Bat Week is an international, annual celebration designed to raise awareness about the need for bat conservation. Bats are amazing creatures that are vital to the health of our natural world and economy. Although we may not always see them, bats are hard at work all around the world each night – eating tons of insects, pollinating flowers, and spreading seeds that grow new plants and trees.
To learn more about Bat Week and find virtual events go to Home – Bat Week
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Job Opening
Posted in Mushrooms, Park | Tags: Mushroom Collecting, Redwood National and State Parks
from the East Bay Regional Parks
Parks affected include Anthony Chabot, Claremont Canyon, Huckleberry, Lake Chabot, Leona Canyon, Redwood, Roberts, Sibley, Tilden, Wildcat Canyon, and Kennedy Grove
A 20-year wind event is expected to hit the Bay Area starting Sunday, October 25, 2020. Fire danger will be extreme due to expected high winds, low humidity, and dry vegetation. High winds also cause falling trees and branches, which can cause injury.
The following East Bay Regional Parks are closed from Sunday, October 25, 2020, through Monday, October 26, 2020, due to extreme weather and fire dangers:
EBRPD Fire Department will be staffing several park fire stations along with CalFire who remains on high alert.
Residents are advised not to enter any East Bay closed Regional Parks during. Anyone entering Regional Parks will be subject to citation or arrest for violation of the Park District’s Ordinance 38.
For up-to-date information on the closures and reopenings, visit www.ebparks.org.
Posted in Park | Tags: East Bay Regional Park Closures
BBC reports
Scientists say they are racing against time to name and describe new plants, before species go extinct.Plants and fungi hold promise as future medicines, fuels and foods, according to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Read story at Two-fifths of plants at risk of extinction, says report – BBC News
Posted in Environment | Tags: Extinction Crisis
The Richmond Standard
A brand new shoreline park has just opened at the eastern end of the Bay Bridge. And thanks to a continuous San Francisco Bay Trail, the scenic new park is a roughly nine-mile bike ride from Richmond’s Point Isabel Shoreline Park.
Judge John Sutter Regional Shoreline Park is named after the East Bay visionary and former park district board member who first envisioned the park in the 1960s. It features a 600-foot long by 40-foot wide public observation pier built atop six remaining piles from the old Bay Bridge, EBRPD said. It also has a renovated, 24,000-square foot 1930s-era electric train maintenance building (known as the Bridge Yard) that can host large concerts and community events.
Read more and see photos at Brand new shoreline park opens on eastern side of Bay Bridge | Richmond Standard
Posted in Park | Tags: Judge John Sutter Regional Shoreline Park
The Revelator reports on “American environmentalism’s racist roots have influenced global conservation practices”
American environmentalism’s racist roots have shaped global thinking about conservation, and that has walled off Indigenous peoples from land they could most effectively steward.
Read more at Tear Down the Walls: The Racist Roots of ‘Fortress Conservation’ • The Revelator
Posted in Environment | Tags: conservation, Racism
As you probably already know, Conglomerate Mesa, an ecological oasis located on the border of Death Valley National Park, is under threat of an industrial scale gold mining project by Canadian company, K2 Gold. This special place is the ancestral homeland of the Paiute-Shoshone and Timbisha Shoshone Indigenous peoples. Join us as we stand with them in a “Rally to Save Conglomerate Mesa” and show K2 Gold that this place is worth more than gold!
When: October 25th form 12-2pm
Where: Main Street in Lone Pine, CA
What: Bring a sign (or pick one up from Spainhower park) and show your support!
*Masks are required. There will be plenty of room to spread out 6 ft apart on Main Street.
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Posted in Environment | Tags: Conglomerate Mesa!
from the The Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology
Women in science and medicine: They haven’t always been allowed. A Mighty Girl The WFVZ encourages EVERYONE to participate in the Sciences. Science has room for all people with curiosity about how the world works, and with a desire to make the world a better place. The Sciences benefit from diversity of thought, perspective, culture, and training. Please join us!
Read more at Women in science and medicine:
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Women in science and medicine
from the San Francisco Public Library
Presentation: Gardening for Biodiversity in San Francisco | San Francisco Public Library Saturday, 10/24/2020 1:00 – 2:00
A partnership with California Native Plant Society and the Bay Area Science Festival
San Francisco plants and wildlife, including beautiful butterflies, co-evolved together in a variety of plant communities on our varied soils and in our variable weather. These wildlife and plants are our biodiversity, the foundation of our ecosystem health. We’ll discuss what to plant in San Francisco to feed our local ecosystem, including shallow rooted plants that thrive in pots.
