Community for Lake Merritt

02/07/2026

It’s great to see the Rotary Nature Center open. It’s looking better than I’ve seen it in my 12-sh years of involvement. Looking forward to ongoing progress!

01/09/2026

Sadly, I am missing this opening, but hope you can come out for it!

Join City of Oakland’s Rotary Natural Science Center & Wildlife Refuge Staff, Oakland Parks, Recreation & Youth Development (OPRYD) Leadership, and Special Guests for a weekend of celebrating nature, science, discovery, and culture for our grand reopening event of the Rotary Natural Science Center. 🌳🏢

Explore brand-new exhibits, hands-on naturalist stations, and fun interactive activities designed for all ages.

Saturday, January 17th, marks our official opening day, featuring a ribbon-cutting ceremony, remarks from OPRYD and City of Oakland leadership, special guests, and fun interactive activities starting at 10:00 AM.

On Sunday, January 18th, our doors will be open for the community to explore and enjoy their new nature center at their leisure from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with fun, interactive activities scheduled throughout the day.

01/09/2026

Coming up this Saturday

Sip local coffee or tea with us and swap stories about your favorite winter birds at the beautiful Lake Merritt on January 10th from 9 AM to 11 AM! 🐦☕ After chatting with fellow birders over coffee or tea, we’ll venture on foot through Lakeside Park, spotting incredible birds along the way. Bring a snack to share, dress in layers, and let's enjoy birding together! 🦅🍵 (18+ only)

01/04/2026

Today, I checked out the tide gate/pump station along the Lake Merritt Channel. We can thank this system for the Lake not topping its banks today. But the King Tide and storm surge also show the system’s potential limits as well — with one of the pedestrian tunnels fully flooded and topping the siding on the lake side. It still limits the in-flow of water, but doesn’t seem good for the ling term health of the structure given sea level rise. Flooding occurred out from the channel on the estuary side into the Peralta college parking lot and into the RV encampment on the other side.

01/02/2026

King Tide flooding at estuary park. Never seen it like this. Water intruding through the parking lot all the way to the other side of Embarcadero. The pedestrian path is not crossable without high boots.

10/31/2024

Subterranean termite alates are flying! Winter must be approaching in the SF Bay Area. 😀

09/17/2024

A beautiful, if melancholy, look at the Canada Goose. I’m not sure if everyone will be able to see the link (which would be a shame) unfortunately. Not sure if a subscription is required.

There’s a natural world trapped within our cities.

04/27/2024

City Nature Challenge - Is anyone participating? Feel free to drop in at the Gardens at Lake Merritt. We will be shooting insects Saturday, April 27 (today) and Sunday, April 28 (tomorrow) from 10 AM to 2 PM.

03/07/2024

If you’ve ever considered becoming a California Naturalist, I can’t recommend this course highly enough…. Time to apply

University of California Cooperative Extension developed California Naturalist to foster a committed corps of volunteer naturalists and citizen scientists trained and ready to take an active role in natural resource conservation, education, and restoration. Sagehen was an early beta-tester, and we c...

11/22/2023

https://oaklandside.org/2023/11/20/oakland-rotary-nature-center-lake-merritt/

A recent fire damaging Lake Merritt’s legendary educational institution is only the latest setback.

10/01/2023

September 17th, approximately 20 firefighters responded to a fire at the Rotary Nature Center on Bellevue Ave along Lake Merritt.
Fire crews successfully contained the fire to between 10-15% of the rear exterior wall closest to the lake and the adjoining roof area. Thankfully, the interior of the facility was largely spared from impact, aside from some minor smoke and water damage.
The fire was placed under control at 7:45 PM. There were no reports of any injuries and the Rotary Nature Center was not housing any animals.
While there are verified reports of homelessness activity in the immediate area of the fire’s origin, the exact cause of this fire is still under investigation.
Programs are temporarily suspended. Please check back for updates.