Stories

California wildflowers can be found in many different environments. With the January downpours on the Santa Cruz mountains, spring will be a great time to go on a treasure hunt so that you can experience the full diversity of wildflowers in the Bay Area.

Wildflowers, with their beautiful bursts of color every spring, are beneficial to our region's rich biodiversity. Learn how Midpen's behind-the-scenes work helps ensure they bloom every year to promote healthy, functioning native plant communities. 

From bobcats and coyotes, to owls and white-tailed kites- these and other wildlife have all been mortally affected by the use of rodenticides targeted at their food source. Midpen is taking proactive measures to prevent that from happening. 

Midpen purchased 102 acres from San Jose Water Company that will extend Sierra Azul Open Space preserve late in 2022, furthering the connection of wildlife corridors. 

Midpen has been working with Santa Clara County,  which owns Alma Bridge Road that parallels Lexington reservoir on the north and east sides, and several other neighboring entities to provide wildlife passage for newts across the paved roadway, beginning the first phase of the Newt Passage P

Love is in the air, and growing in the ground! We have many lovely native plant species here in the Bay Area, but these five plants are particularly love-y.

Volunteering in January is extra special due to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day, designated as a "national day of service". Learn how you can volunteer at Midpen. 

To continue our efforts toward our 

Though it is not yet wildflower season, some beautiful (and rare) flowers will soon be popping up in the preserves. The western leatherwood (Dirca occidentalis) grows sprays of small yellow flowers between January and March.

Cloverdale Ranch is an ecological jewel that rises from the San Mateo County coast through rolling grasslands to the forested slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains, supporting a diverse community of native plants and wildlife.