The EcoCenter at Heron's Head Park

LEJer featured in Exploratorium's media channel!

2011-05-22T23:49:00.000-07:00

You MUST check out, Jasmine Dow - former LEJ youth, current LEJ Americorps/Public Ally, and future health professional in the name of environmental justice! Watch this audio slideshow that the Exploratorium created as a part of their online media series, Driven. Jasmine talks about her personal and political journey with LEJ, Heron's Head Park, and the EcoCenter... reminding us that there is no such thing as "away" and the vision for environmental justice in Bayview Hunters Point.

The Living Roof is alive!

2011-05-16T22:58:00.000-07:00

Check out the beautiful colors exploding from the EcoCenter's living roof! The same folks who designed the Academy of Sciences' living roof - Rana Creek - designed the EcoCenter's roof. Why is the EcoCenter's living roof a little more colorful and robust that the Academy's? The roof installers, Habitat Gardens, laid irrigation lines from in the soil so that the plants are directly watered at the roots! Less water loss than a sprinkler system! In addition to using rainwater, subsurface irrigation is another way that the EcoCenter is reducing water use

LEJ staff recently conducted methane monitoring from the vents on the roof with an intern from Treadwell and Rollo, Shante Austin, who is also a former LEJ youth now studying Environmental Studies and Africana Studies at SF State University. We're excited to continue to work with Shante in this new capacity in which she's sharing with LEJ her new expertise!

Every day is People's Earth Day!

2011-05-10T01:05:00.001-07:00

What an eventful month of April!

For LEJ's People's Earth Day, we hosted over 75 students from local schools, 8 different youth science/environmental organizations, and a variety of partners to make a successful PED full of environmental education activities and hands-on the land service. Music, food made by local caterers, hands-on activities, poppy costume, solar-powered water fountain, ZooMobile with an owl and oppossum - we had it all!

Click here for more pictures of the celebratory day!

At the EcoCenter, LEJ is rounding out its year-long series of teacher/educator trainings by collaborating with BMagic (Bayview youth nonprofit collaborative) on a training to incorporate science and the environment into youth programming on May 4 (more pics here).

LEJ's last teacher/educator trainings will occur in collaboration with the Planet Drum Foundation focusing on bioregionalism and low-impact designs (LID). See LEJ's website for more details and registration info.

CORRECTION: Welcome to the NeighborHOOD opens April 9!

2011-03-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the confusion.

Welcome to the NeighborHOOD art gallery reception opens Saturday, April 9! Contact Wendy Tetsu at wendytestu@mac.com if you have any questions.

Welcome to the NeighborHOOD art gallery reception on April 9!

2011-03-08T14:57:00.000-08:00

THE WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROJECT:
The collaboration with youth from Literacy for Environmental Justice and and community artists has culminated in the creation of an interactive installation at the EcoCenter!

The Multidisciplinary Artwork was created over the past two years and explores environmental and social justice issues facing the community of Bayview Hunters Point, as seen through the youth’s eyes. Come celebrate with the community the long awaited convergence of the art installation at the EcoCenter.

Reception
Saturday, April 9 from 12-2pm
EcoCenter at Heron's Head Park
Cargo Way and Jennings St., San Francisco, CA 94124

During the opening event:

~ View the full installation of all the artwork
~ Enjoy light refreshments
~ Partake in a youth lead docent tour of the artwork and the Ecocenter.
~ Purchase the artwork and Volume #3 of the photo documentary book about the project:

All proceeds will go to Literacy for Environmental Justice and the EcoCenter. Check out the Facebook event page for more info!

Enviro Ed and Training Partnership profiles LEJ!

2011-03-01T20:53:00.000-08:00

Check out this thorough profile of LEJ and the EcoCenter on the Environmental Education and Training Partnership (EETAP) website, a EPA-funded project connecting environmental educators and local and state policy-makers!

Water quality from living roofs

2011-02-25T21:52:00.000-08:00

Great blog article talking about the water quality of rainwater collected from vegetated roofs versus roofs made from traditional materials (asphalt-fiberglass shingles, Galvalume® metal panels, and concrete tiles). The research on water quality was done in Austin, Texas at Lady Bird Johnson (LBJ) Wildflower Center in Austin, "home to one of the first green roof research plots in the state, testing various commercial green roofing systems and other cool roof technologies over the course of many a hot, Texas summer."

The quick one sentence summary: rainwater collected from vegetated roofs have lower turbidity, nitrates, coliform and heavy metals but higher conductivity, dissolved organic carbon. What does that mean? Some stuff that typically ends up in runoff and stormwater is reduced with vegetated roofs. Yay!

EcoCenter is avaiable for rentals!

2011-02-22T20:05:00.001-08:00

Click here to download the rental packet. Email tracy.zhu@lejyouth.org with any questions and calendar availability.

Bay Nature covers the EcoCenter

2011-02-07T23:16:00.000-08:00

Happy lunar new year to you all! Hope you're celebrating with your family and ushering in a new year full of prosperity and health.

The EcoCenter is ushering in a new year of good press. The EPA Environmental Justice Award has gotten the word out about the EcoCenter. Check out the Bay Nature article that also go reposted on the Bay Citizen.

Teachers getting their hands dirty with the Science of Sustainability

2011-01-07T20:49:00.000-08:00

Happy new decade from the EcoCenter!

Teachers from Bayview to the larger Bay Area gathered at the EcoCenter in the 2010 fall semester for the year-round professional development series, the Science of Sustainability. LEJ collaborated with the Exploratorium's Teacher Institute to develop curriculum on sustainability topics inspired by the EcoCenter. The three themes in the fall were water, energy, and planting. Check out the pictures of teachers getting elbows and knees deep in hands-on activities.

If you're a grade 6-12 teacher (especially in SF public schools), check out our spring workshops on sustainable plant adaptations, food justice, and astronomy. Here are the descriptions and registration info of the remaining Science of Sustainability workshops. Email Tracy at tracy.zhu@lejyouth.org if you have any questions.

EcoCenter wins EPA's Environmental Justice Award!

