you see the coverage in the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News, the …
The best part of the year for any field ecologist like myself, is the stretch of long summer days spent outside collecting data. Over the past two months, I journeyed into the coast redwood forest to take measurements in our …
Depending on whom you believe, the ancient and legendary city of Atlantis was forever lost beneath the waves after a volcano, war, or dust-up between the gods, and its disappearance gave rise to centuries of speculation, storytelling, and exploration. If …
When a forest fire blazes, it seems like the path of destruction will result in irreversible change for the woods. Fire does indeed leave its mark among the redwoods, but I’m struck over and over again how quickly forests can …
This week, arborist and horticulturist, Tom Stapleton, shares his perspective on the fascinating and mysterious ghosts of the redwood forest…the albino redwoods! By studying these rare trees, he hopes to learn if climate causes albinism and aid in the protection and …
The new issue of Bay Nature has an article on the fantastic and ephemeral feature of our local climate — fog. The article, Demystifying Mist, describes the science of studying fog and conjures up images of misty forest days that …
Today is the first day of summer, the longest day of the year. Often the summer solstice makes me think of long evenings and late sunsets, but of course dawn comes incredibly early too. Today, I remember my earliest morning …
Every once in awhile, I stumble across something that just makes me laugh. The sight of this banana slug posing on its namesake was no exception! After seeing the yellow slug and banana peel together, it is no surprise to …
“Where have all the flowers gone? Long time passing.” -Pete Seeger Over 170 years ago, early loggers began extracting redwood from the San Francisco bay area. The trees they cut were monumental and today we can still find the remnant stumps …
Last year, I saw a man ride a bicycle down the road from Ladybird Johnson Grove in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park carrying a large chainsaw. I was baffled at the sight and now realize just how terrible an omen …
I grew up in Northern California and witnessed the inspiring recovery of an endangered species over the past few decades. As a frequent beach goer throughout my life, I remember it was unusual to see brown pelicans diving along the …
They were perfectly placed drops of water on the outer edge of each redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana) leaflet. At first, I thought that I was just seeing drops of fog that had not yet evaporated. Then, I realized that these …
It smells a little skunky along the trail. Did a fellow hiker light up a joint ahead of you or it could be a botanical wonder of the coast redwoods and beyond?! Skunk cabbage emerges early in the year in …
Ferns are under-appreciated, despite the fact that as a group they have more than 12,000 species worldwide and their lineage is even older than the redwoods! Maybe I’m a fern nerd (well, no maybe about it actually), but I can’t …
The fantastic yellow-spotted millipede, Harpaphe haydeniana, roams freely through the coast redwood forest. Often found crawling in the duff on the forest floor, H. Haydeniana is multi-legged invertebrate that demands respect. When it senses danger, this millepede curls up in a ball …
In last week’s blog, I described my climb into a large double redwood to help Steve Sillett and his team make measurements for our Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative. While up in this tree, I was suspended alongside enormous fern …
Harness cinched. Helmet buckled. Camera and notebook tucked in tightly. Knowing this was one of the last days this spring to collect coast redwood canopy data, we scurried up climbing ropes into the leafy forest canopy of Del Norte County. …
Nature’s patterns are everywhere. Sometimes they’re obvious – we mammals, for instance, almost always have five fingers and five toes on each hand and foot. Sometimes these patterns aren’t nearly so apparent, but they’re still there nonetheless. The Fibonacci sequence …
Have you ever seen this stunning flower in the redwood forest? It is a Giant Wake Robin, or Trillium chloropetalum, and was recently seen blooming in the Santa Cruz Mountains
I fastened on my snowshoes and set off for a wintertime hike among the giant sequoias. I quickly realized the snow in the forest was patchy at best and completely melted at worst, and it’s only March! It was shocking …
All gifts matched up to $100,000 for ‘O Rew Redwoods Gateway!