Susan Karasoff gardens in San Francisco’s clay soil. Susan is a member of the California Native Plant Society – Yerba Buena (San Francisco) chapter. Susan brings a systems approach to build resilient local ecosystems and an “only the easiest plants survive” approach to gardening. Susan grows a buffet of native edible and pollinator plants. Connect with the California Native Plant Society: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Flickr
Posted in Garden | Tags: Gardening for Biodiversity
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from the Bay Regional Parks
The Park District is celebrating the opening of a new 45-acre regional shoreline park with a live “virtual” dedication on Wednesday, October 21, 2020, at 10:30 a.m. (details to be announced).
The new shoreline park – named Judge John Sutter Regional Shoreline after East Bay civic and environmental leader and former Park District Board member John Sutter – is located at the eastern touchdown of the Bay Bridge and provides spectacular views of the entire bay and new eastern Bay Bridge span. The new park includes the historic and newly-renovated 24,000-square foot Bridge Yard building available for future public events, a walking trail to the recently constructed 600-foot observation pier with views of the bay, and improved parking and bike and pedestrian access to the Alex Zuckerman Bay Bridge Trail from the eastern touchdown of the bridge to Treasure Island.
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Posted in Park | Tags: East Bay Regional Parks, Judge John Sutter Regional Shoreline
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Posted in Garden | Tags: Birding for the Birds
EarthSky reports
Are there worlds out there – orbiting distant stars – even better suited for life than Earth? Might they be older, larger, warmer, wetter and with longer-living stars? Now astronomers have identified 24 possible superhabitable worlds.
Read more at Astronomers identify 24 possible superhabitable worlds | Space | EarthSky
Posted in Astronomy | Tags: Habitable Worlds
Photos from a visit to the Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley. It is a botanic garden of California native plants. The garden is open for visitors Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free but reservations are required. For reservations click here.
You can see other photos from the Regional Parks Botanic Garden on the garden’s Flickr group page at Regional Parks Botanic Garden.
The BBC reports
Who occupies the White House for the next four years could play a critical role in the fight against dangerous climate change, experts say. Matt McGrath weighs the likely environmental consequences of the US election.
Scientists studying climate change say that the re-election of Donald Trump could make it “impossible” to keep global temperatures in check.
They’re worried another four years of Trump would “lock in” the use of fossil fuels for decades to come – securing and enhancing the infrastructure for oil and gas production rather than phasing them out as environmentalists want.
Joe Biden’s climate plan, the scientists argue, would give the world a fighting chance.
Read more at Why the US election could decide battle against climate change – BBC News
Posted in Environment | Tags: Climate Change and US Election
Posted in Class/Workshop | Tags: S. California Botany Symposium
A very early blooming Iris in my garden (or is it a very late blooming one?)
Ground Iris/Iris macrosiphon
Posted in Garden, Photos (Sandy's) | Tags: Ground Iris, Iris macrosiphon
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park announced
After a ten-month public closure due to fire damage, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (ABDSP) is excited to announce the Fall 2020 seasonal opening of Borrego Palm Canyon Trail. The modified trail, trailhead and parking lots, are open to “Limited, Day-Use” activity from sunrise to sunset for the upcoming 2020-21 season. The “First Grove” remains off-limits to visitation for the foreseeable duration;
Posted in Desert, Park | Tags: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Palm Canyon Trail
from University and Jepson Herbaria – UC Berkeley
A baseline for monitoring extinction in the Anthropocene. Jepson Curator Bruce Baldwin and UC/JEPS Director Brent Mishler contributed to an analysis documenting which plants in North America have already gone extinct. Available data suggest 65 vascular plant taxa from this region have become extinct since European settlement, 19 from California alone.
Extinction rates are expected to increase during the Anthropocene. Current extinction rates of plants and many animals remain unknown. This study represents the first effort to quantify extinctions among the vascular flora of North America north of Mexico since European settlement.
Read the open source paper here: https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/…/10…/cobi.13621
Posted in Environment, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Plant Extinction
California Overland Desert Excursions, an Anza-Borrego Desert State Park concessionaire, are looking for a part-time driver/guide. With California Overland, you can make money doing what you love while showing the Park to visitors from around the world. Qualified applicants must be personable, in good general health, have a clean driver record and be adept with use of manual transmissions. A commercial driver’s license and general knowledge of the desert are a plus, but not required. If you’re interested in joining their team, contact Joe at joe@californiaoverland.com.
Posted in Desert, Park | Tags: Job Opportunity
The UC-Berkeley Botanical Garden an article on the effects of smoke and ash on plants by Dr. Lew Feldman, Garden Director
While there are much data pointing to the beneficial effects of fires on plants, especially in regard to acting as an environmental cue for seed germination and in seed dispersal, in general, as for humans, smoke and ash are detrimental to plants. Chemically, more than 100 different compounds have been identified in smoke, including toxic levels of nitrous oxide, sulfur dioxide and ozone. Short-term exposure to smoke (as little as 20 minutes) has been reported to reduce photosynthesis by as much as 50%, as a consequence of both the destruction of chlorophyll, the light-capturing green pigment, and in impeding the movement of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the plant through leaf pores (stomata).
