 I'm hitting the button and then I have the program. Hey everyone, good to see you all. Thank you for being here today. Before I introduce our wonderful presenter, I want to thank you all for coming. We have another super duper summer stride program for you with nature boost. Today's program is about nature and our park lands. And I want to acknowledge that San Francisco Peninsula is the ancestral home of the Ramatouche Ohlone peoples. They have not ceded, lost or forgotten their responsibilities as caretakers of this place. And it is with the deepest respect that we recognize their ongoing stewardship of this land. Today's program is part of one of our many virtual offerings during summer stride. And summer stride is the library's annual summer learning program where we celebrate reading and learning in all its forms for all ages and abilities. So check out the chat for how to find out about other events and to register for summer learning programs. Library programming like this right now would not be possible without the friends of the San Francisco Public Library. So a big old thank you to our friends, yay friends. They make possible today's programs and programs all year round. So we are very thankful for their support. All right, today we welcome you to our nature boost series for summer stride. Nature boost is a collaboration between the parks, yay, and the library, yay. And something we started at the beginning of the pandemic and we will continue to offer this kind of mindful experience in nature and also educational programming from our incredible partners at the National Park Service and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and the Procedure of Trust. So a huge thanks to these partners, thank you, thank you who make nature boost happen in the summer and all year round. We encourage you to get out now that we can get outside and to explore the parks near you. Being out in nature makes a big, big difference, makes you feel so much better. So our presenter today is one of our, she's from one of our favorite organizations, the National Park Service, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area or sometimes known as G-G-N-R-A, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, includes Alcatraz, Ocean Beach, Marin Headlands, Muir Woods, Fort Point and the Presidio. And our special guest ranger today is from the Presidio. So ask questions, we'll have a chance at the end of the program for you to type in your questions into the chat and we'll be asking lots of questions at the end. All right, now I am delighted to introduce Ranger Fatima Colindres. Ranger Fatima says that her love of nature started in high school and she believes that everyone should spend time in their parks and out in nature. And I have to say, I agree with her. You may have met Ranger Fatima and not even known it. Sometimes she is in character as Juana Rione, the pioneering founding mother of San Francisco who lived during the 1800s. So if you go to the Presidio, you might be able to see her in character. But right now she is with us to tell us how to go out and explore all these beautiful parks near us. So please help me welcome with big old smiles and snaps and hands and fingers. Help me welcome Ranger Fatima. Thank you so much, that was so sweet. I'm so excited to be here with all of you. I want to share some of my favorite places in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and invite you to come and enjoy your parks in a responsible safe way. All right, so things are getting a little back to normal but we still have to think about how to protect ourselves and how to keep our national parks safe. So let's continue to the next slide. All right, so the very first thing I would like to invite you all to do is even before you come out to your park go and check out our website. So www.nps.gov backslash g-o-g-a. All right, if you go to this website you're gonna find all the information I'm about to share with you today and more. So why do I want you to do this? Well, because there's always changes happening, right? Right now with COVID there's changes almost every day. So if you go to the website you'll find the updated changes before you come out and enjoy your park. Right now we are consistent with the CDC recommendations. Visitors who are not fully vaccinated must continue to wear masks indoors and in crowded outdoor spaces. When social distancing is not available or can't be maintained. So social distancing right now is six feet. Masks are required for everyone on all forms of public transportation. So that includes, you know when you go to visit Alcatraz for example you have to be on a boat. So make sure you bring your mask with you because you're gonna need it for that boat. Or if you decide to come to your national park on public transportation let's say Muni here in San Francisco you're gonna need your mask on Muni. So keep it with you, bring it with you, use it, stay safe. Let's continue to the next slide. All right, so we're gonna be well I'm gonna be sharing with you some of my favorite places to visit here in your national park the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. I