2010-12-15T17:36:00.000-08:00

BAYVIEW HUNTERS POINT “ECOCENTER” WINS NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD

2010 US EPA Environmental Justice Achievement Award Goes to Off-Grid Project at Heron’s Head Park

EPA Cites EcoCenter’s Landmark Partnerships—Collective Effort by Community, City, State, Private Firms

December 15, 2010 -- The US Environmental Protection Agency announced this morning that Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ), a community-based environmental education organization in Bayview Hunters Point, is a recipient of a 2010 US EPA Environmental Justice Achievement Award. This award, given annually to landmark projects that connect environmental sustainability and social equity, recognizes LEJ’s EcoCenter at Heron’s Head Park, the first environmental justice education facility in the Bay Area and San Francisco's first 100% “off-grid” building, modeling solar power and alternative wastewater technologies.

...continue reading by clicking here.

LEJ office has moved!

2010-12-15T11:40:00.000-08:00

The LEJ office has moved down the street!

1329 Evans AveSF, CA, 94124
Telephone and fax are still the same.
T: 415-282-6840; F: 415-282-6839
Check out the grafitti art that's splashed on our walls, courtesy of our Executive Director Malik Looper and Nate1Designs.

Laurie and living classrooms in NYC!

2010-12-10T14:31:00.000-08:00

Hey all,

Happy holidays! Hoping you're taking this time to reflect and celebrate with your friends, family, and community. Life is governed by cycles, beginnings leading to ends leading to new beginnings. As the EcoCenter adapts and evolves with the seasonal cycles, I'd like to share some news on Laurie Schoeman and her work that has come full circle.

After Laurie raised the EcoCenter from foundation to vegetated roof, she returned to her native habitat of New York City as the Executive Director of New York Sun Works, primarily focusing on building living classrooms on school rooftops!

Check out the newest living classroom that Laurie is working on.
Rooftop Greenhouse Could Revolutionize City Schools

Congratulations Laurie! From BVHP to NYC, thanks for bringing learning to life.

LEJ quilt is up!

2010-11-22T17:36:00.000-08:00

Last year, LEJ youth and staff reflected on their roots and shoots - where they came from, where they are now, and where they hope to go. Each person's patch was sewn together in this beautiful quilt now hanging in the EcoCenter.

Special shout out one of LEJ's Public Allies from 2009-2010, Diana Law, for bringing all the pieces together into one.

If you had to draw a tree of life representing your ancestral and cultural roots, your stable trunk, and the branches and fruits of your dreams and ambitions, what would it look like?

The holiday season reminds us to reflect, give thanks and appreciate all that came before us to make today possible. Much respect and peace to you all!

Photo tour of the EcoCenter

2010-11-19T12:53:00.000-08:00

Photography by OpenHomesPhotography.com

EcoCenter Wishlist

2010-11-12T21:09:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the City of SF's Virtual Warehouse and UCSF's Surplus Warehouse, we have very useful furniture for the EC's office! Also, much gratitude to the Aquarium of the Bay for donating funds to purchasing 50 chairs. Thanks to volunteers from the Meritus Fund alumni, the office was transformed into a more organized space.

If you're wondering what else we need at the EcoCenter, firstly, we definitely need program partners who want to bring programming, educational classes, or funding to the EcoCenter. We're planning now for EcoCenter programming starting in the spring of 2011. As for physical contributions to the EcoCenter to help us do the education and community engagement we want to do, check out our wishlist:

- Solar panels for solar thermal radiant heating: ~$4k
- On-demand hot water heaters (3)
- Pathway lighting and spotlights on building
- MicroEye microscope with video capabilities: ~$3.5K
- SmartBoard
- Webcamera for living roof
- Microscopes with rolling cart (20)
- Laptops (5)
- Flip cameras (5)
- Bird-safe wind turbine

Contact Tracy at tracy.zhu@lejyouth.org for more info or visit our Amazon wishlist.

We have wireless internet!

2010-11-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks to our amazing tech guys, Tim Pozar, Mike McCarthy, Hal Gibson and company, we now have wireless internet at the EcoCenter!

After they measured the internet speed, it was literally OFF THE CHARTS! How's that for an off-the-grid building?

Because of our wireless capabilities, we can monitor the wastewater system remotely. Soon, we hope to monitor our energy generated and energy usage remotely as well.

Check it out! Wireless network is EcoCenter and password is gr33n.

We have rainwater!

2010-10-25T12:21:00.000-07:00

Habitat Gardens installed a meter for our rainwater catchment barrels so that we can see how much rain we have! After this past week's rain, the meter jumped from 4 1/2 feet to over 6 feet!

The first rainwater tank gets water from the standing seam roof, while the second and third tanks receive water that drains through the living roof. The second and third tanks are connected by a pipe underground so the water level in those two tanks will always be the same.

Currently, the rainwater from the second and third tanks are pumped to irrigate the roof at timed intervals. The EcoCenter, as a living building, reminds us that we need to stay in tune with the natural cycles of sun and rain because the building was designed to engage and harvest the power of the elements.

EC at West Coast Green!

2010-09-15T00:38:00.000-07:00

The wonderful manufacturers of the EcoCenter's wastewater treatment tanks, Orenco, is featuring the EcoCenter at West Coast Green, the premier green buildings conference of the West Coast!

As an FYI, the wastewater treatment system - which features Orenco's Advantex system, UV disinfection unit, indoor constructed wetlands, and leech field of native plants - is automated and monitored remotely so that an eye can be kept on the building without having to be at the EcoCenter 24/7. A control panel donated by Orenco logs data from the wastewater treatment system and sends the info through WiFi internet to our wastewater monitoring guru, Innovative Systems. What a great resource and learning tool!

Youth media makers from BAYCAT

2010-08-24T10:29:00.000-07:00

Youth media makers from BAYCAT's summer media camp (Bayview Hunters Point Center for Arts and Technology) visited the EcoCenter this summer to explore issues related to their summer theme, youth health. They got an interactive tour of the EcoCenter and participated in LEJ's food assessment, a collaboration with SF State Masters of Public Health students to gather the youth perspective on food in BVHP.

