SPRING '09 TALKS
Nature in the City partners with Shaping SF to you bring you the FALL 08/WINTER 09 TALKS
1310 Mission at 9th Street. Use Van Ness or Civic Center Stations.
ARCHIVES
WINTER/SPRING 2009 TALKS
Lake Merced Natural Area
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
The largest coastal lagoon between Point Reyes and Pescadero, Lake
Merced is an incomparable natural resource for San Francisco. The SFPUC
owns the land and water while Recreation and Parks still largely
manages the landscape, including Harding Park Golf Course. The PUC has
undertaken a community watershed planning process in order to
articulate a bold vision for the future of the lake and its environs.
In addition to restoring native plant communities and wildlife habitat,
the SFPUC wants to activate the lake for more and exciting natural
resources-compatible recreation. The process is not without
controversy, since the Pacific Rod and Gun Club leases a substantial
portion of lakefront property and has done so for many decades. Nature
enthusiasts generally prefer increased access to that site, not only
for ecological restoration, but also for more diverse lake-dependent
uses by the public. A preserve has been proposed for East Lake and
large portions of the intact habitat portions of the lake, where human
use would be further controlled for the protection of wildlife and
threatened and endangered species. Dan Murphy (Golden Gate Audubon Society), David Behar (SFPUC) & 3rd panelist TBA.
Bees in the City
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Learn about the "Colony Collapse Disorder" afflicting commercial beekeepers and the threat to agribusiness, in juxtaposition to the dozens of native bees flourishing in California's urban environments, which reinforce local biodiversity and provide another important link to growing our own food in cities. Phillip Gerrie (SF Beekeepers Association), K. Ruby (Institute for Urban Homesteading)
The Presidio and Bayview-Hunter's Point: Is one Superfund site cleaner than the other?
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
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Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard, 2005. Photo by Telstar Logistics. |
Superfund sites in San Francisco? Come find out whether people and nature are being treated appropriately and fairly in these two well known but very different communities and environments.
Is the Presidio Trust fulfilling its commitment to protect and restore the natural resources of this great urban National Park? Are the Navy and the City of San Francisco taking the best care of the residents and their environment at Hunter's Point Shipyard? San Francisco is blessed with significant remaining natural areas and biodiversity, and these two places - the Presidio and Bayview-Hunters Point - each harbor an important share. Comparing and contrasting the two areas helps us consider with more focus what our goals should be for taking care of people and our environment. Come learn about ArcEcology's recent report that illustrates brand new and exciting alternatives for the Bayview-Hunter's Point Redevelopment. Are these better than Lennar's? How is Candlestick Point State Recreation Area affected? Also, find out about the Presidio's environmental remediation program, and then make your own decision about whether they're making the right decisions! And given that these two communities are very different socio-economically, is one being "cleaned-up" better than the other?
Saul Bloom (ArcEcology), Doug Kern (Urban Watershed Project and Presidio Restoration Advisory Board).
Transition City
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Permaculture transformation, redesigning and getting off the grid. How can urban dwellers begin immediately to move towards self-sufficiency? What are the impediments, what are the resources? We'll have several permaculture practitioners presenting step-by-step recommendations for the next six months, a 1-year and a 3-5 year transition. Is there a relationship with backyard habitat restoration?
K. Ruby (sparkybeegirl.com), Chris Shein (Wildheart Gardens), Urban Permaculture Guild.
FALL 2008 TALKS
Candlestick Point: State Park for the People
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
A little known fact is that San Francisco has its very own California State Park. Candlestick State Recreation Area is much more than the stadium (which is actually owned by the City). The urban shoreline park is a very important community environmental resource, used by bird watchers, picnickers, fisherman, and is in the process of an ecological transformation for the benefit of local critters and the Bayview community. The "Bayview Waterfront Plan," the development that includes Hunter's Point Shipyard and Yosemite Slough, will transform the entire area. Come learn about what ecological and community resources currently exist there and what we can all do to maintain and enhance our very own State Park. Restoring wetland habitat for local wildlife figures prominently in the discussion. Alan Hopkins (Golden Gate Audubon Society), Patrick Rump (Literacy for Environmental
Justice) Claude Everhart (Friends of Candlestick).
Green Streets: Redesigning San Francisco 1 Block at a Time
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
Nature in the city is not only in our wildlands and water bodies, but also underground, and in the potential created by the increasingly common practice of ripping up concrete street by street. A movement is afoot in this city - and others around the world - to transform the way we experience our streets, and planting for wildlife habitat, stormwater management, and water resource conservation is a critical part of creating that new urban ecological experience. Come learn about this exciting urban environmental work happening right now, and how we can organize it all into an ecological revolution in
the streets. Tom Radulovich (Livable City), Amber Hasselbring (Mission Greenbelt), Jane Martin
(Plant SF).
Sorry, no podcast available - technical failure!
SPRING 2008 TALKS
Twin Peaks Bioregion
Wednesday, March 26
The Franciscan Bioregion is the unique ecological area of Planet Earth and the area of our keen interest, north of the San Francisco airport, from San Bruno Mountain to the Golden Gate. In the heart of the city is a series of hilltops, e.g., Mt. Davidson, Tank Hill, Corona Heights, as well as Glen Canyon, that are still rich with natural areas, wildlife habitats, and indigenous biodiversity. This “Twin Peaks Bioregion” is severely threatened by noxious weeds and insensitive uses of our local natural habitats. Still, many people are working hard to steward these special places, and they hold an exciting vision for this area and the whole city as a restored network of wildlife corridors, nature trails, and livable communities, for example from Golden Gate Park to Glen Park.
Tom Radulovich - Livable City, BART Board
Greg Gaar - Natural Historian, Haight-Ashbury Native Plant Nursery
Craig Dawson - Mt. Sutro Stewards, Inner Sunset Merchants Association
Local to Global: Butterflies and Lilies
Local rarity in the Franciscan bioregion: Who cares?
Wednesday, April 30
Come hear about the very charismatic Green Hairstreak butterfly and Nature in the City's project to restore its habitat and an entire ecological corridor amidst spectacular hilltop natural areas in the heart of the city. Also, Hunter's Point is home to one of the last populations of the gorgeous yellow mariposa lily. Find out whether PG&E, the current landowner, is doing evervything they can to protect it. The Yerba Buena Chapter of the California Native Plant Society is certainly doing its best. And, meet the filmaker and view a segment of Still Wild at Heart, a film about nature and wildlife in the city.
Finally, come and discuss with us why we should bother trying to save these little pockets of nature even though these species are not endangered
Liam O'Brien - Local Lepidopterist, Nature in the City
Margo Bors - California Native Plant Society
Melissa Peabody - Still Wild at Heart Producer
Local to Global: Frogs and Butterflies
Federally listed endangered species: Legally protected but still fragile and fighting for survival!
Wednesday, May 28
The story of the San Francisco bay checkerspot butterfly at Edgewood County Park and hope for the mission blue at Twin Peaks. Then, the "jumping frog" of San Francisco,: the story of the west's largest native frog, the California red-legged. Stuart Weiss, Ph.D., Creekside Science for Earth Observation
Chris Giorni, Tree Frog Treks
TALKS are held at CounterPULSE
1310 Mission Street (at 9th)
San Francisco, CA 94103
415-626-2060
