Our Work

Asphalt has its faults. Once an acceptable trail-building material, it poses a threat to ecosystem health in Muir Woods. As part of an ongoing replacement process, the Trail Crew recently installed a new area of boardwalk among the redwoods. Find out where—and why.

Through BioBlitz, you’ll help illuminate biodiversity in the parks. Through this Institute at the Golden Gate event, you’ll understand why it is so important to our community. On March 13, 2014, engage with experts from UC-Berkeley, Free Range Studios, and Green for All.

Repeated over time, warm and dry winters alter the timing of natural events such as flower blooms, and those changes can produce a ripple effect throughout the food web. Learn more about phenology—the study of seasonal phenomena and how they’re affected by climate change.

A green lawn all year-long? Nowhere near as fascinating or entertaining as the transformation of native plants from one season to the next.

Redwood Creek, which starts on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais and empties into the Pacific Ocean, has now been restored to its natural floodplain at Muir Beach. It’s time to see the major improvements to the landscape—and visitor amenities.

On the heels of a productive 2013, the Institute at the Golden Gate has released Change Makers, a report summarizing the Institute’s five years of leveraging parks as places to address some of society’s most pressing challenges.

Threatened by Sudden Oak Death, wildfire, and the proliferation of invasive species, the oak and bay trees of Oakwood Valley face a tenuous future. But a recently completed stewardship project gives us reason for hope—and a way to help.

Valentine’s Day not exactly your favorite holiday? Just for you incurable curmudgeons—here’s a bouquet of plants with some less-than-romantic names that you certainly won’t be hearing about in any love sonnet.

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, it’s a time to show some love for those who have made a positive and lasting impression on our lives. Here in the Golden Gate National Parks, one incredible community stands out—our PARK VOLUNTEERS.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’” On MLK Day of Service in 2014, we hope you’ll be volunteering in our Golden Gate National Parks.