Park Stories

Hopefully these haikus remind us all why we love our jobs and these parks.

This past month I gained new skills in preparing for and executing a volunteer program. Working during Women’s Trail Day was my first taste of this new experience and I could not think of a better day to get me excited about stewardship projects to come.

We have an exciting opportunity to be a part of an important legacy of environmental activism and change by participating in Earth Day activities this month. Earth Day has a powerful and inspiring history and we hope all our volunteers will come out and get involved in giving back to the Earth a little more.

Selin Ozguzer has been volunteering with Park Stewardship in San Mateo for nine years. Selin is a graphic/web designer by profession and spends most of the day behind a computer. Volunteering with the parks offers Selin a consistent chance to be “outside, relaxed, digging in the dirt and getting a free workout in the process.” 

Spring brings so much life and joy into our parks, but did you know you had a special connection to a particular wildflower species based on your sign? Find out which flower is your special match! 

As I began exploring more of the area in my free time, I was delighted to find there were many more species of mushrooms than I had never seen before. While on a hike with a friend in Point Reyes, we noticed a beautiful fly agaric mushroom trail side.

Although the wildflowers are numerous and diverse in a super bloom, there are still reasons to not step on or pick your local wildflowers. (As a reminder, it is illegal to pick or collect plants in national forests, parks, and monuments without a permit!)

A new season means a new menu of events and happenings for those seeking adventure—and a good time—in the Golden Gate National Parks. See what’s in store from April to June 2019.

Celebrate California's redwood forests with our new fog globe, winner of the 2019 Public Lands Alliance Innovative Product of the Year Award.

Find a new park or activity, and check out what our youth leaders are doing for spring break in San Francisco, the Bay Area, and beyond.

For the last few months you’ve been hearing from either Yakuta, Gabriel, or Jainita, but this month our team got bigger! Please welcome Jonathan Howell: A motorcycle-riding, mountain-climbing parks lover you’ll want to meet.

By Jainita Patel
San Francisco Park Stewardship Intern

It’s March and you know what that means—bird season! Soon, Lands End will be covered in passing migratory birds of all colors, shapes, and sizes.