On Tuesday, July 15, 2014 CommunityGrows staff took two summer partner groups to Green Gulch Farm. The Western Addition Beacon and the Buchanan YMCA. Our BEETS (Band of Environmentally Educated and Employable Teens) joined them for a day in the country. While the two partner groups got a great tour of the farm, fields, composts and bee hives, the BEETS had a special focus. 
Sukey Parmelee, Green Gulch Garden Outreach Manager, spent the day with the teens talking about the watershed of Green Gulch Farm and it’s efforts to restore the natural flow of the land. She talked about how residents discovered that the stream flowing through the property is actually a breeding ground for Coho salmon. That lead to efforts to change the movement of the water instead of a direct line to the ocean constructed many years ago. Sukey talked about the conservation of water that the residents abide by, including using grey water and low-flow toilets. The teens got to follow the path of the creek that flows from the upper valley down to the ocean. This involved a fun ride on a pick-up truck down through the lower fields. One of the highlights was discovering a deer and her two fawns hidden in the grass.
The BEETS also ran into another group of teens from the Golden Gate Nation Parks Conservancy, lead by Naomi Lebeau, Community Programs Manager. Their group was called LINC (Linking Individuals to their Natural Community). It is a six week summer program for high school students who assist with service projects, attend leadership workshops, and take field trips to special parks sites. They do trail work, plant propagation, and habitat restoration while learning more about ecology and science. 
After lunch our three CommunityGrows teams walked down to Muir Beach to enjoy the ocean! Great day out of the City!