am part of the community outreach team and so as my job sounds and entails I work with the community groups nonprofit organizations throughout the Bay Area and my job is to bring them to the park or to bring the parks to the people. So in today's presentation I'm gonna show you some images of my favorite places that I like to bring groups out to and I'm also gonna share a little bit of what I like to do when I come and visit my park or when I come and enjoy the park with my family. So next thing that I would like to also emphasize is when you do come out to your national park please, please, please, please remember to leave no trace, right? What does that mean? Well, it means that wherever you go in your national park you leave it better than how you found it, okay? So bring a trash bag and whatever you pack in, pack out with you especially right now with COVID and how it's affected everyone around the world where we have less personnel available. We need your help to keep our parks beautiful and clean and safe not just for ourselves to enjoy but also for the wildlife that live in those special places. So here you're seeing an image of Chrissy Field Chrissy Field Marsh to be exact and as you can see Chrissy Field Marsh is a wildlife protection area and we do have all kinds of marsh birds that enjoy Chrissy Field and over 500 different species of fish that live in the Chrissy Field Marsh. So if you help us by packing whatever you bring pack it out, that would be amazing. Next slide, please. All right, so here's a list of the more popular places in Golden Gate National Recreation Area. At least this is the list where I like to take groups out too. So of course, if you are not familiar with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area your national park site or your national park here in your backyard these are some of the sites that include or are part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. So of course, everyone knows Alcatraz. Alcatraz Island is one of the sites in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Then there's Mirwoods, Morin Headlands, Moray Point, Ocean Beach, Lanzan, Presidio Fort Point, Chrissy Field, Baker Beach, Mountain Lake and my favorite Ed Pauline Spring. And these are all the places that I'm gonna highlight in this presentation today because these are the places I love to go to and bring groups out too. Next slide. All right, so let's start with the famous island of Alcatraz. Everyone loves to go to Alcatraz. So before you go out there just know that they're open every day except for three days in the year which is New Year's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. And the hours change seasonally. So always check the website to see what time they're open. Currently right now they're open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. And you can always purchase your tickets at Alcatraz City Cruises. The website to get your tickets is www.alcatrazcruises.com. So if you visit our website then you will get all this information and more about Alcatraz. Now why would I invite you to go to Alcatraz? Well, not just for the history of how it was a penitentiary and all that good stuff but also to find out a little bit more about the Indian occupation. We just celebrated the 50th anniversary back in 2019. So please go learn a little bit more about the Indian occupation of Alcatraz and find out how deep the history goes. So you can make a connection. Who knows, maybe you have some ancestors that have a connection to this special place. All right, next slide please. Now, Mere Woods. I love taking people to Mere Woods. I like visiting Mere Woods with my family because when you get to Mere Woods you're surrounded by this beautiful forest, just green all around. And for me when I'm in a forest, it just gives me peace. And if I'm in a forest with my family or my community group it just gives me this sense of family. And surrounded by these family circles which are trees, redwood trees that grow in a circle and you can learn more about that when you get there. It's so beautiful, it's so peaceful. Now, what I do want you to know before you go to Mere Woods is that when they're open all year round, okay? Their hours tend to also change with the season but right now they're open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and there is a fee to get into Mere Woods. So if you are 16 and over, the fee is $15 per person and there's also a fee to park at Mere Woods. And so before you even go out there make sure you go online and reserve your parking pass. Children are free so you don't have to worry about children 15 and under but you do need that parking pass because if you don't get your parking pass you're not gonna be able to enjoy a wonderful experience at Mere Woods even if you bought your tickets for the entrance to Mere Woods. Now I do wanna share with you that there are some free days coming up from Mere Woods. August 4th, August 25th, September 25th and November 11th. These are free entrance days to Mere Woods. You will still need a parking pass so make sure you get your parking pass purchased ahead of time