OpenRoad With Doug McConnell

Explore the natural, historical and cultural treasures of the Bay Area and Northern California focusing principally in parks and open spaces protected by the public and made accessible to all people for all time
OpenRoad Jun 7

OpenRoad: San Francisco Bay Trail's Continued Growth (Episode 68)

We’ll celebrate the successful growth of the San Francisco Bay Trail as it increasingly circumnavigates the Bay’s shoreline and provides a vast array of recreational opportunities and non-polluting tr...

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    OpenRoad Aug 14, 2020

    OpenRoad Episode 60

    We’ll discover the beauty and importance to nature and us of lush meadows in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade mountains of California. These precious meadows, the richest and most vulnerable biological gems in our scenic high country, have been seriously degraded since the Gold Rush. But now many are now being restored in a race aga...
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    OpenRoad Jul 17, 2020

    OpenRoad Episode 59

    We’ll discover mysterious and majestic volcanic spires riding a famous fault north from southern California towards the Bay Area now serving as a sanctuary for ancient and long-endangered birds with the widest wingspans in North America.

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    OpenRoad Jun 29, 2020

    OpenRoad Episode 58

    In this latest edition of OpenRoad, we’ll explore new and ecologically rich and beautiful lands being added to the northern slopes of legendary Mt. Diablo in Contra Costa County.

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    OpenRoad Mar 7, 2020

    About OpenRoad With Doug McConnell

    OpenRoad with Doug McConnell takes viewers on journeys to explore the natural, historical and cultural treasures of the Bay Area and northern California focusing principally in parks and open spaces protected by the public and made accessible to all people for all time.

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    Doug McConnell Apr 26, 2015

    Bio: Doug McConnell

    Doug McConnell has hosted and produced many series, specials and news reports on commercial and public television since moving back to the Bay Area in 1983. Among his series was the legendary, “Bay Area Backroads,” the longest-running television series in Bay Area broadcast history.

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    OpenRoad Jun 11, 2020

    OpenRoad Episode 57

    We’ll reveal the amazing 50-year legacy of a legendary environmental education program that’s reached more than a million students of all ages over the years and taken them on voyages of discovery exploring the surprisingly diverse and beautiful life hidden beneath the surface of San Francisco Bay. We’ll celebrate the long-sought success to sa...
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    OpenRoad May 15, 2020

    OpenRoad Episode 56

    We’ll follow a group of big city school children as they visit the shore of the Bay, some for the very first time, and discover nature’s mysterious wonders and ways they can help make the Bay healthy while enriching their own lives as well. We’ll explore a new open space being added to Marin County’s public treasures in 2020....

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    OpenRoad Apr 29, 2020

    OpenRoad Episode 55: Restoring Nature

    We’ll explore gorgeous and dramatically diverse landscapes in public open space preserves in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and discover that saving nature is important, but only part of the job open space managers have to do to provide healthy environments for us to visit and enjoy. Restoring nature is critical, too. We’ll follow new...
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    OpenRoad Apr 18, 2020

    Preparing for Climate Change in Sonoma County

    As our global climate warms and changes fast, organizations in the Bay Area are rallying to reduce threats of fires, floods and severe ecological damage that are growing and spreading rapidly. We’ll see the work of the Sonoma Land Trust and its many partners to make the diverse and beautiful landscape of Sonoma County as resilient as possible in......
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    OpenRoad Mar 31, 2020

    Restoring San Francisco Bay's Tidal Wetlands

    We’ll see our tax dollars being used to restore 15,000 acres of San Francisco Bay’s tidal wetlands. Discover innovative efforts improve the health and well-being of the Bay’s water quality and wildlife, protect vulnerable shoreline communities from flooding as the climate warms and sea levels rise fast, and provide greater public access to a b...
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    OpenRoad Mar 23, 2020

    The 350-Mile San Francisco Bay Trail

    Doug explores the world-class San Francisco Bay Trail that stretches more than 350 miles along the shore of the Bay….and now above it on bridges we can use for recreation and commuting to work.   Follow bicycle commuters from Marin as they ride on a newly opened Bay Trail segment across the Richmond-San Rafael bridge and along the Richmon...
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    climate change Mar 7, 2020

    The Challenges of Rising Sea Levels

    Join Doug on a California coastal journey to see the challenges our parks and beaches face as sea levels are rising rapidly, and the choices we need to consider now if we hope to make our coastal treasures as resilient as possible.

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    Jul 26, 2019

    Saluting Amy Meyer

    We salute the “Founding Mother” of America’s most visited National Park.

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