San Francisco Natural History Series

In San Francisco, are you more likely to wade through a creek or traffic? Under the right circumstances, either is possible. And sometimes, when atmospheric rivers slam the region and as street gutters fill to capacity, we can do both at once. Today’s San Franciscans have few if any natural creek experiences compared to the creek-dependent people who inhabited the region for thousands of years before urban development. Learn tips on reading the landscape in search of water, and find out where some of our beautiful (if small and hidden) springs are.

Bring your curiosity and sense of wonder to this presentation by Joel Pomerantz, an independent researcher, a writer, and the publisher of the Seep City Water Explorations Map. Joel is a natural history educator recognized for his work in waterway research, local journalism, public art and community service. His work centers on community-based nonfiction related to San Francisco.

Adrian Cotter has been a frequent speaker at the SFNHS talks, and has been helping find its speakers since 2014. Adrian is a web developer (working at the Sierra Club by day), an artist, and a burgeoning naturalist. He is an explorer of the urban environment and the nature that resides within it (in particular if you have any questions about San Francisco's raven population, he'll happily answer).  

This summer, the Bay Observatory hosts three lectures from the long-running San Francisco Natural History Series.

For more than 25 years the series has explored all aspects of nature in the Bay Area, seeking “to understand our impact both past and present on those natural systems, and their impact on us.”

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