PARK STEWARDSHIP
YOUTH PROGRAMS
2014
“We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.“ —Franklin D. Roosevelt
The Park Stewardship Program of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy believes that youth engagement is central to, not separate from, our work and hence we design our programming to integrate youth at every level. This is made possible through the commitment of supportive staff members from both internal and partner organizations who agree to take an active role in supporting and mentoring these local youth. From trails to interpretation to finance, these key staff members serve as guides and role models, helping to mentor, train, and create a welcoming environment for our youth participants. With gratitude for their time and energy, we are dedicating this 2014 summary to each of them.
Sue Gardner Director, Park Stewardship Program
LINC
LINKING INDIVIDUALS TO THEIR NATURAL COMMUNITIES
The LINC summer high school program provides its youth participants the unique opportunity to transform their parklands and become stewards of the local environment. Over a six-week program, youth explore environmental careers, restore biologically critical park sites, and discover the national parklands in their own backyard through workshops, workdays, and field trips. During the program, LINC interns work on career development, engaging with environmental professionals from across agencies and parks, as well as crafting personal resumes. Youth participants provide essential service work to nurseries, trails, cultural landmarks, and sensitive habitat in their national parks. On field trips, LINC interns get a taste of outdoor adventure by traversing obstacles on a high ropes course, rigging and sailing a historic schooner on the San Francisco Bay, and hiking under waterfalls in Yosemite National Park. This program provides youth with the chance to engage with their public lands and become the next generation of environmental leaders. LINC youth leave the program with the tools to explore an environmental career and the passion to bring their transformative experiences back home to their families, friends, and communities.
35
6
$1000
PARTICIPANTS
WEEKS
EDUCATIONAL AWARD
ETHNICITY OF STUDENTS
42% 25% 15% 15% 3%
ASIAN/PACIFIC ISLANDER CAUCASIAN HISPANIC/LATINO MULTI-RACIAL ASIAN INDIAN
LINC
SERVICE AND RESTORATION ACCOMPLISHMENTS
578
3,000
600
900
HOURS SERVED
FRENCH BROOM REMOVED
PLANTS TRANSPLANTED AT
POTS WASHED FOR REUSE
FROM ENDANGERED MISSION BLUE BUTTERFLY HABITAT
THE PRESIDIO NATIVE PLANT NURSERY
2,000
1
120
25
GALLONS OF PAINT APPLIED TO COVER GRAFFITI FROM BATTERY WAGNER
TRUCK-FULL OF BULL THISTLE SEED HEADS CLIPPED
FEET OF TRAIL WIDENED ALONG PARK TRAILS
SQUARE METERS OF INVASIVE CATTAILS AND BRISTLY OXTONGUE REMOVED
LEADERSHIP & TEAM-BUILDING
PARTNERSHIPS Strengthened ties to the MARIN MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT, a partner in the tamalpais lands collaborative, with a joint workday on the west peak of mt. Tam
5
NIGHTS CAMPED. FOUR IN YOSEMITE, ONE AT ROB HILL Partnered with SAN FRANCISCO STATE’S RECREATION, PARKS, AND TOURISM DEPARTMENT, AND THE CRISSY FIELD CENTER to provide a kayaking adventure
8.5
MILES HIKED FROM GLACIER POINT TO YOSEMITE VALLEY
Toured the new presidio officers’ club and archaeology lab, and engaged in service opportunities at el polín spring and mountain lake with staff from the PRESIDIO TRUST
Took an urban farm tour and engaged in service
10
work with ALEMANY FARM
ROPES COURSE ELEMENTS CONQUERED AT FORT MILEY
Worked with the PACIFIC LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE to make possible the youth participation in the ropes course
1
HISTORIC SHIP RIGGED AND SAILED
3
HOURS KAYAKED AT AQUATIC PARK AND ON THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY
LINC
EDUCATION
Learned to IDENTIFY OVER 20 NATIVE AND INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES, as well as their medicinal and other ethnobotanical uses
CRAFTED PERSONALIZED RESUMES and prepared for mock interviews
ENGAGED with panel discussions and activities on: Ecology College/career Health Diversity/inclusion Environmental empowerment
SOPHIA BREWERTHOMPSON
JOSELINE CASTILLO
I can honestly say that LINC is one of the only times I have been completely, 100% myself, and people accepted and appreciated who that was, giving me a lot more confidence.
I can now say I am comfortable in my own skin and not only that I’ve gained the perseverance to become the best I can be. LINC has made me realize how much I love and enjoy being outdoors and I now know that being surrounded with the people who share the same passion as me is something I want in my future.
ENTERING 11TH GRADE AT HOLY NAMES
GINO GRESH
ENTERING 12TH GRADE AT SACRED HEART Because of this program, I started with a group of motivated and happy friends that became a family on a very long path of nature, stewardship, and community.… I am positive now that I want to pursue an outdoorsy or environmental career, getting to work in and experience natural beauty all the time.
ENTERING 12TH GRADE AT ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
DAISY GIORDY
ENTERING 10TH GRADE AT TAMALPAIS HIGH I used to be really grumpy. I always had an attitude for everything, but being in this program has made me really happy. I really learned how to trust and how to open up. My life has actually really changed after this.
