Many of you probably have heard of Arbor Day, the holiday when people plant and care for trees. In the United States, National Arbor Day is always celebrated on the last Friday in April. But did you know that many states observe Arbor Day on different dates throughout the year based on best tree planting … Continue reading
Did you know that the coast redwood forest is home to a native rose? The wood rose or dwarf rose, is known botanically as Rosa gymnocarpa. It grows throughout Western North America and commonly grows on the forest floor of coast redwood forests reaching heights of approximately 4 feet. In the spring (April – June), … Continue reading
Warning: this topic is gruesome, and awesome. Last week, Land Project Manager Christine Aralia and I walked the Orick Mill Site with Texas State researcher Butch Weckerly. Butch has studied the Roosevelt elk in Redwood National and State Parks since 1997, witnessing local extinctions and population explosions of the elk over the years. We walked … Continue reading
Often during the night I wake to hear the distinctive sound of my neighborhood’s Great Horned Owl calling out. It’s a lovely deep call that sounds like, “hoo-HOO-hoo-hoo” and while I’ve heard it often, I only first laid eyes on the bird last week. I rose early for a predawn run and once outside my … Continue reading
At Yosemite National Park this week, you may see smoke curling up from Mariposa Grove, the spectacular giant sequoia forest that catalyzed the conservation movement 150 years ago. This smoke is part of a planned prescribed burn in the forest to lower fuel loads that have accumulated over many decades of fire suppression. If you … Continue reading
Hiking with kids can sometimes feel like a forced march, we’ve all experienced kids complaining about walking for walking’s sake. Obviously, the best remedy for reluctant young hikers is regular doses of candy, but the next best remedy is also super fun and does not contribute to cavities! This is a nature color game that … Continue reading
My fascination with ferns started with an appreciation of their beauty and eventually translated into a scientific curiosity about how these seemingly delicate plants handle drought. As a postdoc at U.C. Santa Cruz, I looked into the basis of drought tolerance in native coast redwood forest ferns and found both beauty at the fern cellular level … Continue reading