because they go real fast, okay? The other thing you need to keep in mind if you are not going in your own vehicle is that if you're planning to use Uber or some other form of a taxi there is no Wi-Fi at Mere Woods. So even though you can get dropped off at Mere Woods once you're ready to go home there's no way for you to call for an Uber to come and pick you up. So make sure that you plan accordingly. If you're gonna have a family member drop you off on one of those free days so you don't have to pay parking make sure you coordinate with them what time you're gonna be waiting for them to pick you up at the front entrance. So those are the things, the key things that you need to keep in mind and there is a shuttle as well. So if you visit our website you will get all this information and if you wanna purchase your parking ticket then you go to gomerewoods.com, okay? Gomerewoods.com that's where you will get your parking ticket. All right, so now you know that's the information. Next slide please. Now for this slide, I just wanted you to take in the view. This is Marin Headlands one of my favorite places to visit in the park especially if you wanna feel like you are away from the city, away from everything. Oh, when you go on the Rodeo Lagoon Trail which is one of my favorite trails is between the Visitor Center and Rodeo Beach. Oh my goodness. For me, I'm from El Salvador originally. I was born in El Salvador and I came to the United States when I was six years old. And so when I go on this trail there is a canopy of trees along the trail that just reminds me of where I used to live in El Salvador because I come from a remote area of El Salvador where there was cows and horses and Marin Headlands has that same story, that same history. There used to be cattle ranches before it was a military base. So you can learn all of that history by visiting the Visitor Center and even more. So next slide. These are some of the more popular sites or things to do at Marin Headlands. If you're into military history you definitely have to check out the Nike Missile Site. If you are into lighthouses my coworker Maria Jose loves lighthouses. And so she even took a road trip to go visit all the different lighthouses that she could find along California and up North. And so if you're into that you should definitely check out Point Bonita Lighthouse. Battery Townsley is another cool place to visit. And then of course I already mentioned the Marin Headlands Visitor Center. On this slide you can check out all the different times but of course you can always go on to our website again and you will get all this information. All right. And if you're into camping Marin Headlands is the place to head out to. Next slide. All right. Moray Point. Now this is a photo of Moray Point during the spring time. If you love flowers as much as I do you have to check out Moray Point. Moray Point has a beach. It has ponds that we have restored to the area because Moray Point is a very special habitat for the endangered San Francisco garter snake and also for the red-legged frog. These two species are endangered but this is the home of these species the way you can still sometimes see them, okay? But if you don't see them you will definitely see these beautiful flowers and a lot of them are in bloom during the spring time. But if you're into whale watching this is another cool place to come and look for whales. Oh yeah. Especially during this time of the year in the summertime when the whales are going up and down the coast. So Moray Point I recommend it. Next slide. Now wherever you go to your national park beach like Ocean Beach this is one of the beaches that I grew up going to as a child. I did not know when I was growing up here in San Francisco that this was part of our national parks I just thought it was the local beach, Ocean Beach. So I would go here because the bus that ran past my house went right to Ocean Beach. And so this was the place that I grew up loving and enjoying. Now what I do wanna remind you is whenever you go to any of the beaches whether it's in your national park or anywhere else always remember that especially if you're facing the Pacific Ocean there are very strong currents and riptides. And so if you are not a good swimmer and even if you are you should still be cautious of these strong currents. Because they can be very dangerous but you can still enjoy a day at the beach. Make sure you keep your children in sight make sure if they go into the water you're with them and just bring your pet. I like to bring my little guacualti she's a little dog. I keep her on leash and we enjoy Ocean Beach together. Next slide. If you are by Ocean Beach you'll definitely see Lanzan. Just a little bit to the north you'll see Lanzan and these are the ruins of Sutro Bath. So if you are into hiking if you are into just enjoying a walk through a wildflowers this is a place to go. Hang out at Lanzan, enjoy the trails. I love to do that with my family and I invite you all to come out and learn a little bit of history about Sutro Bath. There used to be actual baths here like swimming pools. There were saltwater swimming pools there