Check out the short video they made on the EcoCenter! Thanks BAYCAT!

Living off the Grid

2010-08-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

Friends:

As we explore the world of off-grid living at the ecocenter, I would like to share with you an interesting overview produced by HowStuffWorks and captures many of the themes we discuss at the building.

"Around the same time each month, millions of Americans go to their mailboxes seeking the comforts of a handwritten letter or their favorite magazine only to be greeted by white envelopes with miniature cellophane windows. We're all familiar with these mailers -- power, water, gas and telephone bills, all conspiring to take your hard-earned money. For most people, paying utility bills is a tiresome and frustrating task. What if there was a way to get out from under the thumb of public utilities and produce your own sustainable energy? Well, there is. Going "off-grid" is becoming an increasingly popular choice for people looking to reduce their carbon footprint, assert their independence and avoid reliance on fossil fuels."

Check it out,

Laurie

Sustainable Industries Features Ecocenter

2010-08-03T23:23:00.000-07:00

Our friends at Sustainable Industries featur the Ecocenter in August's issue. Thank you SI for sticking with our project and supporting us!

Beautiful Shots of the ecocenter

2010-07-10T12:02:00.001-07:00

Hi Friends:

Pardon my absence--its been a busy few weeks to say the least! I wanted to share some really nice shots we have of the Ecocenter. We'll be taking these to Pasadena Next week for California Design Biennial: Action/Reaction which is featuring the Ecocenter!!!.

Laurie

Ecocenter Voted Best Trip Back to the Future in SF WEEKLY!

2010-06-06T17:54:00.000-07:00

Friends--this is very cool and unexpected news:
_____
The Jetsons didn't foretell the future; the Flintstones did. At least, that seems to be the lesson implicit in San Francisco's first 100 percent "off-grid" building, a self-contained ecology classroom at Heron's Head Park. The facility won't use city sewage or electricity services, but instead relies on wetland cells and ultraviolet sterilization lamps for wastewater treatment, and solar panels and a wind turbine for electricity. The center boasts a living roof, and is surrounded by low-maintenance native plants. Run by the nonprofit Literacy for Environmental Justice, the EcoCenter teaches schoolchildren the ins and outs of clean air and water, healthful food, and open space restoration. It will also explain how dirty industries and facilities sometimes get put in poor neighborhoods. Interns will be trained as resident naturalists and docents.

Come See a Just and Sustainable Way to Twist, Turn on, and Flush

2010-06-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

Come See a Just and Sustainable Way to Twist, Turn on, and Flush

Alternatives to BP Oil

2010-05-28T16:15:00.001-07:00

Friends:

Today the world announced the Oil Crisis in the Gulf has eclipsed even Valdez as the worst Oil Spill in US History. This is absolutely devastating for the habitat of the Gulf and the local human comunities that live near and depend on the Gulf for their livelihoods. In a matter of minutes the entire ecosystem of the Gulf has been changed--perhaps forever and in the wake of this crisis, rises a huge swatch of environmental injustice brought on by this accident. It makes me feel really proud of what we have accomplished in BVHP to build a place that will showcase sustainable alternatives to petroleum by featuring a stand alone solar array with no interconnection to Petroleum based energy inputs which we are using to teach our community about solar power and alternatives to petrol.

On this memorial day the Ecocenter team pays respect to the citizens of this world that are trying to stop the flow of oil from this accident and save the Gulf.

We were voted the "Best Trip Back to the Primitive Future - 2010" this week in the SF Weekly, which is a nice irony considering what we are dealing with in the Gulf.

Stay tuned!
Laurie

Ecocenter selected to be a Sustainable Site!

2010-05-17T17:27:00.000-07:00

Freinds:
We were selected out of a competitive pool of national applicants to be a "sustainable sites" pilot project. The Sustainable Sites Initiative is an interdisciplinary effort
by the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin and the United States Botanic Garden to create voluntary national guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable land design, construction and maintenance practices. I stated in our application that we represent a model for an urban sustainable site if only because we are sited in the middle of a distressed environmental zone in San Francisco. I think this pilot project will afford us the opportunity to have positive impact on the USGBC as well as other communities interested in greening up their communities.

Stay tuned.
Laurie

What a Day!

2010-04-30T19:45:00.000-07:00

Friends:

What a powerful Grand Opening we had last week!

The weekend started off on a very interesting and unique note. On Wednesday of last week, Herons Head Park's irrigation line broke, which meant we had no water on site to water newly established plants-so what did we do? We used the rainwater that we had stored over the last storm cycle.

On Thursday evening, before the event, and during the Ohlone Bear Dance gathering, the power went out to the Backlands Pier 96--so what did we have at the Ecocenter? A completely stand alone and self-sufficient stand alone solar powered building to light our path!

Every challenge that faced us we overcame with a solution. And it all made me feel personally empowered by what we have created at Herons Head Park--a completely self sufficient build environment that can sustain us amidst infrastructure failures!

Thursday through Saturday the Ohlone Community gathered at Herons Head Park as part of a larger convergence. It was absolutely spectacular--the new moon rising over the sweat lodge that had been so carefully constructed out at the end of Herons Head; the earthy aroma of sage spreading across the waterfront; and the sweet song of the nightbirds ringing out across the park, over the Bay, through the ancient corridors of the Naval Yard--empty and darkened by the old Naval buildings that sit empty over fallow land.

Sunday came and it couldn't have been more beautiful out. We had a great turn out from all across the city--youth, actvists; politicians, truckers; backlands and frontline workers; teachers; bikers; former LEJ youth and Current LEJ youth. It was an amazing gathering to kickoff a decade of work to bring the ecocenter to life.

Stay tuned, there is plenty more to come. This was only the beginning.

Thank you to Bill Wilson and Dave Rambuler for your amazing pictures!

Laurie

Getting Ready for Sunday

2010-04-16T06:43:00.001-07:00

Friends:

Our logo arrived yesterday and we mounted it on our front doors. Today is a big day, the beautiful leaves and pipevines that Haideen and the box shop crew have been toiling on for months are coming to the site to be assembled and mounted! The Habitat Gardens team is assembling our constructed wetlands and we are getting ready for Sunday!

