BAEER Fair!

Thank you for joining us for the BAEER Fair 2012! It was a great chance to share LEAF with the larger community, and learn about other environmental organizations.

Making Sub Irrigating Planters Inspired by Glides Rooftop Edible Garden

Monday, July 25

Today we made Sip containers.
I planted Parsley, Basil, and Rosemary in mine.
First, we went to Lowe's and got all of our supplies for the container.
We got pipes, buckets, soil, and small buckets.
Then we went to Flower craft.
We had $4 to decide on what we wanted to plant.
When we went back to PHS we took the bucket and drilled a small hole on the bottom and a big hole in the middle of the base.
We took the smaller bucket and drilled a lot of tiny holes in the sides and we did the same with the bottom of the big bucket.
We stuck a pipe and the small bucket into the base of the larger bucket.
Then, we filled the bucket with soil and planted our edible plants.
We watered our plants through the pipe.
Overall, it was my favorite day yet.

Cataract Falls

Instead of having our normal morning circle, Eleanor, Todd, and Isaac were waiting for us at the curb since we'd be driving for several hours to get to Cataract Falls. Where we were going was on the opposite side of Mount Tam from Steep Ravine Canyon. The road was really twisty and had a ton of turns. Ella, Daniella and Arlo got motion sick after a while of left and right and left and right. We went so high that when we arrived at our destination we looked down and all we saw was a white foggy blanket covering the land below. Once we got there we all us got out of the van as fast as possible for a gulp of fresh air. Then we hiked down a rocky road for a while and then stopped at a stream where we meet the girls and Bridgett from Davidson. We looked for invertebrates and other animals. We saw several salamanders and a TON of bugs. We then had lunch and started hiking again. It was really rocky and there were a ton of steps. After a hike of about 30 minutes we reached a really beautiful waterfall. There was a stream of water coming down from in between several rocks and it fell down creating a constant cycle of ripples across the water. There was a log across the a little bit of the fall that went into the water. It was really awesome. Then we hiked the rest of the way and then had to go back through the windy road.

-Daphna

Cataract Falls

" The cataract falls visit was my favorite day. Because I loved learning in a creative and fun way and it's really fun in nature. I loved hiking with my friends and discovering plants and animals that I'd never seen before. I loved it.
-Ella

"It was awesome man!"

-Stella

"Nasty and creepy and a ton of bugs."

-Emmanuel

"Beautiful, magical and pristine."

-Eleanor

Hope's Thoughts About the Wetlands

The wetlands were really fun because we went kayaking. At first I didn't think it was that fun because we were going against the current and it was really hard. But when I actually looked at what was surrounding us, it got better. Then when we were leaving, it was way better because we were going with the current and we sang songs. The trip felt shorter and easier. Kayaking was really fun just like LEAF. :)

07/28/11 Thoughts of the Day

Day 9, Lake Merced

Thursday, day 9, we went to Lake Merced. We helped them rip out weeds in the park around the lake, so the native plants that they were growing, could grow. It was fun tearing out the weeds and see the pile grow bigger and bigger every time you look at it. I loved knowing that I was making a difference in this park, and how little the action to make that difference. It felt good to see the park covered in green weeds before we got down on our hands and knees with our tools, and when left, seeing a park of native plants and wood chips. I loved going to Lake Merced.

~Ella

Izzy’s thoughts on Lake Merced

Today we went to Lake Merced. And we did restoration work at the picnic area near the boathouse. First we weeded, then we covered the area with fresh woodchips. We worked with pitchforks to spread out the mulch. We worked with the Parks and Recs gardener , Steve, and his truck. We would fill it and then he would drive it to dump the bark mulch to a new area.
I saw fellowship when people were working together to shovel loads of mulch onto the back of the truck and to spread it on new areas. I saw ecology when I was learning about the different blackbirds and their markings from Steve. I think a male redwing blackbird has red on it wings. The common black bird males have yellow eyes and the females have brown. I saw action when people worked really hard to fill the back of the truck and spread the mulch so that visitors could enjoy the park. I saw leadership when Steve told us what we were going to do. And everyone did a good job doing it. It was a fun day, but hard…I was glad when lunch came and we were done because I was tired.

