San Francisco volunteers help preserve Presidio habitats, inspired by global public art project
A group of volunteers at San Francisco's Presidio National Park is drawing inspiration to restore local habitats and biodiversity from a life-sized art project across the globe.
An unusual herd of wild animals, all puppets made from recycled materials like cardboard and plywood, recently trekked across Africa and Europe - by boat, over bridges, and on land. The four-month journey crossed two continents, visited 11 countries, and participated in countless community events. It's a public art project called "The Herds" with the goal of inspiring humans to act against climate change.
This same spirit to empower communities to make a change is already underway in the San Francisco Bay Area. Scores of volunteers are working on restoring habitats and enhancing biodiversity at the Presidio National Park in San Francisco.
"Even though we might not see these puppets there, we are seeing the act, which is partly an artistic act of bringing back these landscapes that are beautiful and that inspire people to act," explained Lew Stringer, associate director of natural resources at the Presidio Trust.
The national park is unique in that it is situated in a highly urbanized area. One major focus is ensuring biodiversity.
"Biodiversity is really important because it enables us to be more resilient to changes like fires, changes like floods, changes in the climate," Stringer noted.
So far, the restoration projects are a success, with ecologists and volunteers having restored about 100 acres of native sand dunes.
"We've been showing in the long-term, we've been doing this for almost 30 years now, that you can change," Stringer said. "Humans can have an incredible positive impact."
"Some of these plants are endangered and the animals too," offered 9-year-old volunteer Oliver Murray. "Like, some animals might come back."
These dunes are now home to several species of butterflies, including an experiment involving the silvery blue butterflies, along with rare silver bees, coyotes, chorus frogs, as well as an endangered native plant known as the San Francisco lessingia (Lessingia germanorum).
"It's a species that only grows here in San Francisco in the old sand dunes," Stringer said.
There have never been more volunteers putting their hands into the dirt and taking action to keep native habitats alive and to help them thrive than today, according to Stringer.
"By helping them thrive, we build community, we build relationships with the landscape, and that is an incredibly powerful thing that we need to take into the future," he concluded.