Laurie

Examiner Likes us!

2010-04-12T20:50:00.001-07:00

Friends,

We spent the last few days staining the Ecocenter floor using a soy-based stain that not only looks beautiful and is also non-toxic. We welcomed our first resident to the building--a beautiful worm that I found rolling across the gorgeous sunset colored floor! I promptly added him/her to the constructed wetland!

We are getting closer to our grand opening event and we are in the final stretches. I am proud to state, after two days of solid rain, we have almost 2800 gallons in the tanks outside the building!

Also, check out this Sunday's examiner!

Laurie

The Tanks have Arrived

2010-04-07T07:01:00.001-07:00

Friends: Yesterday was an incredible day on site. At 11:00am our three beautiful tanks, fresh off the factory line in Sacramento from American Tank Company, were delivered to our site.

We have 14000 gallons of storage capacity at the site. Each tank will get fed from three different roof levels and will purpose three different funtions: toilet feed and roof irrigation for our vegetative roof.

The tanks are absolutely beautiful--and as soon as they came to the site and were placed, the image of the ecocenter was sinched. The marriage between our tanks and the building has been made!

Water Independence is a beautiful thing to behold.

Laurie

The EcoCenter Roof is Ready for Birds!

2010-04-05T17:31:00.000-07:00

The Electrical Vines of the EcoCenter

2010-04-05T17:03:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share with you all a sneak peak of our beautiful vines that the amazing team at the Box Shop and All Around Electric are constructing for the EcoCenter. These leaves are central to a network of welded native California Pipe Vine Coverings for the exposed electrical conduit. The team has been workin for over three months to cut, weld, buff, and shine all of the vines and leaves!

The entire art project is being headed off by Haideen Anderson, my personal art hero and political ally for over fifteen years and it is an honor to work with her and see her in her glory!

The vines will be able to provide a beautiful illustration of how electricity is distributed-via branch distribution. Stay tuned, the leaves and vines are gorgeous and will be ready for the opening!

Laurie

Wow--there is a pond on the Living Roof!

2010-04-02T19:38:00.001-07:00

EcoCenter Opens on People's Earth Day

2010-04-01T16:13:00.000-07:00

Friends:

I am so proud to announce our grand opening on People's Earth Day this Year.

We still have our fair share of work before us over the next 20 days, and thanks to our partner team Habitat Gardens we are bring the classroom to life!

Stay Tuned and spread the word!

Laurie

EcoCenter Featured in San Francisco Magazine!

2010-03-31T21:09:00.001-07:00

Our Living Roof is Coming to Life!

2010-03-31T08:37:00.000-07:00

I am so happy to report that the underlayment for the EcoCenter Living Roof is online! Last week we sprayed on the membrane which sealed all and any potential penetration or imperfection in the roof structure--ensuring no water penetration will run inside the roof or building. This is the first and most important step to creating a long-term sustainable living roof system. This week the Habitat Gardens team laid down the two sets of underlayment liners which provide additional absorption of water for plant life and act as an additional water and root barrier. We also installed the irrigation system which is comprised of 1 inch drip tubing laid into the underlayment of the roof and is attached to a series of small manifolds. 2 inches of Drainage rock was blown onto the roof which provides a drainage base for the roof. Lastly 3-4 inches of high quality Mulch was applied to the roof. Yesterday we were blessed with rain and tommorow we plant!

Its been an extraordinary journey for me on this project. There was a time that we had to value engineer our living roof out--and thanks to President Obama's efforts to support green building in our community, we now have our roof back on line! Its a wonder to experience our living roof come to life in our community--as the only vegetative roof in the southern waterfront community, I hope this sets a powerful model for future development in BVHP and sister EJ communities throughout the region. I am so pleased that we have been able to greenscape any potential hardscape that the building brings to the park. We will soon be able to host an entire new set of habitat on our roof! Stay tuned!

Laurie

EcoCenter Roof is Sealed up and Ready for Planting!

2010-03-24T08:16:00.001-07:00

Friends:

Over the last week the EcoCenter roof was sealed up with a Foam in Place Poly-Urea system and an anti-uv acryclic topcoat. Here are some advantages to sealing the roof:
Highest "R" Value of up to 7.14 per inch enabling it to provide more thermal resistance with less material than any other insulation; Seamless - SPF forms a seamless insulated roofing system which mitigates leaking and water penetration;
Elimination of Ponding Water; Lightweight - ASPF weighs between 2-3 pounds per cubic foot. And most importantly it will support our living roof system!

Laurie

Living Parapet's on our Living Roof!

2010-03-20T10:55:00.000-07:00

Friends:

This week the Habitat Gardens team fabricated all of the understructure for the Vegetative Roof's parapets [the structures that "edge" the vegetative roof]. Thanks to a great design by Evodesign, the parapets will be loaded up with lots of natural "found objects" from pine coans to pieces of ceramics and granite. Over the next few weeks we will be installing these parapets against the beutiful plants that are coming on line.

Come down this week! Starting Tuesday we are planing the roof!

Laurie

Living Roof Membrane Installed Today!

2010-03-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

Friends:

I can't describe the incredible feeling of watching the EC's living roof come on line. After twelve years of work and planning--we are finally watching our living classroom come on line--with all of the systems that we aimed for thank to the Administration's ARRA funding to bring additional resources online.

In partnership with Habitat Gardens and Urethane Roofing, we laid down the first portion of our membrane. The polyurethane membrane is sprayed directly onto the OSB platform on the roof deck. As the CEO of Urethane Roofing stated yesterday, this provides a bullet proof membrane that will protect the building from any water element for over twenty years. Some benefits of this membrane include: high durability, performance, energy efficiency, lower maintenance, cost-effectiveness, and low environmental impact.

We will be ready to install our Living Roof on Monday!!!!

Come on down to the site to see the action!

Laurie

Asian Neigborhood Design Visits the EcoCenter!

