Environment

DWP Bulldozes Endangered Plant in Topanga State Park

Incident raises awareness about the plight of rare species in the Santa Monica Mountains. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works is under investigation for mowing down an endangered plant in…

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Backbone Trail Now Open

Eight months after the largest fire to ever hit Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA), all 67 miles of the park’s most famous trail have finally reopened to the public. The…

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A Truly Wild Love Story

In her latest newsletter, Nature of Wildworks founder Molly Hogan shares the latest chapter in the remarkable story of the barn owl Dancer and his family. She calls this update “Empty Nest.”…

A Bit About Bees… and What They Need From Us

Bees produce one in three bites of our food, and bees are dying. Thirty percent of hives are lost per year and one in four species of native bees is at risk…

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The Rare Plummer’s Mariposa Lily

The woman this flower was named for was an equally rare example for her time when a woman’s place was in the home, not on top of a mountain or in the…

New Mountain Lion P75 Found in Pacific Palisades

P-75 is the newest mountain lion to join the National Park Service’s study of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains. The young, 50-pound female was discovered up a tree on June…

Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card

Heal the Bay’s 29th annual Beach Report Card reveals that the Woolsey Fire and subsequent heavy rains impacted local beaches over the winter.  The report assigns A to F letter grades for…

Topanga Elementary Receives Award

On June 21, the Science Committee of  Topanga Elementary Charter School (TECS) received good news. The school was one of six schools in Southern California (out of 40 applications) to be awarded…

Season of the Toad

Anaxyrus borea sounds more like the name of a dragon in a fantasy story than a real-world amphibian, but in its small way, the Western toad is as remarkable as any mythological…

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Red, White, and Blue Living Fireworks in Your Garden

No need for store-bought Fourth of July decorations in the Santa Monica Mountains, not with the dazzling array of red, white, and blue wild birds that make their home here. Almost every…