Read full article at I’m Glad You Asked: The Effects of Smoke and Ash on Plants – UC Botanical Garden
Posted in Environment, Garden, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Effects of Smoke and Ash on Plants
Saguaro National Park reports
We need your help. Several saguaro cacti were cut down in the Scenic Trailhead area of the West District. If you were in the area around October 3 and may have information that could help Rangers in their investigation, we would like to hear from you. There is the option to remain anonymous. Please contact the NPS Investigative Services Tipline – 888 653-0009 or submit a tip online https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1563/submit-a-tip.htm
Posted in Park | Tags: Cactus destruction, Saguaro National Park
Mono County Tourism Reports
It’s peak week round one! Most of your favorite Mono County fall color destinations will be at or near peak this week. If you want to see the fall colors this year, book your trip in the next two weeks!
Weather and smoke have varied greatly over the past week with clear skies today and smoky/hazy conditions near Mammoth Lakes over the last few days. Please check the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District orAirNow.gov (air quality) reports before you head out each day.
National Forest Update: The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is fully open and the Inyo National Forest has partially reopened. Fishing, hiking, hunting, and fall color viewing is now open everywhere while wilderness areas in the Inyo National Forest remain closed.
Read more and see detailed report at Fall Colors in Mono County – Mono County Tourism and Film Commission
Posted in Fall Foliage | Tags: Mono County Fall Color
The Revelator reports
A new paper documents 65 such plant extinctions — five small trees, eight shrubs, 37 perennial herbs and 15 annual herbs — the losses of most of which have never been reported before. Most of these species had limited ranges or were known from single sites, and likely went extinct following the destruction of their habitats. A few were lost due to dams, invasive species or overgrazing.
Read article at: How Many Plant Species Have Gone Extinct in North America? • The Revelator
Posted in Environment, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Lost Species
Plants that eat insects? We have them! Choose from a wide variety of these fascinating, uniquely beautiful plants which grow surprisingly well in our climate. Most are best grown outdoors; others make great houseplants. Shop in person and expand your collection.
The Garden’s outstanding collection of carnivorous plants are big, beautiful and in their full fall glory! This special 2-day public sale features species that would normally have been available at the Garden’s Fall Plant Sale: Sarracenia, Nepenthes, Venus flytraps, Drosera, Darlingtonia, and Pinguicula. Enjoy these spectacular plants in their prime, before they enter their brief period of winter dormancy. Whether you’re topping off your collection or just getting started, you’ll want to stop by, check out the “savage garden,” and talk shop with our carnivore section staff. We will be there to answer your questions and get you started or help you add to your collection.
The Sale is located outside the UC Botanical Garden, just below the parking lot.
No reservation required.
Posted in Garden | Tags: Carnivorous Plant Sale
Tuesday, October 13, 2020 (Oakland, CA) – Red Flag Warning issued by National Weather Service for major wind event on Wednesday, Oct 14 at 5:00 a.m., through Friday, Oct 16 at 11:00 a.m. Anticipated winds ranging from 45 to 70 mph in the East Bay Hills.
The following regional parks are closed beginning tomorrow at 5 a.m. through Friday at 11 a.m. due to dangerous fire conditions:
EBRPD Fire Department will be staffing several park fire stations along with CalFire who remains on high alert.
For up-to-date information on closures and reopenings, visit www.ebparks.org.
Posted in Park | Tags: East Bay Regional Park Closures
Seafloor mapping, visual surveys, and sample collections through this Nautilus mission will strengthen our understanding of the presence, distribution, condition, and connectivity of deep sea coral and sponge habitats.
You can watch⏺LIVE by clicking here: https://nautiluslive.org/
Posted in Park | Tags: Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
Fall Color is looking good at Bishop Creek, Sonora Pass, Hope Valley and Plumas County. Check reports and photos at California Fall Color. There are some especially impressive photos of North Lake.
Posted in Fall Foliage | Tags: California Fall Color
Posted in Park | Tags: Channel Island National Park, Job Opportunity
eBird announces
In addition, this year’s October Big Day 2020 is happening during the first Global Bird Weekend. The goal of Global Bird Weekend is to make October 17-18 the biggest ever birding weekend and support BirdLife International’s appeal to end illegal bird trade. One of Global Bird Weekend’s aims is to have more than 25,000 people submit eBird checklists on 17 October—will you be one of them?
Read how to participate at October Big Day 2020—bigger than ever! – eBird
Posted in Birds | Tags: October Big Day
Natural History Wanderings 