were regular swimming pools. Now all you see are the ruins but it's still pretty cool to come and explore. Next slide. All right, so if you're in the Presidio as I am you definitely, definitely have to come and check out the Woodline. This is one of Andy Goldsworthy art installations in the Presidio. There's a few others and you can go on to the Presidio Trust website to learn more about Andy Goldsworthy and the art that he has in our park site here at the Presidio. But I love this one because I have little nieces and I love to take them on this trail and they'd love to just play on this Woodline. So check it out if you haven't yet. It's in the Presidio. Next slide. All right, but if you're in the Presidio you'll definitely want to go over by the Golden Gate Bridge and right below the Golden Gate Bridge is four point. It's open Thursday through Monday, okay? And the times are 10 to five. So if you are into Civil War history and Civil War forts, this is the place to check out right here in San Francisco underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. Next slide. Chrissy Field. Now this place is dear to my heart because I am one of the Chrissy Field Rangers. I tell the history, the story, the natural and cultural history of Chrissy Field. This is what I do. When I am bringing groups out the first place I take them to is Chrissy Field. And this place has a little bit of everything. As I mentioned earlier, there is a wildlife protection area, the actual marsh. And there's another wildlife protection area on the beach. And I'll tell you more a little bit about that area later, but this place has the history of the airfield. That's why it's called Chrissy Field. It is dedicated to one of those pioneer pilots, Dana Chrissy, who was one of those first pilots that was trying to prove that flying was going to be the mode of transportation of the future. The best way to get to one place and another and the fastest way too. So it's named after Dana Chrissy and the grassy airfield that you see here is the replica of the original airfield that they built back in 1915 for the 1915 World's Fair. Next slide. All right, beaches again, Baker Beach. I live just so close to Baker Beach. I can walk down there in five minutes. So if you're gonna come out to the beach and you want a social distance, my suggestion is come really early in the morning as I like to do or come later in the evening because if you come out in the middle of the day, you'll probably see the beach just like in this image. I took this photo on a nice sunny day and look at it. It's packed. So I did not go down to the beach because I like to social distance. I like to feel safe when I'm out enjoying my national park. So I took the picture and I went back home. So if you don't wanna be around a lot of people when you're exploring your national parks, the best time to come is really early in the morning or late in the evening or on a foggy day. If it's a foggy day, you'll be, hopefully, it won't be as full as it is in this photo. And again, Baker Beach has very strong currents and riptides. So please, please, please be careful when you are at this beach. Next slide. But if you don't wanna be at the beach, but you still wanna enjoy water, you have to definitely come and check out Mountain Lake. Mountain Lake is a beautiful lake that has a little bit of everything too. If you have a family with children, there's actually a playground at Mountain Lake. And so you can have a little picnic, you can play tennis, you can hang out at the park with your kids. If you have pets that you can bring on Mount Leash and enjoy the walk around the lake, that's what I love to do. So Mountain Lake. Next slide. And of course, El Paulín Spring. I love El Paulín Spring because there's picnic tables. So I love to picnic out in the park. So this is the place I love to go. And also because El Paulín Spring is one of those hidden gems where not that many people are familiar with it. And so usually I can go out there and be able to social distance. There's also trails that connect to El Paulín Spring, like the ecology trail that takes you up to inspiration point. So if you like a nice little secluded area that also connects to a playground, if you have a family with children, then this is the place to go. El Paulín itself doesn't have the playground, but just up the hill, you'll find a playground for your kids. But here what you will find is Bona and Flora or animals and plants that are traditional or have always been here in this place. Next slide. How to get to your national park sites. All right, well, if you have a vehicle of your own, if you have a car, then you can drive here, okay? And you just Google it, map quest it and you can get here with your own vehicle. But if you don't have a vehicle, you can definitely use public transportation. And so here I have listed a few of the Muni routes that come close to our park at the Presidio. So the one California, the 28, which comes on 19th Avenue, the 29th sunset, the 30s stopped there. Now the 30 is really cool because it now comes all the way into the park. It leaves you at the sports basement at Chrissy Field. So if