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Saturday, September 25, 2010
We have a new theme for National Public Lands Day at Golden Gate: PLAY, SERVE, SHARE! This year, NPLD is just as much about enjoying your parks as it is about caring for them. Find out how to get involved >
PLAY: Visit the parks, bring your friends and/or family, and just enjoy the parks (walk or stroll, hike or trek, run or jog, ride or roll)…
> Play in the Parks with by joining the Presidio Y’s Fun and Fitness activities!
SERVE: Volunteer in the parks and lend a hand…
> Help out for California Coastal Cleanup Day!
SHARE: Share your story; tell us or show us what you did to celebrate…
> Share your park adventure by filling out a Golden Gate Log or entering the KQED’s QUEST photo contest!
Traditionally, National Public Lands Day (NPLD) is all about service—it’s largest hands-on volunteer event to improve and enhance the public lands across America. But this year the vision is bigger and better. NPLD will have the same tremendous volunteer impact, but also provide opportunities for recreational activities that are the reasons we work to protect public lands in the first place!
Find out how to get involved >
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Students in this rigorous year-long environmental science class spend over 2 ½ hours every week utilizing the Presidio as their outdoor laboratory, learning about the urban environment through scientific research on water quality, climate change, and species biodiversity.
An innovative partnership effort of the Crissy Field Center, Urban Watershed Project, and Galileo Academy of Science and Technology (a public high school in San Francisco), Project WISE (Watersheds Inspiring Student Education) began as a single visit to the park and has since transformed into a hugely successful program that will be in its ninth year this September. Thanks to the generous support of the Stewardship Council, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Madeleine Tang Endowment, Project WISE will continue to serve local students.
The course, which was approved by the College Board as an Advanced Placement (AP) offering in 2009, is recognized as an official AP class at Galileo. “It’s definitely the highlight of my day and easily my favorite class,” said Andy, a junior. “It’s the only way we can still learn and have fun, something other AP classes can’t say.” The course is offered to two classes (consisting of 50 students total) each year as part of the specialized Environmental Science Pathway at Galileo. “I already had an interest in science, but after this program, my interest has definitely grown,” said Sylvia, a senior.
At the end of the year, students work with park managers and specialists to conduct their own experiments and write a scientific paper. Just as in professional scientific settings (and in life!), some projects went smoothly, others had to be changed or repeated. Last May, the students presented their findings at the Project WISE Environmental Science Symposium before a packed room in the Crissy Field Center. Projects included studies on Pacific mole crab (also known as sand crab) populations at Presidio beaches, the effects of acid rain on plants, and nitrate levels along the Lobos Creek Watershed. Following the presentations, students provided hands-on demonstrations to share with the audience their methods for conducting tests and collecting data. Their interactive presentations elicited a great response from the park staff and public that attended.
In addition to generating valuable research about the parks, Project WISE fosters a deeper connection between youth from diverse backgrounds and the environment around them. For most of the students who attended last year, this was their first AP class. “You must treat this as any other AP class because it will help you when you take the AP test,” said Wendy, a senior. “This class will you teach things very differently than any other class because it’s hands-on rather than directly textbook…having hands-on activities also makes understanding the topics much easier and remembering what we learned much easier.” For others, this class is their first experience in the national parks. This past year 40% of the students had never been to a national park before enrolling in Project WISE—despite their proximity to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
Participants become more comfortable in the outdoors, understand more fully their national parks, and develop skills that will help them through life—such as handling sophisticated equipment, problem-solving, working in teams, and public speaking. Many students continue with the park after the program by interning, volunteering, and visiting the parks with friends and family. “Project WISE was the most inspirational program I have ever participated in. Not only did I gain a passion for the environment that led me to choosing environmental lobbying as a career goal, but I also made life long friends,” said Jennifer Flores, a Project WISE alumnus who recently completed her second summer working as a summer camp counselor at Crissy Field Center. “I thank Project WISE for helping me become the person I am now, giving me direction in life and leaving me with memories to cherish for the rest of my life.”
