http://steel.ced.berkeley.edu/research/hidden_ecologies Exploring San Francisco Bay Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:44:29 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I used the short, sunny Saturday afforded by our winter this week to hike again out to the old swing bridge of the now defunct Dumbarton Cutoff Line. Built in 1909 as a shortcut between Newark and Redwood City, this rail line featured the first bridge to span San Francisco ... http://steel.ced.berkeley.edu/research/hidden_ecologies/?p=866 I have had a fine time this fall exploring salt ponds immediately north of Alameda Creek. This area includes Salt Ponds E6B, E8, and E8X with the latter two scheduled for a return to tidal flow in the near future. While these are all large ponds in the way ... http://steel.ced.berkeley.edu/research/hidden_ecologies/?p=858 I have been on a bit of a binge lately with five KAP sessions in South San Francisco Bay during the last week. September is a special month for my work in the Hidden Ecologies project. There is always a month or so this time of the year when my ... http://steel.ced.berkeley.edu/research/hidden_ecologies/?p=846 This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley where I have taught for 25 years. As part of the portfolio of activites scheduled to celebrate the occasion Wayne and I gave a presentation at the Alviso Environmental Education Center and ... http://steel.ced.berkeley.edu/research/hidden_ecologies/?p=835 The Fall Stakeholder's Meeting for the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project wrapped up on 17 September around 5:30. Rather than face I-880 traffic I made a detour to Salt Pond A23 for a quick KAP session as the sun was setting - an altogether sublime experience. I had been ... http://steel.ced.berkeley.edu/research/hidden_ecologies/?p=841 As the summer waned I found myself waited for the snowy plover chicks to fledge. I cannot KAP at most of the South Bay salt ponds between February and September in deference of the plover’s slightly anxious nesting behavior. Last year I was able to KAP in late summer at ... http://steel.ced.berkeley.edu/research/hidden_ecologies/?p=832 On Sunday I made my eighth hike out to Drawbridge (permit required!), a deserted town in the middle of South San Francisco Bay where the only firm ground was manmade land. This little town, once home to a couple hundred folks, was situated on Station Island along the first rail ... http://steel.ced.berkeley.edu/research/hidden_ecologies/?p=815 The ruins of the Alvarado Salt Works lie along what was once a channel of Alameda Creek outside of present day Union City, California. This was one of the first South Bay Salt Pond sites to catch my eye, in large part because of the ruins of an old trussed ... http://steel.ced.berkeley.edu/research/hidden_ecologies/?p=811 This Saturday Wayne and I led a hike sponsored by Bay Nature magazine out to the Weep, a ditch just north of Alviso, California. Wayne Lanier and I worked with editor Dan Rademacher on a photo essay "Out at the WEEP - a curious search for life in a ditch" ... http://steel.ced.berkeley.edu/research/hidden_ecologies/?p=798 We have long been fans of Bay Nature, a lively publication serving naturalists in the San Francisco Bay Area. So, we were delighted when Dan Rademcher, Editorial Director for Bay Nature, approached us to develop an article based on Hidden Ecologies. After several pleasant meetings, a fine Sunday hike to ... http://steel.ced.berkeley.edu/research/hidden_ecologies/?p=782