you haven't been to the sports basement at Chrissy Field, well then take that bus and that's the last stop. The 43 Masonic also comes close to the Presidio. The 45 also comes close to the Presidio. So these are the routes that you can take. Or if you live close by, if you live in the Richmond district or in the Marina, or even in the Mission District, you can walk to your park. I used to lead a hike from Mission Dolores to the Presidio. So I know it's doable. Next slide. Now, if you are coming in, these are the main entrances to the Presidio and you have to go through the Presidio. If you're coming from San Francisco and you wanna go to the rest of your park sites, you have to go through the Presidio to get to the Golden Gate Bridge, to get to the Marin Headlands and Mirror Woods. And so these are the entrances to your national park. We have the Marina Entrance over by Marina Green that takes you into Chrissy Field. We have the Lombard Gate that brings you from that same downtown area of San Francisco into the Presidio. We have the Presidio Avenue Gate, which will bring, that's where the 43 route will take you. We have the Arguello Gate. I like to say Arguello, other people say Arguello. That's another main entrance to the Presidio and that will take you to Inspiration Point if you're interested in checking out a beautiful vista of the Bay. There's also a Park Presidio, which you can't see here, but it's right where it says Mountain Lake. So right by Mountain Lake, it's Park Presidio and that's the highway that will take you to connect to Highway 101, which will take you across the Golden Gate Bridge to the Marin Headlands or will take you down to Chrissy Field. And then of course, there's the 25th Avenue Gate at the very corner close to Baker Beach. These are the main entrances. So this is how you get here. Next slide. All right, all right. Now you're here and you came in your car and there's no parking. Well, that's why I wanna remind you again, check our website, make sure that you always plan before you come out. Sometimes parks will close, because of COVID regulations and parking lots will close. So maybe the park will still be open to the general public if you can walk here, but or if you're local, but if you're driving from far away, the parking lots might be closed. So always double check to make sure that the parking lots are open. This image is of the parking lot at Baker Beach. And as you can see on a beautiful sunny day, it fills up real fast. Next slide. Some areas may be closed due to construction. There's a lot of construction happening at Chrissy Field right now. This is an image of the entrance from the Marina area. And so there's construction happening all over the park, but especially at Chrissy Field, because right now they're finishing up the tunnel tops. And that's something that's really cool. That's coming to Chrissy Field and to the main post area. So I invite you all to visit the Presidio Trust website and learn more about tunnel tops. Cause it's gonna be cool. It's gonna be for the whole family to enjoy open space here in your national park between the main post of the Presidio and Chrissy Field tunnel tops. Next slide. Now other places might be closed due to wildlife protection. So some areas of Chrissy Field Beach get closed off to dogs, for example, because we're protecting the snowy plover. The snowy plover is an endangered species. He's a super tiny little bird that loves to nest right on the seashore. And so for that reason, some beach areas might be closed in order to protect the wildlife. And the same goes for some of the trails. Sometimes it's a cup season for the coyotes here in our park. So always check the websites, check what alerts are available, whether it's for wildlife or for closures because of construction or because of COVID regulations. So next slide. What can you do in your parks? All right, so this is what I love to do in my park, okay? These are some of the examples. This image right here is Mountain Lake again, because I live very close to Mountain Lake. So I love to go to Mountain Lake just for the relaxation, just to watch birds. So next slide. And Mountain Lake is the place where I find health and wellness and a place to meditate. There's some nice little benches there and sometimes the benches are completely without anyone. And that's the time I like to go and just sit there and look at Mountain Lake and listen to the water trickling and listen to the birds singing. And sometimes I like to tell stories to my little kids, my little nieces about the plants that grow there. You are surrounded by medicinal plants when you go and hang out at Mountain Lake. So check it out. Next slide. Another thing I love to do in our national park is relax and enjoy a meal outdoors. Whether it's at the beach, right here, you see my child, Helena and their partner and their dog, Lolita hanging out at Crissy Field Beach, enjoying a nice meal. And then here you see my son at El Follin. Remember, I told you El Follin was one of my favorite places because there's picnic areas. Well, here we are enjoying a nice meal on a nice day and come and enjoy an outdoor meal