2010-03-13T13:22:00.000-08:00

Friends:

Today the Herons Head Park team and the EcoCenter Team met with Asian Neighborhood Design to give the students at ANDNET a sneak peak at some of our living systems. We spent a great deal of time explaining the relevance of our building design within the framework of the commmunity of Bayview Hunterspoint and why we decided to move "off the grid". We talked about the concentration of sewage treatment in our community as well as the burden of carrying the city's two largest power plants [one already demolished and one soon to be], as well as reviewing some of the land use problems from brownfields to the superfund site. The students were really excited about what we are accomplishing and they want to be involved!

Our new team has hired two graduates of the ANDNET apprenticeship program and we are working on training the graduates about horticulture, living roofs, and low impact development design--as well as harvesting rainwater!

You will notice we extended our downspout from the building to move all roof water off site while we wait for the shipment of our rainwater tanks. Hopefully they will be here soon!

Come down and visit!

Laurie

Blog on EcoCenter Living Systems

2010-03-11T08:45:00.000-08:00

Friend! I am so excited about the work happening at the EcoCenter. Its a dream come true! Our living roof, constructed wetlands, rainwater tanks are all coming on line in the next fifty days!

You can go to our living systems blog at: http://heronshead.blogspot.com/ to find out more about our work--

Or, you can visit us at the center!

More to come!

Laurie

LEJ and Habitat Gardens Teams up for the Living Roof!

2010-03-07T13:27:00.000-08:00

NEWS RELEASE

San Francisco, CA, February 28, 2010 -- Habitat Gardens, a leading native
landscape and living architecture firm, today announced it has been awarded a
contract to design and install the living roof at The EcoCenter at Heron’s Head Park in San Francisco, a 23-acre wetland park in Bayview Hunters Point.

The EcoCenter, a project of Literacy for Environmental Justice, is an environmental education center to educate the general public about renewable energy, pollution and greenhouse reduction, wastewater treatment, “green” building materials, and the green economy. The EcoCenter project is being funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009.

“We are delighted to be working with Habitat Gardens on the EcoCenter’s green roof and have the project benefit from the firm’s deep experience and enthusiasm for living architecture,” said EcoCenter Project Manager Laurie Schoeman. “After a competitive review of capabilities and proposals, it was clear that the team at Habitat Gardens were the best qualified for the job.”

“The EcoCenter is a one-of-a kind, groundbreaking project with which we are proud to be associated. It will leverage all that we have learned in the last 10 years pioneering the field of living architecture and green roofs. The work will illustrate to all those who visit the center the beauty of green roofs as well as their effectiveness at temperature, sound and light control,” said Casey Lyon, Founder of Habitat Gardens.

The EcoCenter is located at Cargo Way and Jennings Street at the Port of San Francisco’s Heron’s Head Park (Pier 98). The center will provide space to upwards of 100 students in both an indoor and adjacent outdoor classroom space with the goal of providing a hands-on example of low impact development with an emphasis on environmental justice, reflecting its location in one of the most historically polluted communities in the region. The EcoCenter project is a partnership between the non-profit organization Literacy for Environmental Justice, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Department of the Environment, and the State Coastal Conservancy.

Habitat Gardens offers native landscape and living architecture services for LEED certification on commercial and residential buildings. Throughout the last ten years Habitat Gardens’ team of certified green roof and living wall professionals has worked on over 40 green roofs throughout California. The firm was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Monterey, California. To learn more about Habitat Gardens, visit www.habitatgarden.com

For further information Habitat Gardens: Casey Lyon (831) 238-0038; casey@habitatgarden.com or Awie Smit (415) 298-3536; awie@habitatgarden.com
For further information Literacy for Environmental Justice: Laurie Schoeman (415) 694-1555; lcprojectmanager@lejyouth.org

LED's Light up the Ecocenter

2010-02-18T20:38:00.000-08:00

Friends: I spent a good part of the day with a Chris de Monterey, the chief architect behind the modern, but ancient, Camera Obscura. Chris and I selected a package of LED lights to illuminate the EcoCenter.

We have made a decision, rather than go with standard compact flourescents, to outfit the entire building with super efficient lED lights. This will help increase electrical efficiency at the center so as to not overload our stand alone solar array.

LED lighting has been around since the 1960s, but is just now beginning to appear in the residential market for space lighting. The LED is based on the semiconductor diode. When a diode is forward biased (switched on), electrons are able to recombine with holes within the device, releasing energy in the form of photons. Basically, LEDs are just tiny light bulbs that fit easily into an electrical circuit. But unlike ordinary incandescent bulbs, they don't have a filament that will burn out, and they don't get especially hot. They are illuminated solely by the movement of electrons in a semiconductor material, and they last just as long as a standard transistor. This effect is called electroluminescence and the color of the light (corresponding to the energy of the photon) is determined by the energy gap of the semiconductor.

LEDs present many advantages over incandescent light sources including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved robustness, smaller size, faster switching, and greater durability and reliability. LEDs have several advantages over conventional incandescent lamps. For one thing, they don't have a filament that will burn out, so they last much longer. Additionally, their small plastic bulb makes them a lot more durable. They also fit more easily into modern electronic circuits.

But the main advantage is efficiency. In conventional incandescent bulbs, the light-production process involves generating a lot of heat (the filament must be warmed). This is completely wasted energy, unless you're using the lamp as a heater, because a huge portion of the available electricity isn't going toward producing visible light. LEDs generate very little heat, relatively speaking. A much higher percentage of the electrical power is going directly to generating light, which cuts down on the electricity demands considerably.

EcoCenter Dripfield Fence is up! Thank you Rebuilding Together!

2010-01-30T20:03:00.000-08:00

We had another great day today with Rebuilding Together. Rebuilding Together brought ten amazing volunteers down today to finish working on our fence. We finished up the wiring of our dripfield fence and it looks wonderful! I think we are modeling an amazing water reclamation site at the EcoCenter. The fence will act as a barrier for dogs and other little critters wandering around. We are getting ready to cue up our waste treatment system in less than two months. Thank you Orlanda and Joan for everything you have done for us!

