Audible Mount Diablo

Early-blooming flowers bring beauty to the forested understory of Mount Diablo State Park. Here are a few that pop up January through March.

A Mount Diablo Interpretive Association film by Kendall Oei, produced in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Part of the Wild Mount Diablo series. 

Mount Diablo's distinctive "pillow basalt" erupted from submarine volcanoes hundreds of millions of years ago. Learn how it made its way to the top of a mountain, in the fifth episode of the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.

SAND DOLLAR SECRETS   The Pacific Ocean once lapped against the Sierra Nevada foothills. Here's the story of how the Bay Area eventually became dry land with two bedrocks. 

Join us on the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.

CLASHING PLATES   The story of the Bay Area landscape begins 190 million years ago, 3,000 miles out in the Pacific Ocean under 10,000 feet of water.

Join us on the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.

FRANCISCAN ROCKS  The first person to study Mount Diablo geology in depth was a quirky UC Berkeley professor named Andrew Lawson. He found rocks that had emerged from volcanoes in the mid-Pacific. But how did they get on top of a 3,849-foot mountain?

Join us on the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos presented by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.

TRAIL THROUGH TIME   A 6.3-mile hike from the top to the bottom of Mount Diablo travels through the Bay Area’s entire geologic history. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association, featuring Ken Lavin. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.

Audible Mount Diablo is a joint project of the MOUNT DIABLO INTERPRETIVE ASSOCIATION and SAVE MOUNT DIABLO. 

Spring has come and gone, but the wildflower bloom is not done. Mount Diablo has its own superblooms, and some of them are long lasting. 

A Mount Diablo Interpretive Association film featuring Kendall Paul Oei. Episode 12 in the Wild Mount Diablo series. 

This just in: The ladybugs have returned to Mount Diablo!  Learn all about their meanderings in this Mount Diablo Interpretive Association video featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Images by Arnold Joe, Scott Hein, and Kendall Oei. Music by Daniel Kaede. Produced by Joan Hamilton. Adapted from "Mitchell Canyon" Audible Mount Diablo, 2017.

CONNECTIONS  As botanist Heath Bartosh explains in this final episode of "A Hiker's Guide to Mount Diablo Plants," Bay Area biodiversity hot spots are connected to places much farther south. 

Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association

Featuring Heath Bartosh

with Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Lindsey Hendricks-Franco, Brian Peterson, Cyndy Shafer

Music  Phil Heywood, Steve Arnold, Podington Bear

Fire Recovery Illustration  Laura Cunningham

Production and Narration   Joan Hamilton

Photographs: Scott Hein, Stephen Joseph, Troy Montemayor

and Seth Adams, Heath Bartosh, Steve Edwards, Brad Heckman, Helovi/istock, Joan Hamilton, Shawn Hanrahan/Texas A&M, Jepson Herbarium, Al Johnson, Neal Kramer/Strybing Arboretum, SWKrullImaging/iStock, Kit Leong/iStock, Marshman, Carl Osborn, Bill Sattler, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Arturo Reina Sanchez, Spyglass Hill, Terry Tomkins/USDA, Charles Webber/Cal Academy of Sciences, Westphalia/iStock

Special Thanks  Bay Nature Institute

LAND OF DISCOVERY  Mount Diablo has attracted some famous botanists over the years, including David Douglas, Alice Eastwood, and John Howell. Learn their stories—and those of the modern-day explorers following in their footsteps.

Presented by SAVE MOUNT DIABLO in partnership with the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. 

Featuring Heath Bartosh

Photographs: Scott Hein, Stephen Joseph, Troy Montemayor

and Seth Adams, Heath Bartosh, Steve Edwards, Brad Heckman, Helovi/istock, Joan Hamilton, Shawn Hanrahan/Texas A&M, Jepson Herbarium, Al Johnson, Neal Kramer/Strybing Arboretum, SWKrullImaging/iStock, Kit Leong/iStock, Marshman, Carl Osborn, Bill Sattler, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Arturo Reina Sanchez, Spyglass Hill, Terry Tomkins/USDA, Charles Webber/Cal Academy of Sciences, Westphalia/iStock 

Music: Podington Bear, Phil Heywood

Fire Recovery Illustration: Laura Cunningham, Bay Nature Magazine

Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton

SHRUBS  Dive into the mysteries of chaparral, a plant community that covers 3 percent of Earth's surface and nurtures 20 percent of its biodiversity. 

Presented by Save Mount Diablo, in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. 

Featuring Heath Bartosh, Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Lindsey Hendricks, Brian Peterson, Cyndy Shafer.

Photographs: Scott Hein, Stephen Joseph, Troy Montemayor

and Seth Adams, Heath Bartosh, Steve Edwards, Brad Heckman, Helovi/istock, Joan Hamilton, Shawn Hanrahan/Texas A&M, Jepson Herbarium, Al Johnson, Neal Kramer/Strybing Arboretum, SWKrullImaging/iStock, Kit Leong/iStock, Marshman, Troy Montemayor, Carl Osborn, Bill Sattler, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Arturo Reina Sanchez, Spyglass Hill, Terry Tomkins/USDA, Charles Webber/Cal Academy of Sciences, Westphalia/iStock 

Music: Phil Heywood, Steve Arnold, Podington Bear

Illustration: Laura Cunningham, Bay Nature Magazine

Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton. First published in 2019. 

