Wild Equity Institute

Finding San Francisco's Lost Species: The Franciscan Manzanita
2016-03-05 11:00 - 13:00 UTC | Baker Beach North Parking Lot, Battery Chamberlin Rd, , San Francisco, CA, 94129, United States
*Saturday, March 5, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm:*
Although there are over 100 species and subspecies of manzanita, until 2009, it was thought that San Francisco’s own manzanita, the Franciscan Manzanita, had gone extinct.
The Franciscan manzanita is a subtly charming flowering shrub found nowhere else on Earth. Its tragic history is filled with heroic acts by botanists striving to keep the species alive. In 1906, the specimens first used to identify the species were rescued from the California Academy of Sciences as fires driven by the San Francisco earthquake ravaged the Academy’s collections. In 1947 a famous botanist stood in front of earth-moving equipment to wrest the last known wild plants from a construction site. The plants were sent to a botanical garden, and no one found the plant in the wild again. The Franciscan Manzanita was rediscovered in the wild in 2009, has since been listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act, and there are now over 30 Franciscan Manzanita plantings alive on the Presidio Bluffs!

Join the Wild Equity Institute to learn more about the endangered Franciscan Manzanita, it’s ecology, and what the National Park Service and other conservationists are doing to protect this magnificent species. We’ll be joined by Michael Vasey and Tom Parker, co-authors of Field Guide to Manzanitas.

You can watch a short documentary about the recovery of the Franciscan Manzanita here.

Meet us at North Baker Beach Parking Lot off of Battery Chamberlin Road. From there, we will hike north along the Pacific bluffs and through the manzanita’s critical habitat. Once we reach the Golden Gate Bridge, we’ll pour some Manzanita drinks (apple juice and champagne) and make a toast to the survival of this wonderful species! In the spirit of resource conservation, please bring a reusable cup if you wish to participate!

We’ll also have books, t-shirt, and water bottles for sale.

Hope to see you there!

The Franciscan Manzanita

Evicted!

Western Snowy Plover Walk About!
2016-02-28 09:00 - 11:00 | Ocean Beach at Pacheco St., 1998 Great Hwy, , San Francisco, CA, 94116, United States
*Sunday, Feb. 28, 9:00am – 11:00am:* Join the Wild Equity Institute for a leisurely walk along Ocean Beach to search for the threatened Western Snowy Plover. We’ll be meeting at 9 am in order to coincide with low tide—this should give us the best chance of spotting the Plover as well as other shorebirds.

The Snowy Plover is a small shorebird threatened by human activities and habitat degradation. Join us to see this adorable species in its native habitat and learn more about what the Park Service is doing to help save this little puffball of feathers.

BONUS: We’ll also be starting the morning with Andytown Coffee Roasters’ famous Snowy Plover coffee beverage!
Meet at the patch of grass at the intersection of Pacheco St. and the Great Highway.

San Francisco's Fragmented Ecosystems
2016-02-17 18:30 - 20:30 | Wild Equity Institute Office, 474 Valencia St, Suite 295, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
San Francisco has 32 pockets of undeveloped land set aside for the preservation of the natural world. These pockets hold the last remnants of wildness once found across the lands where we now live, but do we have room in our parks and our hearts for nature in this city?

Please join Brent Plater, executive director of the Wild Equity Institute, for a photographic exploration of the remaining wild areas in San Francisco, discuss the threats they face, and learn how you can help these areas thrive.

We will also be discussing San Francisco’s Significant Natural Resource Areas Management Plan, parts of which imminently threaten the species mentioned above.

Come find out how you can become more engaged with regional wildlife and ecosystems!

San Francisco’s 32 preserved natural areas
