Stewardship

Park volunteers watch a small black bird walk along a pathway

Every week we work to restore native plant habitat, but our work goes beyond just the plant communities in our parks. It’s been fascinating to see the influence our work can have on wildlife and the ecosystem around us.

Volunteer working with soil in the Golden Gate National Parks.

Soil and trouble: Time to consider this overlooked conservation concern

Most people don't think about the status of soils on a regular basis, nor do they think of the soils beneath our feet as a collection of living organisms. But they are.

Close up between grass blades, showing a brown ant hovering over a fuzzy green caterpillar.

Cool Science: Parasitic wasps came for endangered Mission blue butterflies, but nature had an answer

It’s a larvae-eat-larvae world out there. But somewhere along the line, nature evolved a way of balancing things out: a symbiotic relationship with native formicine ants.

A small group of people focus on individual tasks while working outside on a trail overlook a body of water

The story of a trail: Impressive work goes into rebuilding trails, saving species

Learn more about the process of new trail construction, and become inspired to join us out on the trail.

Three people stand on a hillside overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge

What does caring for the parks really mean?

Caring doesn’t happen everywhere; some jobs are a means to an end, or summer flings. They must have meaningfulness to create a sense of care in the worker.