EcoCenter Bids out Vegetative Roof!

2010-01-15T13:15:00.001-08:00

Hi all:

I am pleased to announce a new opportunity! As many of you know we recieved funding fromm the California Regional Quality Control Board via the EPA for installation of our Low Impact Development [LID] systems which include our: Vegetative Roof, our Constructed Wetlands Treatment System, our Permeable Patheways, landscaping with natives, signage, and our dripfield. We have now issued a request for proposal [RFP] for the work!

I am so thankful that we have this resource because since the project has been so delayed over the years, it was incumbent on our team to find the financial resources which would allow us to implement all of our goals and to at last realize our vision of our Living Roof! Ironically, last year at this time we were knee deep in a deep state budget freeze and didn't see any end in sight. This year we are actually creating more green jobs than ever imagined with this new resource!

This opportunity will afford our community the ability to fully realize our dream of having all of the integrated systems in place for our Spring Opening and to create some real green jobs!

I look foreward to hearing back from various contractors and interested parties over the course of the next three weeks. All of the information for the RFP is located on the front page of our website: www.lejyouth.org.

Stay in touch!

Laurie

Bay Nature Covers the EcoCenter

2010-01-09T17:45:00.001-08:00

Great New Year Article on the Ecocenter!

Bay Nature Covers the EcoCenter

2010-01-09T17:45:00.000-08:00

Great New Year Article on the Ecocenter!

Happy Holidays from the EcoCenter Team

2009-12-24T11:32:00.000-08:00

Friends, I have been thinking about the importance of this week with regard to the EcoCenter's Journey. Last year on this very day, we were told by our project manager from the State Coastal Conservancy that our funds via the state were being frozen due to California's fiscal crisis. If you all will recall, the state comptroller issued a freeze for all grantees due to the fact that the legislature had not yet passed a budget and the state coffers were totally empty of cash. This was a very traumatic time for the Ecocenter team for without the critical support of the state's funds we would not have an ecocenter building. We recall also, the plight of so many projects throughout the State of California who have not resumed work due to California's fiscal crisis.

It's amazing how far we have come in the last year since our funds were unfrozen in August.

Since the freeze ended we were able to finish up our framing, put on our roof, and solar panels, install our plumbing and trimwork and the building looks gorgeous. We have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season--friends who stuck with us through the freeze, our funders who committed to support us dispite the horror of losing our critical funding source, Moira, Amy, Joan, and Sam from the Coastal Conservancy who offered so much emotional support to us during that time, and most important, also all the contractors and vendors and fellow activists who have shown a steadfast committment to the vision of the EcoCenter/Living Classroom despite all the obstacles we have faced.

Thank you all and our team looks forward to this new year which we hope will be full of abundance and inspiration for us, and for all of our friends working on innovative green projects throughout the state.

We have much to be grateful for this year.

Laurie

Experiencing and Off-Grid Environment

2009-11-27T12:00:00.000-08:00

Friends:
I just spent a week connecting with some friends that are off-gridders in Mendocino and was struck by the power of their life experience living without tie-in to municipal utilities and how our project in San Francisco captures so many themes that are so relevant to our modern world: living with a limited water budget, staying attuned to our electrical needs, being aware of where our waste water goes. I spent over a week living with my friends and I was struck by the fact that so much of our time together involved discussions about basic life systems: potable water, electrical energy, and wastewater. My friends are so attune to their personal needs and what waste is being generated, and how to create more efficient systems.

I spent Thanksgiving in the city last night and watched my urban friends turn on hot water and let the faucet run with abandon, and left heaters on in basement rooms where no one resided. I was struck with how so many my urban friends have no idea what their own electrical homebudget is, yet they are paying large utility bills every month!

Here in the city, so many of us take for granted that we have complete access to these vital systems. How many of us could survive on a water budget of 10 gallons per day or an electrical budget of 2 kw a day?

I am very excited to start working with EcoCenter Team at Literacy for Environmental Justice, to craft educational literature around the systems we are bringing to our community in San Francisco that will help bridge the educational and experiential gap between these two worlds!

We have Power!

2009-11-16T21:34:00.000-08:00

Friends! I am very excited to announce that this afternoon at 5:15 pm we hooked into our solar array. I was accompanied by Myla Ablog, Herons Head Park Manager; John, our Americorp intern; Joel of Lorax Developers, as well as the good folks at Occidental Power; and Mike, of All-Around-Electric.

We celebrated this moment by plugging in a power tool! As soon as we pulled the power tool out, one of the good men from Rebuilding Together came over to ask if he can charge up his iphone. Welcome to the 21st Century! This was indeed an incredibly exciting moment to be able to connect right into our power source, and know that our local power utility [whose name will go unmentioned] was providing us with absolutely zero power backup!

I am proud to announce that we are generating our own power and we are independent of the non-renewable energy czars!

Laurie

Salesforce, Rebuilding Together, and Literacy for Environmental Justice Team up!

2009-11-15T11:54:00.000-08:00

We are getting ready for a big day this week. On Tuesday November 17th over 200 high-tech volunteers who will be in town for Salesforce.Com's Dreamforce Conference, will be coming to the EcoCenter to paint, tile, side, landscape, and install cabinetry at the EcoCenter! This represents an effort by the good folks at Salesforce.com and Rebuilding Together to "raise the roof" on a capital project in San Francisco that has been over 11 years in the making. Yesterday I spent eight hours with the incredible staff at Rebuilding Together, Orlanda and Kat and all of the professional folks they bring to the table to help ready the building for the big day. We primed and trimmed and cut our paths in preperation for the big workday

This is an incredibly exciting moment for our team and the community we serve!

This is the kind of infusion of energy we need to take the project to the finish line!

Here's a great quote from our press release:

“This workday is bringing us a thousand hours closer to opening the EcoCenter’s doors,” said Malik Looper, executive director of Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ). “The EcoCenter is a source of great pride in our community, and we welcome the contribution of Rebuilding Together and all those who want to build a more sustainable future for our youth.”

