With some trepidation and a whole lot of doubt, my friends, my daughter, and I drove down the most industrial street in San Francisco, called Amador Street, in the Hunter's Point / Bayview neighborhood....
There couldn't be marshland down here! We rolled past a massive abandoned silo-looking building, a rendering plant (or something nasty) that stank to high heaven, and enormous piles of aggregate for making concrete.
Now, I'm a lady fascinated with industrial plants, and abandoned ones are even more cool, but when I'm on a search for marshland, the industrial sector leaves me doubtful.
Yet Pier 94 was at the end of Amador, its entrance marked by a lone port-o-potty and a printed placard posted at the far end of the most unlikely looking parking lot.
Greenery spread for acres beyond the chain-link fence, and beyond that was the shoreline with cormorants, pelicans, gulls, and even one beautiful sea lion.
WHAT IS PIER 94 MARSHLAND?
It is a tidal marsh that has become protected in large part by the Port of San Francisco (see their link here).
The Pier 94 Marshland is a gorgeous five or so acres surrounded by the heart of industry in San Francisco.
One day it will be part of a connected series of green spaces along the perimeter of the city, the Blue Greenway.
Right now, Pier 94 could use some visitors and attention.
According to the fellow from Audubon Society who my husband and I met last Saturday morning, during the Audubon Society's monthly cleanup and caretaking of this site, this was a dump of flotsam and jetsam a some years ago. Even last Saturday, he hauled a soggy mattress away.
I wandered around with my garbage bag and my kid, but there was barely any trash. Instead I saw pickleweed galore, flowers, and birds. I saw mud and slime, and lots of rocks.
Then my daughter and I sat at the water's edge and a sea lion poked its head out of the water and watched us for a minute. We were very impressed!
HOW TO HELP PIER 94
Just going out to Pier 94 and acquainting yourself with the marshland restoration situation in San Francisco is great. Nobody has to "do" anything, as sometimes the best action is to just appreciate something.
I'm starting to realize I should always carry a plastic bag to pick up trash when I hike with my kid. It's good practice, so I recommend it to you too, whether you come here or elsewhere.
The first Saturday of the month is a volunteer workday. To get involved with restoration, see this page on the Audubon website. You could always just show up at 9 in the morning.
My husband and I came with our toddler. While Marshall worked on digging up invasive weeds, the kid and I did what we could, which wasn't much! I picked up trash but mostly ogled at the wildlife juxtaposed with the incredible man-made structures.
looking for Pier 94.
There couldn't be marshland down here! We rolled past a massive abandoned silo-looking building, a rendering plant (or something nasty) that stank to high heaven, and enormous piles of aggregate for making concrete.
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| Big Industrial Momma, what were you in times past? |
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| Cranes to inspire (or scare) the children |
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| Flowering Pickleweed |
Yet Pier 94 was at the end of Amador, its entrance marked by a lone port-o-potty and a printed placard posted at the far end of the most unlikely looking parking lot.
Greenery spread for acres beyond the chain-link fence, and beyond that was the shoreline with cormorants, pelicans, gulls, and even one beautiful sea lion.
WHAT IS PIER 94 MARSHLAND?
It is a tidal marsh that has become protected in large part by the Port of San Francisco (see their link here).
One day it will be part of a connected series of green spaces along the perimeter of the city, the Blue Greenway.
Right now, Pier 94 could use some visitors and attention.
According to the fellow from Audubon Society who my husband and I met last Saturday morning, during the Audubon Society's monthly cleanup and caretaking of this site, this was a dump of flotsam and jetsam a some years ago. Even last Saturday, he hauled a soggy mattress away.
Then my daughter and I sat at the water's edge and a sea lion poked its head out of the water and watched us for a minute. We were very impressed!
HOW TO HELP PIER 94
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| Pelican and gulls |
I'm starting to realize I should always carry a plastic bag to pick up trash when I hike with my kid. It's good practice, so I recommend it to you too, whether you come here or elsewhere.
The first Saturday of the month is a volunteer workday. To get involved with restoration, see this page on the Audubon website. You could always just show up at 9 in the morning.
My husband and I came with our toddler. While Marshall worked on digging up invasive weeds, the kid and I did what we could, which wasn't much! I picked up trash but mostly ogled at the wildlife juxtaposed with the incredible man-made structures.
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| Cormorant |
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| Homo sapiens, mom and daughter |
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| Look for this sign! |
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Man/women has ruined the marshland with old buildings and machinery. Then, when they are finished, they don't even try to restore what the area used to look like before!
ReplyDeleteIt's a different set of folks trying to restore the marshland than those who built the big buildings, and they are trying! Restoring marshland is a monumental task that I fear takes much longer, and costs much more, than fabricating those buildings and machinery.
ReplyDeleteHI........
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this useful information ... and I really need it ... keep on blogging with such kind of information....Jib Cranes