Where the Wildflowers Grow: Hayward Students Explore Bay Area Blooms at Sunol Regional Wilderness 

Did you get outside during wildflower season? This special season runs from March through May in the Bay Area. Sunol Regional Wilderness is an amazing place to glimpse wildflowers, from the instantly recognizable California poppy to lupine, native irises and California lilac. Students from Burbank Elementary School in Hayward loved discovering nature, including several species of wildflowers native to the San Francisco Bay Area, on their field trip to Sunol Wilderness! 

KIDS for the BAY Educator Yvette Diaz Samayoa distributed binoculars that would allow students to closely observe wildflowers as they were hiking. As students waded through fields bursting with color, they spotted purple lupine and Douglas iris. “When the wind blows through the grass, it looks like waves,” observed Lasaro. 

After they made their initial observations, Ms. Yvette gave each student a clipboard, a half sheet of white paper, a paint swatch, and colored pencils. Students searched for a flower that exactly matched their paint swatch. Once they found their match, they quietly studied the flower and prepared to sketch it. “The middle of the sunflower looks soft and fluffy,” said Sofia. She began to carefully draw her sunflower using her close observational powers. Emmanuel closely studied a small, yellow dandelion. “You can tell these are young dandelions by their shape, their color and their pattern!” he explained. 

All the students demonstrated incredible focus as they worked on their scientific wildflower illustrations. After the activity, students shared what they loved about their field trip and the opportunity to learn in the outdoors. “I loved it when we went on a nature walk and I saw lots of flowers. I learned about all of the pretty flowers that I saw,” reflected Saira. Students identified the following wildflowers: California poppy, common fiddleneck, blue-eyed grasses, silver lupine, mule’s ears, and wild radish flowers.

Be sure to visit Sunol Regional Wilderness next spring to see the beautiful blooms and enjoy some of the beauty and tranquility that wildflowers provide.