Local Links for Biodiversity—San Francisco, CA

Museums, Zoos, Botanical Gardens, Nature Centers, and Parks:

Aquarium of the Bay
Pier 39, Embarcadero at Beach Street
San Francisco, CA 94133
Phone: 1-888-SEA DIVE (1-888-732-3483) or 415-623-5300
www.aquariumofthebay.com
This facility is dedicated to educating the public about coastal marine areas, specifically the San Francisco Bay. The aquarium offers various experiential programs, such as Under the Bay, which includes an underground moving walkway, and tidepool walks in the Touch the Bay program. Other offerings include lectures, guided tours, and aquarium sleep-overs.

Audubon Canyon Ranch, Inc.
4900 Highway One
Stinson Beach, CA 94970
Phone: 415-868-9244
www.egret.org
Audubon Canyon Ranch was founded in 1962 to save one of the largest heron rookeries on the West Coast. The ranch’s focus is to preserve native plants and animals through invasive species removal; educate students through free elementary-school programs; and implement continuous research on shore-bird and marsh ecology.

California Academy of Sciences
55 Concourse Drive
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, CA 94118-4599
Phone: 415-750-7145
www.calacademy.org
CAS houses the Steinhart Aquarium, the Morrison Planetarium, and a natural history museum. The academy offers lectures, school tours, and a research library. Summer research internships are available in various scientific disciplines including anthropology, zoology, and geology.

Coyote Point Museum
1651 Coyote Point Drive
San Mateo, CA 94401-1097
Phone: 650-342-7755
www.coyoteptmuseum.org
Coyote Point provides engaging, educational experiences for the Bay Area community through wildlife displays, botanical gardens, exhibitions, and programs that relate to the San Francisco Bay Area and global environments. The museum offers docent-led museum and field walks to local marine reserves and county parks.

Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge
P.O. Box 524
Newark, CA 94560
Phone: 510-792-0222
www.desfbay.fws.gov
This refuge protects 23,000 acres of open bay, salt marsh, mudflat, and upland habitats and was the first urban National Wildlife Refuge established in the United States. Located along the Pacific Flyway, the refuge hosts over 280 species of migratory birds each year. The refuge offers educational activities, teacher workshops, and weekend interpretive programs.

Fairfield Osborn Preserve
6543 Lichau Road
Penngrove, CA 94951
Phone: 707/795-5069
www.sonoma.edu/preserve
Owned and managed by Sonoma State University, the preserve is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect, restore, and gain understanding of the rolling hills, gnarled oaks, and golden grasses of central California. The focus is primarily on research, community and school programs (such as guided hikes and field workshops), and training for future naturalists.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Fort Mason, Building 201
San Francisco, CA 94123-0022
415-561-4700
www.nps.gov/goga
GGNRA is the largest urban national park in the world. It encompasses 75,398 acres of land and water, and approximately 28 miles of coastline. Notably, the park includes the Muir Woods, one of the last uncut stands of old-growth redwood. The park’s main focus is on the urban community surrounding it, and park staff attempts to engage community members through the Parks As Classrooms program, as well as initiatives that focus on fuel reduction and management of sensitive habitat.

Lindsay Wildlife Museum
1931 First Avenue
Walnut Creek, CA 94597
Phone: 925-935-1978
www.wildlife-museum.org
Founded in 1955, the Lindsay Wildlife Museum includes an 8,000-square-foot exhibition hall, which houses more than 50 species of live, non-releasable, native California wildlife. The rehabilitation hospital treats thousands of injured and orphaned animals each year. A learning theatre and a discovery room allow for hands-on exploration, while traveling programs bring animals and artifacts to local schools.

Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens
18220 North Highway One
Fort Bragg, CA 95437
Phone: 707-964-4352
www.gardenbythesea.org
Overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the botanical gardens are home to a dense coastal pine forest, fern-covered canyons, diverse plant collections, and flower-filled coastal bluffs. In winter and spring, it becomes a whale-watchers’ haven, and bird watchers will delight in the over 100 species of birds that live in or visit the gardens annually. Events include spring workshops, full-moon hikes, and docent-led tours.

Oakland Zoo
9777 Golf Links Road
Oakland, CA 94605
Phone: 510-632-9525
www.oaklandzoo.org
Nestled in the 525-acre rolling hills of Knowland Park, the Oakland Zoo is home to more than 400 native and exotic animals from around the world, represented by 100 different species in 58 exhibits.

Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes, CA 94956
Phone: 415-464-5100
www.nps.gov/pore
Point Reyes National Seashore encompasses a scenic panorama of thunderous ocean, open grasslands, bushy hillsides, and forested ridges. Established in 1962, the park protects 37 species of native land mammals and more than a dozen marine mammals. Visitors can attend ranger-led walks and evening programs. Curriculum guides are available for teachers, and seasonal events take place yearly within the park.

San Francisco Zoo
1 Zoo Road
San Francisco, CA. 94132
Phone: 415-753-7080
www.sfzoo.org
Located on a 65-acre site located next to the Pacific Ocean, the San Francisco Zoo has a conservation focus in three important areas: field conservation programs, scientific research programs, and zoo-based activities that support the zoo’s conservation and science mission. Educational programs for children, adults, and volunteers are offered year around

University of California Botanical Garden
200 Centennial Drive, #5045
Berkeley, CA 94720-5045
Phone: 510-643-2755
www.mip.berkeley.edu/garden
The University of California Botanical Garden, established in 1890, is a 34-acre living museum featuring one of the most diverse, international plant collections in the United States. The garden is famous for its large number of rare and endangered species. Programs include lectures on conservation, evolution, and ecology; guided walks; and seasonal exhibits.