This workday is the largest that RTSF has hosted in its 20-year history. “This is the perfect project, and Dreamforce is the perfect partner,” said Karen Nemsick, RTSF’s executive director.

EcoCenter Solar Array Installed Today!

2009-11-10T08:29:00.000-08:00

It is with great pleasure I get ready to go down to the site this morning to watch our solar array being installed-the last two weeks Oxypower's team has been spending preparing the roof for our modules. Today is the day our 24 BP modules are launched on our building! Kristine Enea's Film crew-Shooterkat will be with us to witness this milestone moment. Installation will occur from 9am-4pm today. Come on down!

Pictures from San Francisco Planning and Urban Research (SPUR)

2009-09-08T11:09:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful day on August 20th introducing members of SPUR to Herons Head Park and to the EcoCenter! The team from the Port of San Francisco introduced the history of Herons Head Park.

Malik Looper, LEJ's Executive Director gave a commanding presentation about Environmental Justice and the importance of physical pilot projects.

We then brought the group inside to show the progress we are making so far!

It was a great day for all of us!

EcoCenter Welcomes Department of the Environment to the Center for the First time!

2009-08-18T17:36:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful day showing Jared Blumenfield and Ray Manion from the SF Enviroment to the building today! We owe so much to SFE for their incredible committment to the vision of the EcoCenter Project throughout so many years! Today we welcomed Jared to the building for the first time!

SPUR and NAWIC Host EcoCenter Tours!

2009-08-11T18:08:00.000-07:00

Thursday August 13th 5-6pm. National Women in Construction San Francisco Chapter sponsors walking tour and dinner. www.nawicsanfrancisco.com.

Thursday August 20th 12-1pm. San Francisco Planning and Research Association (SPUR) sponsors Brown Bag Lunch.

Thank you Mayors Community Challenge Grant and the SFPUC!

2009-08-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

Friends, I am so happy and honored to report that we have been awarded the Mayors Community Challenge Grant http://www.sfgov.org/site/ccg_index.asp as part of Mayor Newsom's Livable City Initiative http://www.livablecity.org/ for our Rainwater Harvesting System! This particular grant is a partnership between the Mayors CCG program and the San Francisco Public Utilities Low Impact Development Solutions Team! This grant will enable us to purchase a beautiful corrugated steel tank that we will use to capture the rainwater that falls on the EcoCenter roof to be used as the primary water source for the toilets in the building as an alternative to using Hetch Hetchy Water. We will be able to offer a fantastic educational learning opportunity, feature a sustainable water conservation solution, while practicing water savings!

Check out some of the images of our selected tank as well as an interesting article on choosing your tank and an overview of SFPUC's amazing work:

http://www.winebusiness.com/wbm/?go=getArticle&dataId=50707
http://sfwater.org/mto_main.cfm/MC_ID/14/MSC_ID/361/MTO_ID/559
http://www.harvesth2o.com/

Laurie

What does it mean to be "off-the-grid"?

2009-06-15T11:42:00.000-07:00

Friends:

The EcoCenter at Heron's Head Park, formerly known as the Living Classroom, will be San Francisco's first and only formal off-grid environmental education center. Alot of folks are always asking why we are building off-the grid, which always brings up the question of, what is the "grid" itself.

I would like to start sharing with our broader community, a little bit of information about why this building is considered to be "off-grid". Over the next few months, while we are building the center, I will be sharing information about each particular building component so that the broader audience can get a little more insight about our work and our program.

What does it mean to be "off the Grid"
"The grid" is a common name for the power grid -- the linked system that delivers electricity to the masses. A typical house is connected to power, natural gas, water and telephone lines. Going off the grid means shunning these public utilities in favor of creating your own energy or treating your own water. Some homeowners have historically choosen to be partially off the grid by supplying their own electricity and ditching their phone line, while relying on the convenience of city water and sewage. Others choose to live completely off-grid by digging wells or using a cistern system to collect water.

The term "off the grid" or "off-grid" refers to living in a self-sufficient manner without reliance on one or more public utilities. Off-grid homes are typically autonomous—i.e. do not rely on municipal water supply, sewer, natural gas, electrical power grid or similar utility services. A true "off the grid" or "off-grid" house is able to operate completely independently of all traditional public utility services. It's impossible to get an accurate count of exactly how many people in the United States live off-grid, but in 2006, Home Power magazine estimated that more than 180,000 American homes were supplying their own powe without being tied to the local utility Because many citizens around the world have never had the chance to go on the grid, current estimates are that (at least) 1.7 billion people live off-grid worldwide. When you consider all the individuals and communities living on the water, in the rural outback, and in emergency situations around the world, the number grows even higher.

There are many factors that inform a person's choice to go--"off the grid":

-Location: How far is the building site from the central infrastructure grid? What is the cost of "tying in"? Are their regulatory or easement challenges in bringing the "grid" to the site? Is there a "grid" to tie into. Many folks living in outback areas (military, water based environment, rural, permafrost zones, industrial) have no access to a utility grid.
-Financial Cost: What are the up-front infrastructure costs of tying to the grid?
-Philosophical Cost: What energy inputs are used to operate the utility grid? Coal? Petroleum? Nuclear? Many persons who decide to go- "off-grid" consider these factors.
-Life-Choices: Some individuals want to live autonomously and independently from centralized systems.

For the Ecocenter, the team was influenced by many, if not all of these factors.I would love to hear from anyone about their experience moving off the grid in an urban environment.

http://www.off-grid.net/

EcoCenter Goes in for the Living Building Challenge

2009-05-15T12:41:00.000-07:00

We are very excited to be applying to become the first living buiding in San Francisco. It's alot of hard work, but we're getting there.

The Living Building Challenge Mission: To encourage the creation of Living Buildings, sites and Communities in countries around the world while inspiring, educating and motivating a global audience about the need for fundamental and transformative change.

The ILBI is a non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to the creation of a truly sustainable built environment in all countries around the world. Comprised of the leading green building experts, futurists and thought-leaders, we believe that providing a compelling vision for the future is a fundamental requirement of reconciling humanity’s relationship with the natural world.

