Home»Bay Area -- Coast to Hills»Green Foothills»11/13/2022 Healing in Nature: Windy Hill»11/13/2022 Healing in Nature at the Top of Windy Hill

This gallery shows our group activity, Healing in Nature. Nearby galleries show Raven and Coyote, and views from the summits of Windy Hill.

After we have gathered for introductions and a centering greeting to each direction, we notice coyotes hunting on the nearby hillside. This activity is in a separate gallery.

We rgwb stroll together along the Lost Trail, through different ecosystems: chaparral, grassland, woodland, In and out of sunlight. Stories and legends are shared, and natural history.

At the junction, we descend along Hamm's Gulch Trail amongst an ancient forest of Douglas Fir. Their twisted branches loom overhead, their broad trunks stand silently beside the fern-bedecked trail. Some of these trees are probably hundreds of years old; they have seen the coming of Europeans to this land, much has changed during their lifetime.

We pause at an overlook, looking down to the cities and Bay far below. Alice Kaufman, Policy and Advocacy Director at Green Foothills, points out the Cargill Salt Flats at the Bay's edge, and tells us of Green Foothills' long quest to save this important land from ill-advised development. With allies, we were successful in turning back the Trump Administration's quest to allow this development.

On our return hike, we pause at the base of a giant Douglas Fir to commune. Then back, ecosystem by ecosystem.

Most of us decide to extend the morning by walking to the north summit of Windy Hill. We pass a lone California Poppy in bloom, unusual for November here. Views all around from the summit are in a nearby gallery, as is the final goodbye from a raven at the summit.