Outside our office this week the San Francisco Bay Bridge began twinkling with the artistic illumination of 25,000 new LED lights strung along the west span. After dusk, views of the bridge are spectacular as waves of light pulse along 1.8 …
Whenever I’m out in the forest, I can’t help but think about how it all got started. Even though the redwoods may seem timeless and unchanging, they almost always began in turmoil. These periods of rapid change are known as …
Punxsutawney Phil predicts spring will come early this year. As much fun as it is to trust the behavior of a charismatic groundhog, I also love searching for my own signs of spring a little closer to home. Wildflowers are …
We’ve all seen them—those enormous growths from the trunks or bases of redwood trees, sometimes covered in new sprouts, sometimes appearing to drip down the side of the tree like the molten remnants of a lost limb. These strange formations …
Ever wonder why redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregano) leaves appear to wilt in the sun? The leaves fold downwards when sun flecks shine onto patches of this tiny plant that carpets the coast redwood forest floor. This is a protective response …
Redwoods do fine in Southern California, right? Researchers at UC Irvine are not totally convinced. In the 1980’s a scientist by the name of Ernest Ball cloned coast redwood giants from Northern California and reared test-tube redwoods. Many of these …
I just returned from a New Year’s trip through Yellowstone National Park, where I hiked out to see one of the petrified redwoods still standing on the forest slopes of Wyoming. This ancient redwood has been through an amazing transformation—its …
It takes a long time to get to Hendy Woods State Park from San Francisco. It takes a while to get there from pretty much anywhere, but it’s worth it. Approaching the park through the Anderson Valley wine country, the …
Why are Christmas trees shaped the way they are, pointy on top and wide at the bottom? It’s because their growth is regulated by hormones. One such hormone (called auxin) is produced at the growing tip of the treetop and …
Open up the 2012/12 issue of National Geographic to see photos of an incredible giant sequoia and the phenomenal diversity of plants and animals that live with this redwood in the forest. On the backside of the fold-out photograph of …
It’s fairly difficult for me to imagine living for 3,000 years. Yet giant sequoias live for millennia, standing tall in a single location as the years, decades, and centuries tick by. They are pounded by rain, snow, sweltering heat, lightening, …
This was a big month in California. While the election may be the first thing that comes to mind, we also witnessed the first auction of carbon credits to companies that emit more than 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every …
No doubt, we have all experienced the joy of showing up to a thoughtfully prepared Thanksgiving feast with family and friends. Surrounded by overflowing dishes of food, it is nearly impossible to go to bed hungry following a Thanksgiving meal. …
Since I was a little girl, I’ve enjoyed standing next to the large cross-section of redwood trunk on display at the entrance of Muir Woods National Monument. It boggles my mind that this redwood started growing in the year 909 …
Did you know that the coast redwood forest is home to the largest slug in North America and the second largest slug worldwide*? Yep, our very own banana slug (Ariolimax columbianus) grows up to 8 inches in length and can …
I just returned from a vacation in Nepal, a beautiful country boasting the tallest mountains in the world. For two weeks I trekked through the mountains, seeing stark snowscapes and yak-covered slopes in the northern high Himalayas and the lush …
When the South Fork Eel River in Mendocino County turns blue during the winter, it is impossible not to wonder why the river changes color so much over the course of the year. With first fall rains, autumn leaves falling …
Did you know that winter rains cause fungi to reproduce in the redwood forest? Mushrooms are the most visible parts of the fungal body and grow up out of the soil so that the wind will disperse their spores. When …
Redwoods are red, Red clintonia is now blue, It’s fall in the forest, Bearing fruits of a brilliant hue. The large shiny green leaves of red clintonia, or Andrew’s clintonia, grow in moist sandy soil in the redwood forest. This …
As summer rolls on every year, people always ask me with concern about why their redwoods have orange foliage. Is it a sign of drought? Is the redwood sick? Luckily for the redwoods, the answer to these questions is quite …