The Living Building Challenge is a program initially launched and continues to be operated by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council www.cascadiagbc.org (a chapter of both the US Green Building Council and Canada Green Building Council) and has quickly become the most advanced green building rating system in the world.

We have Windows!

2009-05-14T15:35:00.001-07:00

Thank you Rebuilding Together and Anderson Windows!

2009-05-07T16:16:00.001-07:00

We received a beautiful donation of white terrazzo marble from the great folks at Rebuilding Together in San Francisco! I look forward to figuring out creative ways of using the marble!

Today we also received our gift of greenhouse windows from Anderson Windows!

Thank you both!

Thank you Glide Youth Build!

2009-03-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful day last week working with Glide Youth to implement our workplan around construction waste management. The youth built out bins and starting sourcing material for either re-use or waste diversion. We were joined by Kevin Drew, who is the construction waste management direct at the SF Department of the Environment, and founder of Building Resources. Thank you to Jeff and Steve of Glide for working with us and especially Andey Nunes for coordinating the day!

The EcoCenter has been Framed!

2009-02-19T15:13:00.001-08:00

Greetings Friends, I am so happy to report we have a roof on our building. After ten years of work, two architects, three geotechs, and hundreds of hours of design and engineering we have arrived at a building. And its quite beutiful. Check this out.

Happy Thanksgiving: The EcoCenter Foundation has Been Poured the Tanks have Been Delivered!

2008-11-28T19:48:00.000-08:00

Greetings friends, it is only appropriate that on the dawn of Thanksgiving I write you all to let you know how much we have to be thankful for this year. A Lease, A (near) healthy capital budget, and, ta da, a Building Permit and a Permit to install our WastWater Treatment System.

Its been a while, almost a year since I last "blogged" in, I hope someone in cyberspace forgives me. I have been pulled in many directions and am just now coming down to earth---if you will. I know you have all been dying to find out about the next regulatory challenge or mile of redtape we have had to move through to get our precious center on line.

So let me bring you all up to speed!

I am happy to report that truly, we are well on our way to finalizing the building!
We received our building permit in August--eight months after applying for the permit--in good time. With permit in hand, we worked with Ryan Engineering, a San Francsico based soils excavation firm, to do all of our soils work including all the excavation, import, and compaction. They were extremely generous--we owe them a great deal!

Last week we finished the foundation pour, using a specially batched mix thanks to Bode Concrete which boasts of 75% slag and 100% recycled aggregate. If anyone has any connections to a concrete trade mag, please let me know, we need to get an article out asap! The foundation is already testing 4000psi--1000 more than mandated by our structural engineer. Bode concrete was very generous and worked with our team very closely to adapt a really sustainable mix for us that we can boast for our foundation to the structure. The pour went really smoothly, with very few bumps, the aggregate was a bit chunky at first, but it smoothy out quickly. The foundation has 12 tons of rebar in it and it magnificently floats over the site.

Alltold, it took three months to complete all of our survey work, soils work, site preperation, and foundation slab.

Stay Tuned, our waste treatment system install is coming up!

Earthships

2008-05-29T15:56:00.000-07:00

Hi all. I have just returned from a great voyage to New Mexico where I spent time at the Earthships Compound outside of Taos.

I was really encouraged by their off-grid electrical and water systems that have been developed by Mike Reynolds and his team in Taos. Their systems can be transferable particularly to communities in need that don't have access to the "grid" and are struggling to find affordable and realistic solutions to energy and water needs.

I was particularly thrilled to learn about the tecnical features of their off-grid solar array and wastewater treatment as it relates to the EcoCenter.

Most inspiring!

Groundbreaking at Herons head Park

2008-05-19T12:36:00.000-07:00

Hi all, we had a fantastic time at the groundbreaking for the EcoCenter at Heron's Head Park! I can't believe what an incredible turnout we had. Mayor Newsome spent the morning with us, Monique Moyer (Port of SF), Jared Blumenfeld (DOE), Sam Suchat (SCC), Sophie Maxwell, as well as an amazing turnout of folks in our community. I was really honored that so many people in San Francisco support this initiative--and really stepped up to the plate.

We got some great coverage of the day! See below!

_______________________________________________________________

Pictures from Mark Palmer at the DOE!
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/viewPhoto?
uname=mhpalmer88&aid=5194159164091349233&iid=5194160010199906610

And Bill Wilson:
http://billwilsonphotos.com/photoalbums/
HeronsHeadEcoCenterEarthDayNewsom/index.html

NY Times National Edition featuring David Gavrich's newborn goat and
our very own Jamila
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?
res=9C02EFDF143CF930A15757C0A96E9C8B63

KRON4:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1315744788?
bctid=1517521548

Fog City Journal:
http://www.fogcityjournal.com/wordpress/2008/04/23/san-francisco-
breaks-ground-on-green-education-facility/

San Francisco Sentinel:
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=12073

Bay City News:
http://cbs5.com/localwire/22.0.html?type=bcn&item=GROUND-BREAKING

San Francisco Chronicle op-ed by one of our youth:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/28/
ED2710A8QG.DTL

From the Mayor's Press office:
http://sfmayor.typepad.com/sf_mayor/2008/04/mayor-newsom-br.html

San Francisco Bay Guardian
http://www.sfbg.com/blogs/gsf/2008/04/
pics_goats_and_green_at_herons.html

Channel 20:
http://www.yourtv20.com/news/greenvideo/18066659.html

Government Tech, one of the premier sites for municipal buildings:
http://www.govtech.com/gt/290183

We also received coverage from Channel Five, Various radio stations,
and some international coverage.

Thank you all for your support! It was a wonderful joyous event for us

We got our Lease!

2007-12-12T17:50:00.000-08:00

I am happy to announce that we have executed our lease with the Port of San Francisco and are now ready to move forward to the task of constructing the classroom!

The Living Classroom at Heron's Head Park Receives Recognized Value Awared by Design Share

2007-10-04T14:42:00.001-07:00

The Living Classroom at Heron's Head Park

2007-09-19T16:05:00.001-07:00