Happy Trails

Presidio of San Francisco (June 3, 2010) — The Presidio Trust is hosting a series of trail and habitat maintenance projects to celebrate National Trails Day on Saturday, June 5 at 9 am. Volunteers will work alongside park staff and AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) team members on a variety of projects along the Ecology and Bay Area Ridge Trails. Activities include trail and landscape maintenance, habitat restoration, and forest stewardship.

The largest celebration of trails in the nation, National Trails Day, also marks the culmination of the AmeriCorps team’s two-month stay in the Presidio. Since April, the team has immersed itself in a broad array of projects touching virtually every aspect of Presidio life, from building a community garden at the Swords to Plowshares Veterans Academy to expanding and upgrading the Rob Hill Campground and staffing the Presidio’s Energizer Station on Bike to Work Day.

“Working at the Presidio has been such an incredible, life-changing experience,” says Dallas native and AmeriCorps NCCC team leader Philip Haigh. “The sponsor really makes the projects and the Trust has been by far the best sponsor I’ve worked with.”

In the last eight weeks, the eleven member “spike team” made up of young adults from around the country also:

• Removed 51 cubic yards of weeds and invasive plants
• Tended 756 trees in the historic Presidio forest
• Propagated 750 seeds at the Presidio plant nursery
• Planted 304 trees and plants
• Built 24 garden boxesLed 262 volunteers

Presidio National Trails Day takes place on Saturday, June 5, from 9 am to 1 pm along the Ecology and Bay Area Ridge Trails. To register, call (415) 561-5333 or email volunteer@presidio.gov. To find out about other National Trails Day volunteer opportunities in other parts of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, visit http://www.parksconservancy.org/events/.

AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps is a 10-month, full-time team-based residential program for men and women 18 to 24 years old. It partners with non-profit organizations in a mission to strengthen communities and build leaders while addressing natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, energy conservation and urban and rural development. For more information about the AmeriCorps NCCC call 1-800-94-ACORP (1-800-942-2677) or visit www.americorps.gov/nccc.

The Presidio Trust was established by the United States Congress in 1996 to administer the Presidio of San Francisco, an urban national park that is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is located at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. The areas overseen by the Trust include expansive open space and spectacular views, a 300-acre historic forest, and rare and endangered plants and wildlife. The National Park Service oversees the coastal areas of the Presidio. The park comprises nearly 6 million square feet of buildings, including 469 historic structures that contribute to the Presidio’s status as a National Historic Landmark District.