What’s in Prop. 4, the $10B Climate Bond on the Ballot
The environment is on the ballot this November—and not just in the presidential race. Amidst a plethora of other measures, Californians will vote on Proposition 4 ^(https://www.blogquicker.com/goto/https://www.lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Proposition?number=4&year=2024), the so-called climate bond, which would authorize the state to issue $10 billion in bonds for environmental and climate projects—many of which likely won’t be funded while the […]
Guest blog – Walshaw Turbine 8 by Nick MacKinnon – Mark Avery
Photo: Lydia MacKinnon Nick MacKinnon is a freelance teacher of Maths, English and Medieval History, and lives above Haworth, in the last inhabited house before Top Withens = Wuthering Heights. In 1992 he founded the successful Campaign to Save Radio 4 Long Wave while in plaster following a rock-climbing accident on Skye. His poem ‘The […]
Completely Revised and Expanded” By J. Duane Sept – The Tidepooler
Book Review: “The New Beachcomber’s Guide to Seashore Life of California: Completely Revised and Expanded” By J. Duane Sept October 15, 2024 Author note: Book reviews on this site are designed to give the reader a general idea of a book, its perceived purpose, and its success in accomplishing those purposes. The New Beachcomber’s Guide to […]
Like Top Gun, But With Falcons, and On Alcatraz
A juvenile peregrine falcon flies in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. (Vishal Subramanyan) Our first sign of falcon presence is a lone pigeon feather that floats down like a sinister snowflake from the top of the Alcatraz lighthouse, the highest point on the island. “I bet that top walkway is just littered with pigeon […]
Educational Programs at a Land Conservancy • John Muir Laws
This week, our special guest Tara Laidlaw shares with us about the programs she has developed for kids using nature journaling with the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy. Tara shares about her programs, her school visits that help to set the tone for the field, the transformative field trips her students embark on with her, and […]
Ventura County in Early June – The Tidepooler
Tide Pooling Log: Ventura County in Early June June 17, 2024 Sunburst anemone (Anthopleura sola) Summer in California brings extremely low tides, but only in the very early hours of the morning. While not great for sleep schedules, these tides offer a great opportunity to see nocturnal animals you won’t see during the day and a […]
The Meaning of Dos Rios, California’s Newest State Park
A riverbank, as seen in Dos Rios State Park. (Kate Golden) On Wednesday, June 12, the state of California officially opens Dos Rios, the first new state park in more than a decade. It’s a riparian forest restoration at the confluence of the San Joaquin and Tuolumne rivers, in the Central Valley, about an hour […]
I Went to the Intertidal During a “High” Low Tide; Here’s What I Found – The Tidepooler
I Went to the Intertidal During a “High” Low Tide; Here’s What I Found July 1, 2024 During the lowest of low daytime tides, you’ll find hordes of people at popular tide-pooling locations. Everyone knows that you have to visit during the lowest tides to see the best stuff, right? Well, kinda. For the intertidal enthusiast, […]
The New Normal: Hot Bats Drop By the Thousands
It was the middle of a triple-digit heat wave in the hottest July ever recorded in Bakersfield, California. Bat biologist Erika Noel stepped beneath a freeway overpass along State Route 178, and the air felt like an oven. Forty feet above, clustered among five joints of the bridge, were thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats emitting […]
Make Your Own Field Guide • John Muir Laws
The Nature Journal Educator’s Forum welcomes guests Rachael Robbins and two of her students as we learn about a special project they did with their class: creating a local ecosystem field guide! Rachael Robbins is a fifth grade teacher at Bay View Elementary in Burlington, Washington. She uses nature journaling with her students to connect […]