A beautiful day in the neighborhood

Apr 10, 2020
Sejal Choksi-Chugh
by Sejal Choksi-Chugh

I don’t know about you, but for me the days are blurring, and it's becoming normal to host Zoom calls that are interrupted by kids with questions about schoolwork. In addition to feeling immensely grateful for teachers, I’m feeling appreciative of healthcare workers, grocery store clerks, farmworkers, and neighbors who are doing their part to flatten the curve.  
 
As Mr. Rogers taught me, I’m actively cutting through the gloomy news to look for the helpers. At Baykeeper, we’re also seeking out nuggets of good news to help lighten our days. And during springtime, a season of growth and renewal, the Bay is full of surprises—the kind of gifts we can depend on every year, no matter what's in the daily headlines.
 
My recent favorite news is that Rosie is expecting! For several years now, a pair of ospreys have built a nest atop a WWII-era crane on Richmond's industrial shoreline, near Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park. During normal times, we often pass their home and spot the birds swooping above us during patrols on the Baykeeper boat.
 
The ospreys are aptly named Rosie and Richmond, and I learned through Local News Matters that Rosie has laid her first egg of 2020! Our friends at Golden Gate Audubon expect that Rosie will lay two more eggs before the season's over—and you can watch nature's drama unfold in real time on a special webcam.
 
Rosie and Richmond are a symbol of the Bay's resilience, because it wasn't that long ago that ospreys were threatened with extinction. The pesticide DDT made osprey eggshells so thin that they broke when the mother bird sat on them—but now that DDT has gone the way of the dodo, there are 40 nesting pairs around the Bay!
 
I'd like to be enjoying a beautiful day on the Bay right now, birdwatching (while of course keeping an eye out for polluters). Especially with you all, who appreciate how important the Bay is to our daily lives—and the 50th anniversary of Earth Day coming up!
 
Maybe the next best thing is to come together virtually, where we can stay connected to each other and be inspired by the Bay we love. Our staff is posting our favorite photos of the Bay on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and several of our supporters have joined in the fun. I've shared a few posts below to help brighten your day.
 
I invite you to share your photos and stories about San Francisco Bay, too. It's a great way to commemorate Earth Day—and appreciate how lucky we are to have such a beautiful neighbor as the Bay.

Warmly,
Sejal's signature
Sejal Choksi-Chugh
Executive Director

How to do it:

Pick a favorite old photo of the Bay you already have, and write a brief caption that describes what you love about the Bay or a favorite memory on the water.  
 
Post the photo with caption on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook with the hashtags: #beautifulSFbay and #imabaykeeper, tagging SF Baykeeper. Baykeeper will like and repost your photos, and select some to feature in our emails and website.  If you’re not on social media, you can also send them to us at info[at]baykeeper.org, and we’ll share them for you.

Instagram post

From Captain Heather Richard @finedayforsailing
Instagram post seals

From Peter Molnar @PSCsfbay
Swimmers

From Diane Walton @dianewalton

I'm a Keeper post
Photo by Susanne Friedrich @susafri and shared by SF Baykeeper

Golden Gate Bridge

Photo of Sejal by Gail Odom
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