TREES AS LIVING HISTORY  Mount Diablo's oaks, pines, bays, and buckeyes have tales to tell—if you know what to look for. 

Presented by Save Mount Diablo, in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. 

Featuring Heath Bartosh, Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Lindsey Hendricks, Brian Peterson, Cyndy Shafer.

Photographs: Scott Hein, Stephen Joseph, Troy Montemayor

and Seth Adams, Heath Bartosh, Steve Edwards, Brad Heckman, Helovi/istock, Joan Hamilton, Shawn Hanrahan/Texas A&M, Jepson Herbarium, Al Johnson, Neal Kramer/Strybing Arboretum, SWKrullImaging/iStock, Kit Leong/iStock, Marshman, Carl Osborn, Bill Sattler, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Arturo Reina Sanchez, Spyglass Hill, Terry Tomkins/USDA, Charles Webber/Cal Academy of Sciences, Westphalia/iStock 

Music: Phil Heywood, Steve Arnold, Podington Bear

Illustration: Laura Cunningham

Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton

Special thanks to Bay Nature magazine

As we head into another fire season in the Bay Area,  learn how a small 2013 blaze increased knowledge about life on the East Bay's most iconic peak. 

Presented by Save Mount Diablo, in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. 

Featuring Heath Bartosh, Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Lindsey Hendricks, Brian Peterson, Cyndy Shafer.

Photographs: Scott Hein, Stephen Joseph, Troy Montemayor.

and Seth Adams, Heath Bartosh, Steve Edwards, Brad Heckman, Helovi/istock, Joan Hamilton, Shawn Hanrahan/Texas A&M, Jepson Herbarium, Al Johnson, Neal Kramer/Strybing Arboretum, SWKrullImaging/iStock, Kit Leong/iStock, Marshman, Carl Osborn, Bill Sattler, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Arturo Reina Sanchez, Spyglass Hill, Terry Tomkins/USDA, Charles Webber/Cal Academy of Sciences, Westphalia/iStock 

Music: Phil Heywood, Steve Arnold, Podington Bear

Illustration: Laura Cunningham, Bay Nature Magazine

Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton. First published in 2019. 

Why is Mount Diablo so central to California's cultural and natural history? Find out on a hike near the 3,849-foot summit. 

Presented by Save Mount Diablo, in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Originally published in 2019.

Featuring Heath Bartosh, Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Lindsey Hendricks, Brian Peterson, Cyndy Shafer.

Photographs: Scott Hein, Stephen Joseph

and Seth Adams, Heath Bartosh, Steve Edwards, Brad Heckman, Helovi/istock, Joan Hamilton, Shawn Hanrahan/Texas A&M, Jepson Herbarium, Al Johnson, Neal Kramer/Strybing Arboretum, SWKrullImaging/iStock, Kit Leong/iStock, Marshman, Troy Montemayor, Carl Osborn, Bill Sattler, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Arturo Reina Sanchez, Spyglass Hill, Terry Tomkins/USDA, Charles Webber/Cal Academy of Sciences, Westphalia/iStock 

Music: Phil Heywood, Steve Arnold, Podington Bear

Illustration: Laura Cunningham, Bay Nature Magazine

Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton 

INTRODUCTION    Enjoy five fascinating hikes led by rare-plant expert Heath Bartosh. Gain an appreciation for the long-hidden flora revealed by recent fires. Nod to the work of the scientists who've worked these storied slopes. And get ready to make your own discoveries! 

Episode 1 of "Harvest of Fire," a nine-part series presented by Save Mount Diablo, in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. First published in 2019. 

Featuring Heath Bartosh, Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Lindsey Hendricks, Brian Peterson, Cyndy Shafer

Photographs: Scott Hein, Stephen Joseph, Troy Montemayor

and Seth Adams, Heath Bartosh, Steve Edwards, Brad Heckman, Helovi/istock, Joan Hamilton, Shawn Hanrahan/Texas A&M, Jepson Herbarium, Al Johnson, Neal Kramer/Strybing Arboretum, SWKrullImaging/iStock, Kit Leong/iStock, Marshman, Carl Osborn, Bill Sattler, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Arturo Reina Sanchez, Spyglass Hill, Terry Tomkins/USDA, Charles Webber/Cal Academy of Sciences, Westphalia/iStock 

Music: Phil Heywood, Steve Arnold, Podington Bear

Fire Recovery Illustration: Laura Cunningham, Bay Nature Magazine

Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton

As you wind your way through the lovely hills of Lime Ridge, keep an eye out for wildlife. In this episode Seth Adams and Scott Hein discuss 1) one that's still common all over the area 2) an introduced species whose numbers have exploded and 3) a native species that's making a heartening  comeback. 

Sponsored by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. First published in 2012. Photos by Scott Hein. Music by Phil Heywood. 

We regret an error in this version: what is labeled "mule deer" is actually a Columbian black-tailed deer. 

Learn about a rare plant that waits until summer to grace the hills of Lime Ridge Open Space on the eastern edge of Walnut Creek, California. 

Featuring Heath Bartosh. Sponsored by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Photos courtesy of Scott Hein and Heath Bartosh. First published in 2012.