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December 2019
Plant ID Workshops
Listen to a PowerPoint presentation that explains a plant family's diagnostic features, its economic importance, distribution, and evolutionary history among other things. We are then assisted by graduate botany students to key out live specimens. Join us for a stress-free hour and a half learning about botany. Bring Jepson Manual Second Edition, if you have one, and a loupe. We do have microscopes on hand and instruments that aid with dissection of plants. Workshops begin at 6 pm and run…
Find out more »McLaren Park Mushrooms
PJoin mycologist, Alan Rockefeller, for a fungal foray in McLaren Park. We will meet at 10:00 am at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater parking lot. This may be a popular field trip, so please watch your step and try to stay on trail. If there has been no significant precipitation in December, we will have to reschedule; heavy rain on the 21st rain postpones to December 29. Email alanrockefeller@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Find out more »January 2020
San Bruno Mountain Ridge lichens
Lichens are all around us and they have fascinating stories to tell those who listen. Lichens are beautiful, play critical roles in ecosystems, and can act as sensitive environmental indicators because they respond to fine scale ecological conditions. San Bruno Mountain is a particularly interesting destination for lichen explorers; it is an urban conservation success story with significant biodiversity of many taxonomic groups. It has an unusually diverse assortment of lichens, particularly for an urban area, in part because it is…
Find out more »The Northern California Botanists Symposium – “The Diversity of Northern California Botany: Challenges and Opportunities”
On January 14-15, 2019, Northern California Botanists will present a two-day symposium titled “Research and Conservation of Northern California’s Vegetation Communities” at California State University, Chico, plus a third day of workshops. Also included: a poster session, reception, banquet, keynote speaker. Student stipends available. For details, see: www.norcalbotanists.org
Find out more »San Bruno Mountain: Saddle and Bog Trails
This field trip is a first-of-the-year winter staple so let’s start with an easy walk around the saddle and bog with East Bay and San Francisco views. The saddle features grasslands, monocultures of gorse, a eucalyptus forest, the headwaters of Colma Creek, and a rare upland wetland. Several past restoration projects offer vivid examples of success and failure and are worth discussing. The Saddle Trail is a wide fire road and is rich in plant species. Its eastern grasslands share…
Find out more »Tule Rive Parkway Walk
Explore local river trail on a docent-led family friendly walk on a paved path. Meet at the trail entrance lot off Jaye St. Enter from southbound lanes just south of Tule River Bridge rail. Easy 2 mile walk no elevation gain. Wear closed toe shoes, bring water, no restrooms are available.
Find out more »Tule River Parkway Walk
Explore local river trail on a docent-led family friendly walk on a paved path. Meet at the trail entrance lot off Jaye St. Enter from southbound lanes just south of Tule River Bridge rail. Easy 2 mile walk no elevation gain. Wear closed toe shoes, bring water, no restrooms are available.
Find out more »February 2020
Lobos Creek Valley, Presidio of San Francisco
Lobos Creek Valley has been called "a blazing landmark on the map of Bay Area restoration" (Orion Afield, 2002). The watershed contains some of the best examples of dune and riparian vegetation in San Francisco. Over 20 acres of dune habitat have been restored to support rare plants such as San Francisco lessingia (Lessingia germanorum), dune gilia (Gilia capitata ssp. chamissonis) and San Francisco spineflower (Chorizanthe cuspidata var. cuspidata). Current restoration efforts are focused on the arroyo willow and coast live oak riparian zone along…
Find out more »San Francisco’s Changing Landscape—A Picture History
The slide presentation will show the evolution of San Francisco's landscape with historic photos of the dunes, grasslands, trees, creeks, lakes and the Bayshore. Greg will discuss what has been lost and what is being preserved of San Francisco's natural heritage. Greg Gaar is a native San Franciscan who became an environmentalist and park advocate because he watched the loss of the open spaces where he played as a youngster. He was a photojournalist for forty years and collects historic photos…
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