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Since March 2010, the National Park Service has been working with the Federal Highway Administration and their contractor Ghilotti Brothers to rehabilitate Conzelman Road, the twisty vista road that connects Highway 101 with the Point Bonita Lighthouse. Conzelman Road is also the access road to Hawk Hill. Unfortunately, roadwork that was supposed to be finished by August has been delayed, both by those big spring rains, and by budget swings, and there will be no public access to Hawk Hill until at best late October.
What does this mean to GGRO’s raptor migration monitoring in 2010? We will be able to get GGRO volunteers and staff into the road closure zone on some days, but other days will be closed to us for obvious safety reasons. So, we’re considering other count locations where we can keep a steady eye on the 2010 flight. In changing count sites, we know that the resulting data won’t be fully comparable to our past 25 years, but we still expect to see an amazing array of raptor species.
This all raises a great question—if not at Hawk Hill, where else can the public see this great Pacific Coast raptor migration during September and October? I have a few thoughts on this, and all are within the boundaries of the Golden Gate National Parks.
The Annex
There are a few alternate sites right here in the Marin Headlands. My favorite is called the Annex by GGRO old-timers. The Annex is the large pull-out on Conzelman Road just about a quarter-mile east of the gate that blocks the upper stretch of Conzelman up to Hawk Hill. Drive westward from Highway 101 about ¾-mile and watch on your left for the only pull-out with four wooden benches. This is a wonderful place to see raptors of all species collect above Kirby Cove before making the southbound crossing.
On weekends in September and October, we will have GGRO raptor docents at the Annex from 10 am to 2 pm, tracking the hawks in the sky, and telling the migration story to any drop-in visitors ready to listen. Raptor docents can help you learn to identify hawks from falcons, Sharpshins from Cooper’s, and vultures from planes.
The Bird Island Overlook
Another dramatic Marin Headlands raptor site is way out to the west: the Bird Island Overlook. This windy site is reached by taking Bunker Road from the Five-minute Tunnel toward Rodeo Beach. Turn left at the Marin Headlands Visitor Center and take Field Road out to the great bluff overlooking this grand guano rock. If you can handle the winds, stand outside your car and keep your eyes to the north and try to pick up raptors as they come down the coast. You’ll see lots of Brown Pelicans, but coastal birds of prey, like Ospreys and Peregrines, are also likely to be seen here. I once had a young Bald Eagle cruise by me at eye-level here; I was stunned into silence.
Marin Hills
Continuing north, many of the coastal Marin hills afford great autumn raptor watching. Marin County naturalist David Herlocker has told me about hiking up the Coyote Ridge Trail from Muir Beach to Tennessee Valley and having Sharp-shinned Hawks flap right past. Farther north still, GGRO Research Director Buzz Hull recommends looking for a flow of migrating raptors along the west face of Bolinas Ridge.
San Francisco Coastline
Lest you think that Marin is the only place to see migrating hawks, that is actually not the case. Many of the hawks that pass over Hawk Hill head south over the churning waters of the Golden Gate, and that means that you may pick them up from the San Francisco side. This isn’t easy to do, as some of the raptors stay fairly high up when they arrive in SF. But after many years of looking for good hawk sites in the Presidio, I think the coastal batteries just west of the Golden Gate Toll Plaza afford the best vantage points, particularly Battery Boutelle. Train your eyes high and toward Hawk Hill, and you’ll be amazed what you see.
So, if you are feeling a little raptor-impoverished due to the Hawk Hill closure this autumn, believe me, I understand. But we do have some great alternate sites right here in our parks that will give you your raptor fix. The best hours for searching out migrating raptors are mid-day, from 10 am to 3 pm. The best winds are usually light (2 to 5 mph), and from the north or northwest. Also, if you know of other sites, here or away, where the autumn hawks seem to congregate, please let me know. At least we can use the Conzelman Road closure to explore new horizons for ourselves and the hawks!
