Park E-ventures Newsletter Archive

Freshly Picked, Tasty Tea Recipes

If you’re like me, you have a variety of teas at home that promise you sleepy dreams, good digestion, immune boosters, and more. The sheer number of teas can sometimes be overwhelming—and quite costly. Rather than going to your local grocery store, have you ever considered going out to your... more >>

The Four-Season Field Guide to Poison Oak

“Leaves of three, let it be. If it’s hairy, it’s a berry. If it’s shiny, watch your hiney.” That famous rhyme can help you pick out poison oak—for part of the year. But, because Toxicodendron diversilobum is deciduous, what about the other seasons?

To identify poison oak all year-round, just remember... more >>

Growing Season: Nurseries Spring into Action

With spring freshly arrived, you’re probably busy planning your garden for the season. Well, in a sense, the park nurseries are doing the same thing—only we’re not planning for gardens, we’re planning for dozens of park restoration and stewardship sites. With help from our dedicated volunteers, the staff of the... more >>

Early Spring Wildflowers: A Viewer’s Guide

View images of each species at the bottom of this page.

If you’re like me, you choose to live in the beautiful Bay Area to avoid those long terrible winters that would require us to look at seed catalogs just to see some green. While the East is still buried under... more >>

Our Romantic Plant of the Season

If your loved one takes you out to a nice restaurant this Valentine’s Day and you still have room for dessert, most likely you will see chocolate-covered strawberries on the menu. As you bite into one of nature’s most delectable fruits, you may take some time to ponder the plant... more >>

Family Dinner: Holiday Foods' Park Relatives

At your next holiday feast, impress friends and family with some fresh knowledge. Read on to learn the origins of popular holiday foods and discover their closest relatives, found in our parks. Please don’t forage for these items (quite a few are inedible)—but fill your plate with some food for... more >>

Holly-daze: A Case of Mistaken Identity

Did Christmas come early this year? Well, if you are out hiking in our parks this month it may seem like it.

Heteromeles arbutifolia—otherwise known as Christmas berry or toyon—is in full glory right now. With its brilliant display of bright red berries and leathery serrated leafs, it can often get... more >>

Critical Mast: The Boom and Bust of Acorns

Oak trees stand huge in our landscapes. At Oakwood Valley I walk under the unofficially named “Grandmother Tree.” If you have walked in the valley you know what I’m talking about. Oak trees are the foundation of the ecosystem they are found in, providing food and shelter for many species.... more >>

Ready for a Record-Breaking Planting Season!

Volunteers have played a vital role in the entire cycle of nurturing our native plants—seed collecting, seed cleaning, seed sowing, composting, pot washing, transplanting and, now, outplanting across the parks at restoration sites.

Much of this activity has centered in our six park nurseries, located in Marin, San Francisco, and San... more >>

Back from the Brink of Extinction

As you may know the assumed to be extinct Franciscan manzanita (or “Francie,” as staff in the park have come to call the original plant), was rediscovered during the Doyle Drive work. CalTrans relocated all 20,000 pounds of the plant in January... more >>