Conservation

To help kids learn about park wildlife, we developed our San Francisco Critter Socks Collection. The collection celebrates three species that make their home in our park: raccoons, bobcats, and mule deer.

San Francisco’s most unique and interesting attribute might be the Bay Area’s geology.

It seems we see bees buzzing around just about any plant, but what are their favorite flowers? Bees love native California flora!

I have always loved Turkey Vultures. It all started when I met Toulouse, the Turkey Vulture, when I was a volunteer at the Animal Resource Center at the San Francisco Zoo. As a GGRO Intern in 2008, I watched the Turkey Vultures do their wobbly, effortless soaring around Hawk Hill. One day on the Hill, someone said to me, “You will get tired of watching Turkey Vultures when you go to Veracruz.” Well, that person was wrong. My experience in Mexico, watching thousands of vultures on migration, only increased my love for vultures. Incidentally, in Mexico, Turkey Vultures are called “Zopilotes.”

You have seen it, you have likely walked by it countless times, but what really is ice plant and what are its effects on our parks?

Fog is a staple of San Francisco and its surrounding neighborhoods, especially in the summer. How do the natural ecosystems of the area take advantage of this mysterious mist?

Did you know that there are bats in California? Or even in the Bay Area? Not only do we have a large bat population in this region, but bats are an essential part of California’s ecosystems and they may be at risk.

Do you know the wonders of the willow? A native plant of the Bay Area, the willow has cultural and medicinal significance.

Only about 1 percent of original grasslands remain in most of California. Read about what caused the decline of grassland habitat throughout much of the state, as well as efforts by the Parks Conservancy and volunteers to help maintain and restore habitat for our endangered and threatened species.

The indigenous Ohlone people were the first to live, steward, and walk in the coastal hills and scrubland of San Mateo County and the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Read about the legacy of their stewardship and the evolving relationship between indigenous people and the parks.