Ocean Beach: Fog, Fauna, and Flora

A charmingly illustrated nature guide to Ocean Beach and the coastal ecology of San Francisco.

Grab your beach blanket and your puffy jacket (this is San Francisco, after all) and get ready to see Ocean Beach like never before. Longtime local surfer and scientist Eddy Rubin celebrates this magical sandy stretch through stories of its animals and plants and the natural and human forces that have shaped this coastal environment. From sand dollars and seaweed to the snowy plovers in the dunes, and stretching out to the seals and whales offshore, Rubin profiles twenty-nine local flora and fauna with wonder and curiosity. To explain the why and how, he also teaches readers about the weather and geological forces that have created this unique sandy ecology. Lifetime lovers of Ocean Beach and new neighbors alike will delight in Rubin’s guide, brought vividly to life by more than forty full-color artworks by illustrator Greg Wright. With this guide, Rubin invites readers to explore the place where ocean and land meet, to learn from surfers and fishermen about what’s out in the waves, and to protect this shared expanse of sandy shoreline.

Eddy Rubin is a longtime Ocean Beach enthusiast who has been walking, surfing, and foraging along the beach for decades. When not spending time at Ocean Beach, he led the Human Genome Project at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. There, Eddy oversaw the mapping of genomes for humans, Neanderthals, and dozens of animals, plants, and microbes. His awards include an honorary doctoral degree, membership in a royal society, and--a matter of great personal pride--election into the Ocean Beach Double Overhead Surf Association.

Greg Wright has lived on the west side of San Francisco and surfed at Ocean Beach for more than a decade. While spending his days working in technology, he has cultivated a passion for art and the beach’s fall and winter swells.