KAREN ZHU
ENTERING 12TH GRADE AT BALBOA HIGH The only way to restore the environment or preserve the few natural places we have is to entice the public to visit and fall in love with nature… One person making a difference is a ripple, but a crowd of people making a difference is a wave. Teamwork is the key.
SOPHIA PIRES-SERATA
KAIT LIBBEY
ENTERING 12TH GRADE AT THE BAY SCHOOL I was on a hike with my family recently and I was able to point out all of the plants that lined the trail, and that was a really cool thing to be able to do.
ALEJANDRO VALDEZ
ENTERING 11TH GRADE AT BERKELEY HIGH
ENTERING 10TH GRADE AT BERKELEY HIGH
I never imagined that I would learn so much about habitat restoration and environmental issues but also about friendship, teamwork, diversity, and openness. The most amazing thing is that six weeks ago we were strangers and now I know all sixteen of my coworkers more than I know my close friends.
I have had an amazing experience. I feel closer to the natural world and closer to myself. … I feel like a great team member and a leader who can make an impact in the world.
SUMMER YOUTH INTERNSHIPS
The Crissy Field Center now leads the effort to place alumni from both the LINC and I-YEL programs into summer internship placements. This program provides youth who have graduated from these programs a focused job experience in a variety of fields—from summer camp to accounting. The length of the internship varies between 4–6 weeks, depending on the position. The youth are supported by enthusiastic mentors who challenge them to try new things, take risks, and become leaders.
Highlight: Supported Jackson VanFleet, a LINC Alumni, on the collection of data for his college thesis paper, which looks at the effect of soil type on the location and abundance of the endangered Hickman’s potentilla. This information will help guide restoration activities for the Hickman’s potentilla at Golden Gate in 2015.
3
3
PARK HOST AGENCIES
PARTNER HOST AGENCIES
GOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVANCY
AIM HIGH
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PRESIDIO TRUST
ANGEL ISLAND STATE PARK SAN FRANCISCO MARITIME NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
INTERNSHIP TYPES
21
47
SUMMER INTERNS
25
MENTORS
10
YOUTH LEADERSHIP INTERNSHIPS
INTERPRETATION INTERNSHIPS
AIM HIGH
ALCATRAZ ISLAND
CRISSY FIELD CENTER Urban Trailblazers Summer Camp Junior Rangers Camping in The Presidio Health & Wellness Program
ANGEL ISLAND STATE PARK
3
NATURAL RESOURCES INTERNSHIPS
NURSERY INTERNSHIPS
PARKS CONSERVANCY Park Stewardship Program, Marin & San Francisco
FORT FUNSTON NURSERY
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Inventory & Monitoring Geology PRESIDIO TRUST/NPS Presidio Park Stewards
11
OCEANA NURSERY PRESIDIO NURSERY
FORT POINT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE SAN FRANCISCO MARITIME NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
2
BUSINESS & COMMUNICATIONS INTERNSHIPS PARKS CONSERVANCY Finance & Accounting Park Stewardship Media
INTERNSHIP REFLECTIONS Anny Ho Intern at Crissy Field Center Health and Wellness Program
Daisy Ramirez Lopez Restoration Intern at Park Stewardship SF
Depak Singh Interpretive Intern on Alcatraz Island
This internship has provided me
I personally grew up in San Francisco
I definitely improved on my public
with a plethora of skills such as
but I never explored the Presidio.
speaking skills. I never thought that
asking informational questions,
Now getting the opportunity to meet
I could talk to a group larger than
improving patient satisfaction, and
new people here on the job, natives
40, but thanks to the internship I’m
understanding the different fields of
and tourists, and seeing places like
speaking in front of groups of 300.
public health and their importance.
the Presidio Bluffs and Lands End has
Without this wonderful opportunity, I would not have gained insight into working in a community’s health
been very rewarding. I speak to the volunteers a lot, so my
center and learn how to work with
public speaking skills have definitely
diverse populations.
improved. During my first program, I
As I enter my second year in college, I find it even more important for youth and my peers to have opportunities
was very shy and didn’t want to speak in front of the volunteers but now here I am running programs by myself.
This will definitely be a big help in school and in the future. I think these internships are great for young people because they really help us connect to our national parks. Four years ago, I didn’t really care for the parks because I didn’t have any connection to them. But after doing LINC and internships, I
like this in order to have a better
really feel that the work we’re doing
understanding about their futures and
is beneficial, especially since we get
develop a critical perspective about
to connect to others who are just as
career choices.
interested as we are!
TEENS ON TRAILS
“Let us leave a splendid legacy for our children … let us turn to them and say, this you inherit: guard it well, for it is far more precious than money.” –Ansel Adams In 2014, the Teens on Trails program attracted over 189 youth to work in the Golden Gate National Parks. The program provides teens with opportunities to interact with the outdoor environment, learn about trail maintenance and trails in their communities, and earn volunteer hours. The Trail Stewardship Team and the Golden Gate Trail Crew hope the experiences they provide inspire the participating teens to venture through nature on their own and share their passion for stewarding the environment with others.
