Blogs

Julian Tattoni, the founder of the Jasper Ridge bird-banding station, gives a Swainson’s Thrush its Motus backpack. Photos by Trevor Hebert and Marty Freeland. If you see a Swainson’s Thrush ( Catharus ustulatus ) wearing a little backpack with an antenna at Jasper Ridge, don’t be alarmed—as hard as it may be to believe your eyes, the bird isn’t a... more

Written by Maya Xu '25 Walking into my first day of ornithology in the spring of my freshman year, the only hopes I had were learning more about birds, maybe holding a bird, and finding a new community of bird people. I never imagined that in two short years, I’d be part of its teaching team. After my previous instructors... more

Photo: Nick Rodriguez (left) and John Lowndes (right) in the field with mentor Sheena Sidhu (middle). Photo credit: Jorge Ramos Summer 2024 has brought us into the second year of our Stewardship Intern Program at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve ('Ootchamin 'Ooyakma) . Meet our 2024 Stewardship Interns, Nick Rodriguez and John Lowndes (read their biographies below). Both Stanford undergraduates will... more

On April 15, 2024, s peakers from across fields, departments, and career trajectories were invited to share how their experiences of research, education, or stewardship at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve (‘Ootchamin ‘Ooyakma) have shaped their view of the future of the preserve. Weeks after our spring celebration of the 50th anniversary of the preserve, community members continue to reflect on... more

SOAR Renewed Following the successful completion of a 2022 National Science Foundation incubator grant, the San Francisco Bay Research Coordination Network for Student Opportunities in Avian Research ( SOAR ) officially launched in 2023 with the start of a five-year Research Coordination Network grant. Led by Professor Rodolfo Dirzo and Dr. Katie Glover, SOAR marked the end of its first... more

Since its inception in 1975, the 20 week field course “ Ecology and Natural History of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve ” has trained hundreds of JRBP'O'O docents over the years. While there have been several course number and curriculum changes in that time, one feature that has remained steady is the opportunity for students to conduct an independent course project... more

We were thrilled to have members of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area participate in the initiation of pile burning at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve - 'Ootchamin 'Ooyakma on Monday, March 4, 2024. The Tribal members’ interaction with students, faculty, staff, and the fire crew that day inspired us to start taking new steps toward two-eyed... more

Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve is honored to introduce 'Ootchamin 'Ooyakma, pronounced oot-cha-mean oo-yahk-ma , as the translation of Jasper Ridge in the Muwekma Ohlone Chochenyo dialect ( hear Monica V. Arellano, Tribal Vice Chairwoman say it here ) The aboriginal Puichon Ohlone name of the area in which Jasper Ridge is located had not been recorded, but 'Ootchamin 'Ooyakma is... more