Redwoods
Talk a walk through our in-depth coverage of these iconic giants of California.
Redwoods and Climate Change
QUEST follows a group of UC Berkeley scientists to the top of a 320-foot redwood in Mendocino County. Only 5 percent of these ancient redwoods survived our voracious desire for their hardy and plentiful wood. Now scientists are trying to predict how the remaining ones and their descendants might fare in the face of climate change in the decades to come.
Video on May 25, 2011 by Gabriela Quirós from QUEST Northern California
Science on the SPOT: Banana Slugs Unpeeled
One of the most beloved and iconic native species within the old growth redwood forests is the Pacific Banana Slug. QUEST goes on a hunt to find and introduce Ariolomax dolichophallus, a bright yellow slug with a big personality.
Video on Apr 13, 2011 by Chris Bauer from QUEST Northern California
Redwood Regeneration
QUEST has an inordinate fondness for albino redwoods. But after producing three videos, QUEST Producer Chris Bauer still had questions.
Post on Feb 28, 2011 by Jennifer Skene
Science on the SPOT: Revisiting Albino Redwoods, Biological Mystery
UC Santa Cruz plant biologists study rare albino redwood trees to better understand the inner workings of these unusual plants. By learning how albino plants survive, they may unlock some of the mysteries of how redwood trees live.
Video on Feb 23, 2011 by Chris Bauer from QUEST Northern California
Science on the SPOT: Revisiting Albino Redwoods, Cracking the Code
Stanford geneticists trek into the mountains to uncover rare albino redwood trees. Seeking to discover the root of the mutation, they are taking small samples back to their lab and for the first time will sequence the complicated redwood genome.
Video on Feb 23, 2011 by Chris Bauer from QUEST Northern California
California's Redwoods Face Climate Change
After a century of logging, California's old growth redwood forests are only a fraction of what they once were. Today, they remain a narrow coastal band that extends from Monterey Bay to the Oregon border. But redwoods are facing a new threat. As Lauren Sommer reports, scientists are trying to understand how these trees are responding to a changing climate.
Audio Report on Dec 20, 2010 by from QUEST Northern California
Science on the SPOT: Measuring Redwood Giants
Forest ecologist Steve Sillett leads a team of scientists as they climb and measure every branch of the tallest old growth redwoods in California to study how they are being impacted by climate change.
Video on Dec 17, 2010 by Amy Miller from QUEST Northern California
California's Redwoods Face Climate Change
After a century of logging, California's old growth redwood forests are only a fraction of what they once were. But redwoods are facing a new threat — climate change.
Post on Dec 17, 2010 by Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California
Albino Redwoods: Ghosts of the Forest
Park rangers in the Santa Cruz Mountains are protecting a decades-old secret: albino redwood trees. Pale and fragile, these so-called "ghost trees" are deliberately off the beaten track, as Amy Standen found out.
Audio Report on Nov 15, 2010 by Amy Standen from QUEST Northern California
Science on the SPOT: Albino Redwoods, Ghosts of the Forest
QUEST ventures into the deep canopy of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park near Felton, California to track down the rare, elusive phantoms of the forest: albino redwood trees.
Video on Aug 26, 2010 by Chris Bauer from QUEST Northern California
Science on the SPOT: Science of Fog
San Francisco's fickle summer weather has earned it the nickname "Fog City." Science on the SPOT asks UC Berkeley's Todd Dawson to clear up the mysterious origins of this weather phenomenon, and share his research on how fog is integral to our state's ecology.
Video on Jul 20, 2010 by Jenny Oh from QUEST Northern California
Exploring the Lower Russian River
The Russian River originates in the redwood forests of Mendocino County and winds its way gently south thorough Sonoma County. One of the wildest spots on the main stem of the Russian River is towards the end, near its mouth. Here the waters widen, fresh water mixing with the tidal flows of the ocean, and the influences of two dynamic ecosystems merge.
Science Hike on Jun 04, 2010 by Chris Bauer from QUEST Northern California
Exploring Muir Woods National Monument
You may not think of salmon when visiting the redwoods in Muir Woods, but it's home to a population of Coho Salmon. Redwood forests provide ideal salmon habitat, providing woody debris to protect young salmon in the creeks and keeping them shaded and cool. But the Coho in Muir Woods' Redwood Creek are endangered, and local biologists and volunteers are working to protect the salmon and restore their habitat.
Science Hike on May 08, 2009 by from QUEST Northern California
Climate Watch: California at the Tipping Point
The world's climate is changing and California is now being affected in both dramatic and subtle ways. Get an in-depth look at the science behind climate change as we explore the environmental changes taking place throughout the state.
Video on Apr 17, 2009 by Chris Bauer from QUEST Northern California
Exploring Samuel P. Taylor State Park
Less than an hour’s drive north from San Francisco, the 2,882 acres of Samuel P. Taylor State Park is within easy driving distance of some of northern California’s most dramatic outdoor scenery. The park features a unique contrast of coastal redwood groves and open grassland.
Science Hike on Jan 02, 2009 by Craig Rosa from QUEST Northern California
Tracking Raindrops
We all rely on the water cycle, but how does it really work? Scientists at UC Berkeley are embarking on a new project to understand how global warming is affecting our fresh water supply. And they're doing it by tracking individual raindrops in Mendocino and north of Lake Tahoe.
Video on Jul 22, 2008 by Amy Miller from QUEST Northern California
The Wisdom of the Redwood
The timeline on the redwood cross section said it had been born when the Roman Empire was at the height of its power, around 100 A.D. I was standing in front of a 30-foot-wide tree trunk in the Northern Californian logging town of Fort Bragg. Tiny little monkey brains, like mine, find it difficult to [...]
Post on Jul 11, 2007 by Donovan Rittenbach
Ladybug Pajama Party
Each year Ladybugs fly in by the millions to winter in the East Bay's Redwood Regional Park. We meet naturalist Linda Yemoto who explains this phenomenon. But how these beetles know where to go is still one of nature's mysteries.
Video on Feb 27, 2007 by Chris Bauer from QUEST Northern California