189 YOUTH VOLUNTEERS MLK DAY | PRESIDENTS DAY CEASAR CHAVEZ DAY | VETERANS DAY
150,000 SQ. FT. OF SAND AND TRASH CLEARED PROVIDING EASY ACCESS FOR ADA USERS, BICYCLISTS AND STROLLERS OCEAN BEACH PROMENADE
25,000 POUNDS OF DIRT HAULED TO MITIGATE MUD POOLS AND DRAINAGE ISSUES COASTAL TRAIL - LANDS END
75
STAIRS MAINTAINED BATTERIES TO BLUFFS TRAIL
COLLABORATED WITH THE CRISSY FIELD CENTER, BUILDON, AND HOME AWAY FROM HOMELESSNESS
Trail building and maintenance is not for the faint of heart, however all participating teens accepted the challenge and exceeded expectations.
SCHOOL YEAR
PROGRAMS
Park Stewardship’s school year programs connect traditionally underserved young people with their parks through outdoor service-learning adventures. Special emphasis is placed on building long-term relationships with youth and partner organizations from Marin City, San Rafael’s Canal District, and San Francisco’s southeast neighborhoods. Our goal is to make a profound impact on kids and teens who spend little or no time outdoors by catalyzing their first experiences playing on the beach, camping under the stars, and looking closeup at insects. Additionally, youth gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of their parks by getting their hands dirty and putting ecological theory into practice during trail and habitat restoration. Engaging young people through these programs is the first step in our ladder of opportunities for deeper engagement with the park. Through these powerful first contact experiences with parks and the outdoors, we are growing a community of tomorrow’s environmental leaders.
96
43
YOUTH GROUP PROGRAMS LED
SCHOOLS AND YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS SERVED
498
957
PRE-K AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL YOUTH SERVED
MIDDLE SCHOOL YOUTH SERVED
1,032
2,247
HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH SERVED
COLLEGE AND YOUNG ADULTS SERVED
OCEANA HIGH SCHOOL NURSERY & GARDEN PROGRAM
The Oceana High School Program offers youth a variety of ways to learn about and engage with their local national parks. This year we partnered with Oceana High School to provide students with field trips and volunteer days, internships in the native plant nursery, and a weeklong biological monitoring camping trip. During class field trips and volunteer programs, students develop a close connection to the national parks in their backyard by helping to improve the ecological function of sensitive habitat. While in the field, students gain a deep understanding of these wild spaces, putting plants in the ground and learning ethnobotany, the traditional use of native plants. Students who seek an even deeper connection pursue internships at the park’s native plant nursery located on the Oceana campus. High school interns contribute to all aspects of running a successful native plant nursery, and regularly harvest native plant seeds, prune plants, and maintain irrigation systems. This year we offered Oceana students a unique opportunity to participate in a weeklong biological monitoring camping trip, hosted in conjunction with National Geographic’s 2014 BioBlitz in the Golden Gate National Parks. Twenty Oceana students spent a week identifying and cataloging as many living organisms as they could find, including bioluminescent algae and federally endangered butterflies. each day the group focused on a different topic—including animal tracking, bird identification, tide pool creatures, and medicinal plants—and culminated with a wildlife survey at Milagra Ridge For the youth we serve, these opportunities open the door to a world of exploration, learning, and inspiration. Through these experiences, we hope to raise a generation of youth who spend a lifetime engaging with their national parklands.
131 HIGH SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS
1,371 VOLUNTEER HOURS
30 STUDENT PROGRAMS
1,448 GRAMS OF SEED COLLECTED
3,900 PLANTS GROWN FOR THE MORI POINT RESTORATION PROJECT
2 HILLSIDES PLANTED & WEEDED AT MORI POINT & MILAGRA RIDGE
6 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE CLASS PROGRAMS LED
THANK YOU No words could adequately describe how grateful we are for your support. Every contribution, whether it be spreading the word, offering mentorship or providing funding ensures that these programs continue to reach, lift and connect our local youth to their National Park and the community around them.
“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.”
-John Holmes
PHILANTHROPIC PARTNERS Ryan Jones Program Fund Brian O’Neill Youth Leaders Fund Anonymous S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation FedEx Gap Foundation National Fish & Wildlife Foundation George F. Jewett Foundation
PROGRAMMATIC PARTNERS Aim High Alcatraz Night Tours Alemany Farm Bay Area Wilderness Training Build-On California State Parks Camping at the Presidio City College of San Francisco College of Marin Crissy Field Center Dominican University Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy Home Away from Homelessness Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ) Marine Mammal Center Marin Municipal Water District
Martin Luther King Academy, Marin City National Geographic National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) National Park Service, Golden Gate National Recreation Area Native Plant Nurseries, Parks Conservancy Oceana High School Outward Bound Pacific Leadership Institute (PLI) Pie Ranch Presidio Trust Presidio YMCA Earth Service Corps Richmond Beacon Center at Washington High School San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park San Francisco State University, Parks & Tourism Department San Rafael High School Women Helping All People, Marin City