Speakers

Where do we turn to when the sky is falling? When even as we mask to stay safe, we expose ourselves to a long history of othering? Retreating inward by looking and listening outward, Amy Tan found solace in her backyard, the birds that are her neighbors, and the joy and freedom that comes with remaining curious and creative. Returning to her childhood dream of becoming an artist, questioning everything, and taking in the wild world that surrounds us, Tan has shared her personal journey and insights through her latest book, The Backyard Bird Chronicles.

About Our Speaker

Amy Tan is an award winning American author born and raised in the SF Bay Area. Her debut novel Joy Luck Club was recognized as a New York Times Bestseller. She has written several other novels, two memoirs, two children’s books, and numerous essays and short stories. She is the co-producer and co-screenwriter of the adaptation of The Joy Luck Club, a musician, a nature journalist, and a birder. She currently serves as a board member for American Bird Conservancy. Tan lives with her husband and their dog in California and New York.

Date Thursday, September 19, 2024 at 7pm

Location: Zoom

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Celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the East Bay Regional Park District with an evening of short presentations about the history of the Park District and its role in protecting birds.

About Our Speakers

Amelia Sue Marshall is an East Bay history author who lives with her family on Peralta Creek in Oakland. She is a twelve-year volunteer for the East Bay Regional Park District Archives and History Center. There, a team of park district retirees, staff members, and others curate materials, develop oral histories, and recall stories that rarely appear in official documents. Amelia was previously an engineer and research associate for the U.C. Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Lawrence Hall of Science.

Natalie Reeder is a Wildlife Biologist at East Bay Regional Park District. Reeder recieved her Master’s in Ecology and Systematics at SFSU and her B.A. in Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley.

Glenn Phillips is the Executive Director at Golden Gate Bird Alliance. Prior to his time with GGBA, he served as the Executive Director of NYC Audubon and the Vice President for Education at Prospect Park. Glenn has master’s degrees in urban sustainability and science education.

Date Thursday, October 17, 2024 at 7pm

https://youtu.be/84Xj1xJ1qEQ

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Human’s fascination with owls was first documented in the cave paintings at Chauvet in southern France. With their forward gaze and quiet flight, owls are often a symbol of wisdom, knowledge, and foresight. But what does an owl really know? Jennifer Ackerman explores the rich biology and natural history of owls and examines remarkable new scientific discoveries about their brains and behavior.

California experienced rapid and widespread destruction and modification of natural
hydrological ecosystems and wetlands after the Gold Rush, including the loss of nearly all tidal
wetlands in San Francisco Bay, many of which were converted to commercial salt production
ponds. The South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project is now restoring large swaths of tidal marsh
habitat, but they are faced with a new dilemma: many bird species that had used wetlands lost
or degraded elsewhere in California, including the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada, have come
to use the salt ponds as accidental habitat.

About Our Speaker

Dr. Van Schmidt is an ecologist whose research emphasizes understanding ecosystems and
land-use as coupled systems, combining field research with simulation methodology. His talk
will explore habitat use and connections between “serendipitous” anthropogenic wetlands not
only in the San Francisco Bay’s salt ponds, but across California, and reflect on how efforts to
adapt water-dependent ecosystems to climate change may have surprising trade-offs for
wildlife that need to be accounted for. The talk will draw not only on his current work as
Director of Landscape Sustainability Science, but also on past research at UC Berkeley on Black
Rails in the Sierra Nevada, the US Geological Survey on saline lakes and sage grouse, and on
reintroduced Whooping Crane’s use of farmland.

Date: Thursday, June 20 @ 7pm via Zoom

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Note: In-person attendance is currently at capacity. Please join us online via zoom!

If you registered for this event and plan to attend on Zoom, please email info@goldengatebirds.org so we can free up a spot.

When you watch and listen to birds, have you wondered about what the birds themselves see and hear? Ed Yong, author of An Immense World, will take us on a magical tour through the sensory lives of our feathered friends. We’ll learn about the secrets hidden in their plumage and songs, and the incredible ways in which they see, hear, taste, touch, smell, and more.      

About Our Speaker

Ed Yong is a Pulitzer-winning science writer, and the author of two bestselling books, including An Immense World. He moved to Oakland last May and started birding last September. 

Event Photo: American Bittern by Ed Yong

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If you registered to attend the event in-person, GGBA and guest speaker Ed Yong strongly encourages wearing masks due to the continued impact and spread of COVID.

Event Details:

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