~Izzy

At Lake Merced,
I learned lots and I loved it.

~Stella

At Lake Merced,
We worked a lot and really hard and although it was really annoying that Ella was trying to get a picture of me, I had a really great time.

~Dahna

I thought it was fun and I learned a lot on how weeds can be really threatening to native plants and flowers.

~Arlo

It was fun cleaning up and driving in the car.

~Emmanual

At Lake Merced,
I loved knowing that I was helping the plants. It was really fun pulling out so many weeds while doing a service to the community.

~Hannah

Stella's Thoughts on the Wetlands

Giacomini Wetlands

Monday was the first day of LEAF and we all met each other in a peaceful morning circle. After we all met each other we all got into our car and drove to the wetlands. We took a small hike with a special guest biologist Ann Brown. Ann showed us all types of different plants and animals. We got into are cars again and drove off to the old Giacomini Dairy Barn, we met the Davidson kids there and observed the nature. We found lots of bugs and notified all the plants. We ate lunch with everyone and had a good time talking. We took off in our cars back to the wetlands and met the kayaking instructors. We learned their names and they taught us how to paddle and got us all suited up and got in our boats and paddled away. Everyone was really excited. The way there was or felt really long we took a lot of breaks. We finally got to the little island and took a break and talked. After we were all rested and feed we got back into our kayaks and paddled back. The ay back it felt a lot shorter. We got pulled onto the land again and all jumped out of the boats and we were all really tired. In the car ride back people were really quiet and all exhausted. We came to PHS and did a really mellow closing circle. After that we got picked up and went home, and all said good bye! And till the very next day we would have a good time!

Day One Kayaking in Giacomini Wetlands

Kayaking was really fun when we went going kayaking. I think that I would remember that forever. It was also my first time going kayaking. I also enjoyed going fast with my partner. First we went against the wind and the currents. We saw different types of bugs. After we got off are kayaks to talk and eat when we got back one their were a bunch of grass hoppers all over the kayaks. Then when we got back on we were going with the wind and currents so it was easier but my shoulder started to hurt but it was still really fun i enjoyed going kayaking with the other people from LEAF.

~Emmanuel

As we finally got out of the brush on the opposite way we where suppose to go, we got into the flow of things. True, Kathleen and I were at the back of the group but, we got to take in our surroundings and focus more on the reason we were there, (to study the wetlands.) We pulled up on land and toke a sigh of relief we were aching all over.

~Christa

On Monday, we went kayaking and it was really fun. At first, my partner Christa and I were bad at paddling (mostly because of me). When we finally got to the side of the mountain we were in dead last! On the ride back the wind pushed us and it was a lot easier and more relaxing. Overall, it was a really good (and tiring) day.

~Kathleen

Hi leaf we went to the beach on Wed. And went on a hike on wed. Too and on Tues. Day we went to the sewage system and we took a tour and it smelt really BAD!  On Mon we went kayaking and and on the way the there it felt really long and the way back felt really sort and there were so many bugs ! It was so gross the bugs!

~Stella

Hiking in the morning was my favorite part. I loved seeing all the beautiful plants, flowers, trees, and anything you could think of. We found lots of cool insects and bugs, and species of plants I have never seen or heard of before. On this trip I have learned to really look at every thing I see and just explore every little bug, plant, tree, flower. Along the way Arlo noticed small red and pink eggs on  leaves on a tree. The naturalist who was leading our group, thought we should cut it open and see what kind of living things could be inside. It turned out it was just hard green and white stuff, yet I was still greatly fascinated by this discovery. i found many pretty flowers and made them into a bouquet. i was going to press them in my notebook, but i lost them on he hike back. i had  a great time that day, i hope to have as much fun every day as i did today.

~Ella