Allen Fish
afish@parksconservancy.org
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You’re invited to join the Institute at the Golden Gate for its third season of “Conversations with Eco-Innovators,” a lecture series in collaboration with Conservation International (CI). This season, CI field experts will show us how environmental issues in Africa, the Mekong River region, and other biologically-diverse areas affect us right here at home. The series will kick off on Tuesday, September 28 at 6:30 pm with “Greening the Green Revolution: Feeding a Hot, Hungry Continent Sustainably,” featuring Sandy Andelman, Vice President, Tropical Ecosystems Assessment and Monitoring, Conservation International.
Tickets, $15. Parks Conservancy members and Cavallo Point guests, free (CI lectures only). Learn more and register online at www.instituteatgoldengate.org/lectures. To reserve free member tickets please e-mail events@instituteatgoldengate.org or call (415) 561-3560 and reference your membership number. To learn more about other programs and events at the Institute visit the Institute’s programs and events page.
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Every summer during a five week period in July and August, a special group of students travel from San Francisco to Tennessee Valley in the Golden Gate National Parks. The students take part in a summer program for middle school students from low-income families called Aim High, intended to “inspire a life-long love of learning and instill a sense of community, opportunity, and respect so that students are prepared for success in school and life.”
Students join Aim High after completing 5th or 6th grade and most of them participate in the program for three to four years—until they are about to enter high school. They take part during the summer and at after-school activities during the school year. There are several campuses all over the Bay Area that provide “intensive, engaging and challenging academic classes with activities and events that create opportunities for leadership development and community exploration”—for each and every student.
In Tennessee Valley, the campus is known as the Aim High-Headlands Environmental Home (or AH-HEH). Each week, a group of about 15-20 students is introduced to their weeklong outdoor classroom by way of a hike from Rodeo Valley into Tennessee Valley by several leaders, some of whom are Aim High alumni.
The students are led to the AH-HEH yurt located in lower Tennessee Valley, where they share space with the Tennessee Valley Native Plant Nursery and Volunteer Horse Patrol. For the next few days, the students get involved with habitat restoration and the local environment via invasive plant removal, native plant propagation, and basket weaving and drawing techniques that use native plant materials and local soils.
Over the course of a week, the students go from not wanting to get their clothes or hands dirty to becoming avid stewards of a national park that they now, proudly, know belongs to them. On Thursday night, there is a campout at Haypress Camp within the valley. For some, it is the first time they have ever slept outdoors and the leaders have many skills and tricks up their sleeves to make it an enjoyable and positive experience. On Friday afternoon, they have their final meal in the Valley and bid adieu (hopefully only temporarily) to the place they have become so fond of. Things become a little quieter in the valley for a few months—until the fall when we gladly welcome the next batch of AH-HEH students, with all of their squeals and hollers from their latest discoveries in this remarkable place.
Work with Aim High in restoration efforts at Tennessee Valley! Come to our drop-in volunteer program every Tuesday for work in the nursery and the beautiful surrounding parklands.
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The Coastal Bluffs are one of the hidden treasures of San Francisco. Stretching along the northwestern edge of the city, this wild landscape of serpentinite and scrub is home to rare plants and an intrepid band of volunteers. We’re out there every Thursday afternoon from 1–4 pm, helping restore this habitat by removing non-native plant species.
For the last month, we have been concentrating on the area around Battery Crosby, overlooking Baker Beach. Teams of volunteers have worked hard to remove hundreds of square feet of poison hemlock, Italian thistle, wild mustard, and radish. With the removal of these six-foot tall weeds, we discovered beautiful native plants, such as California aster, growing around the battery. With continued weeding and maintenance, native coastal scrub species such as coyote brush, lizard tail, and bee plant will eventually re-colonize this rugged site.
It takes a special breed of volunteer to help us restore the Coastal Bluffs. With steep slopes, poison oak, and aggressive weeds, working on the bluffs is no walk in the park… but it’s one of the best workouts in town! We provide all the tools, protective gear to keep you away from the poison oak, plenty of information about this special environment, and an awesome view of the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin Headlands.
“If I wasn’t doing this, I’d just be watching TV!” said one of our regular volunteers. “Pulling weeds is better than being a couch potato.”
We’re always keen to welcome new volunteers to join us at this special site. Visit our volunteer page for more information.
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