Maybe this may be it

Marveling at the work that we have done all this time has really made me feel extraordinary. I did not think that all this can be done, working in so many different places, pulling out so many, and planting in so much. Creating overlooks, and detroying others. Watering saplings, and discovering native species. And on top of that, I was able to spend time with my friends, and at the same time, make new ones. Life is truly amazing, and I am blessed to have done my senior project here in the Presidio. I bid Charlie goodbye, but the great part about it, was no one holding it against us for leaving. Charlie promised me a shirt for completing 30 hours of community service with them, but I'll have to acquire it later. I'm alright with that. Anyway, today was the last session. The car ride home was longer than the usual......

Inspiration Point

At last, a great view to share with the world. Inspiration point. From here you can see the Palace of fine arts, and the Golden Gate Bridge, and Krissy Field. Wow, looking over this amazing view is so magnificent. Only if it weren't covered in Italian fennel, rattlesnake weed, and foxtail weed, then perhaps the view would be flawless. The biggest part about habitat restoration is restoring the habitat to its original state; that means, we go in, kill invasive species, and plant new ones. Plain and simple. But then again, the view was beautiful. No words can express the beauty of such a place. No wonder they call it inspiration point.

El Polin

One such area that I love to work in is called El Polin. This creek sits in the center of a small valley between to two hills. I'm not sure it can be called a valley, but hey. El Polin has a beauty of its own that precedes it. I just love the sound of a rushing creek while I work, gardening, pulling weeds, and planting native species. I am able to lose myself, and work harmoniously with my other group members. As I recall, no one was saying a word, a little piece of solidarity. As the day went on, a great blue heron flew into the creek, walking skillfully on its stilt-like legs. Everyone watched in amazement as the blue blue bird started to bathe itself in the creek.

The Banana Slug

Okay, I must admit that it wasn't pretty looking, but there's something about a large thriving cephalopod such as this that makes me happy to know that it exists in a place that I know that we're taking care of. Haha, of course, one of the steward leaders dared me to kiss it. Naturally I refused, but I succumbed to such peer pressure. Anyway, it's not like it was diseased or anything. Slug excretion is supposedly clean. So then I kissed it while Allie took photo's of me doing so, but then noticed that the picture quality was bad the first time. Then she asked me to kiss it two more times, declaring that the picture had motion blurrs or the lighting was off. I suspected that she was messing around with me, and my notions were correct. She made me kiss the slug two more times just for her own amusement. I felt like such an idiot..... Still do >_<

It's moments like these however, that I will not forget.

Krissy Marsh

Ugh, what a gloomy day at Krissy Marsh. The clouds are covering the sky, and it's overcast for miles. It's me, Scott, and Jason today. Allie, decided to skip out because of the weather. Here we are, on the shoreline of Krissy Marsh, pulling burr clover once again. The light rain, falling on the top of my head, tries ever so hard to discourage me from my work. I must admit, working as a volunteer for the Presiio park stewards has it's upsides, such as working with people who are awesome, and being able to work towards the common good. Yet, the onle thing I do not like about working outdoors, is the weather and environmental hazard. Rain for example, can be a deterent to doing good work. For me personally, bees. Bees are a natural part of the Presidio habitat, but one sting from such a small animal can send me into anaphylactic shock. Always need to carry an epinephrine pen just in case. Otherwise, working for the stewards doesn't bother me. Hopefully the weather clears up by next week.

Charlie Hoffman

I for one, respect this man so much. Charlie is just an all around great mentor. One thing that he will do is call me out, if I'm doing something dangerous, mean, evil, and or mischievous. Haha, good old Charlie. One time, Allie was throwing man roots at me, and take note, these man roots are quite large in fact, and as she was throwing them at me, I was deflecting them with my spade. Then all of a sudden, Charlie comes out of nowhere, yelling at me, telling me to stop swinging my shovel above my head like a mad man. Haha, then I got chastized a little, and of course I called him a buzz kill, but in the end, he is right. I shouldn't be swinging shovels above my head if I want to avoid lawsuit. But beside the point, Charlie has taught me so much in terms of habitat restoration. He taught me proper technique, filled my head will all sorts of plant knowledge, and at the same time, urged me to become a better open minded person by putting me in environments that I was not accustomed to. Good o'le Charlie!

Monkey Flower

I have neglected to post for the past couple of days, five to be exact, so I'll try catching up on what I have missed to say. Here's a cool tip, monkey flower can be used to create a salt additive to meals. The monkey flower is albe to do this by concentrating sodium chloride and other salts absorbed from the soils in which they grow in their leaves and stem tissues. Native Americans and early travelers in the American West used this plant as a salt substitute to flavor wild game. The entire plant is edible, but reported to be very salty and bitter unless well cooked. Other medicinal and edible plants grow in the Presidio. Huh, I wonder if I can find more. 

All Walks of Life

As I look around me today at Krissy Marsh, the interpersonal exchange of various different volunteers appears evident. Many people, from many walks of life come here every service day to work, and in doing so, gives them opportunities to share ideas, philiosophies, and in our case (as teenagers) gossip. I remember today meeting this high school student; his name was Noah. He currently goes to a school in the East Bay, somewhere past Marin. None-the-less, he was a nice fellow, always eager to lend a hand. I recall talking to him about academics, and this kid was already in Calculus as a sophomore. Talking to Noah was a stimulating as well as a mentally enriching experience. I must say, attending these restoration projects at the Presidio really takes me out of my shell and comfort zone, and delves me into a more enriching and diverse place. Gosh...... I wonder what happened to Noah.

A view from Above

Another day at Dragonfly creek, and the sun was hot as ever. The interns Charlie and Tom where there guiding us along the way. Creating an overlook wasn't so bad, if you discount the woodchips splintering into your dermis or the sun baked air just beating down on you, but all in all it was worth it to see our work unfold in front of our very eyes. The overlook is a flat surface covered in woodchips that sits elevated on the sloped hill of the creek. We were required to dig out an outcrop in the hill, and fill it with woodchip, which in turn created the overlook. It took some doing, but we managed to complete it; Allie, Scott, Jason and I. There's nothing more satisfying than marveling at the structure that has been completed which took a tremendous amount of work to create. I just hope that the overlook will still be there when I'm old...... That so far has been my greatest contribution to the Presidio.

Burr Clover

Now there's a pretty sight, burr clover. They appear small, riddled with tiny barbs and needle like appendages, and are colored a light green with the occasional dash of red. They are an invasive species to the Presidio and are detrimental to the native plant species, such as monkey flower, achilea, and wild strawberry. I remember Charlie saying that Burr clover posssess the ability to germinate from almost nothing tha a speck. For instance, he said that there was once an adobe brick that was broken and inside were burr clover spores. these spores quickly began to germinate once sunlight or rainfall touched them. I have picked many of these during my time with the presidio stewards.