Author: Matt Charnock

Though SF is generally tarantula-free due to its climate and topography, thousands of these massive spiders are currently on the move in the Bay Area. Tarantulas are creatures that you either love or hate; there’s little room for ambivalence when one's exoskeleton serves as inspiration for Halloween decor. But regardless of what feelings you hold for them, the California tarantula, which is the SF Bay Area’s only endemic tarantula, plays a major role in our region’s ecosystems. Aside from being highly effective insectivores — they’re masters of eating hearty amounts of the crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, and caterpillars that could otherwise reproduce in overwhelming numbers — their burrows can serve as homes for other small creatures, once vacated. The tarantulas native to North ...

Residents of the NorCal city experienced an uncomfortable fit of déjà vu Tuesday when a thick, smoky haze swallowed San Franciso and much of the Bay Area. On Tuesday, September 19th, San Franciscans and other Bay Area locals smelled a familiar, unsettling scent: wildfire smoke. Still-growing wildfires in Northern California and Oregon have filled the skies above them with smoke — and that very same smoke has worked its way down to our slice of California, hazing our skies. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued an Air Quality Advisory Tuesday that will remain in effect Wednesday, though it could stretch into Thursday and potentially Friday; the fires responsible for San Francisco (and the greater Bay Area) smelling like a campfire are still burning. Thankfully, air qua...

Its name couldn’t be more perfect: Pogo. San Francisco sits on an important migration route for many cetaceans (e.g. whales, dolphins, and porpoises) as they travel to and from breeding and feeding grounds. It’s this very reason why whale tours in the San Francisco Bay Area are among the most fruitful anywhere in the country.  At times, a jaw-dropping aerial breach done by a traveling humpback whale aligns with someone nearby who’s able to capture that moment in gorgeous detail. That’s exactly what transpired when photographer Pilar Rordquiez was out on a boat near SF’s Golden Gate Bridge in July and just so happened to capture the moment when a then-unknown humpback whale leaped from the ocean — right in front of the famous structure. Fast forward a few months later, and resear...

If you've ever wondered how large trees are planted in San Francisco courtyards bordered by tall residential buildings... well, here you go. San Francisco is the second most dense city in the United States, with New York City claiming the Big W. Because of this, urban landscaping and gardening can pose a few hurdles. Unlike suburbia — where metropolitan walkability and public transport surrender to large backyards, front yards, and painted fence lines — sowing large trees in a cityscape comes with its own set of problems. Most San Franciscans can’t uninstall a wooden gate to bring in a mature, hefty plant into a courtyard. No, much more creative and ostensibly over-the-top (pun intended) measures must be enacted to perform such feats. At the corner of Webster Street and Pacific ...