yourself in your national park. But remember pack in and pack out whatever you bring in, take it with you. Next slide. All right, now for me as a park ranger, I love to look for wildlife. And these are some of the more common wildlife that you will see in your national park. Now what I do remind you is take pictures, take memories but leave no trace and definitely do not feed the wildlife, okay? We wanna protect them, we wanna keep them healthy. This is some of the common wildlife. So here you see an image of Coyote, the great Coyote, Quillo Coyote creator of all great things according to the Olone people. You also are seeing an image of the great blue heron on Crissy Field. You can see in the background that there's a dog running wild. Well, the great blue heron I guess is used to the dogs already by now. And then down at the bottom, you see Anna's hummingbird flying over Crissy Field over the Temiso Lupin. So that is what you're seeing in this image. These are some of the animals that you might see in your national park when you come out. Take photos, take memories but leave the park beautiful and clean for them to still have a healthy habitat. Next slide. Other animals that you might see are the Allen's hummingbird. So this is a different hummingbird. This image was taken at El Polín Spring. It was bathing in the waters of El Polín as you can see here. But then another thing you can look for is plants. And there are so many indigenous plants to the area. Yerba Uena is one of them. Yerba Uena is the original name of our city of San Francisco. Before it became a city when it was a town they called it Yerba Uena because this little plant grew everywhere all over the city of San Francisco. So come and check it out. You can still see Yerba Uena at El Polín Spring. Next photo. All right, I love to go on walks as you already saw. Walk on your own or walk with a friend or a four-legged friend. So this image that you're seeing here is one of the trails here in the Presidio that connects to the Batteries to Bluff Trail. And then next here with my child Helena we are walking our dogs on Chrissy Field on a nice cloudy day so we could social distance from other people. It actually was starting to rain that day. So it was perfect. Next slide. And Chrissy Field Promenade is one of my favorite places to social distance because it's nice and wide. It's a nice and wide trail. And if you do come on a day that's drizzling or it's foggy you're gonna be alone most of the trail and you can social distance and stay safe. Next slide. Play on the beach. You know, I have my little nieces and they love to play on the beach. I have my goddaughter as well that loves to play on the beach. So Chrissy Field is the place I take them to because it's more into the bay. The waters are not as rough as if I were to take them to Baker Beach or Ocean Beach. So this is where I bring them. But of course, like I said the snowy flover likes to nest on this beach so I want to remind you if you do come and enjoy Chrissy Field with your family keep an eye out for the snowy flover and respect the signage especially if it's the one snowy flover nesting season. Next slide. Now camping, people always ask about camping. So the closest campsites to San Francisco since I'm living here in San Francisco are Vicentennial campsite in the Marin Headlands and Kirby Cove right across the Golden Gate Bridge. These are the two closest campsites in our park. And of course, if you are in San Francisco as I am then the closest campsite to you all is Rob Hill Campground. So these are the three sites that I would recommend for you all that have never been camping and would like to go camping but are scared or concerned to go camping far away. Well, these are the spots the closest ones to you. But of course, you have to plan ahead. You have to reserve your reservation way ahead of time. So, go to our website. You will find all that information in our website for camping in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. And for camping in the Presidio you'll go to the Presidio Trust website. Next slide. And here it is. So Rob Hill is for group camping. And so for a group camping at Rob Hill here in the Presidio of San Francisco you have to go to the Presidio Trust website or type in the search engine, camping at the Presidio and all the information for this campsite will come up. But I got the information that people mostly ask about. So like how much does it cost? It's $100 per site per night during high peak periods. It's $75 per night per site during off peak periods. And it's a group camping. So you can be in this site for up to 30 people in your group. The cost for camping after or on September 1st is gonna go up. So it's $125 per night per site during high peak periods after September 1st and $80 per site per night during the off peak periods. But you can find all this information on the Presidio Trust website. So check it out if you're interested in camping right here in the San Francisco area in your Presidio site here in the beautiful Presidio where I'm right now presenting from. Next slide. Now, if you do camp at Rob Hill and you enjoy hiking this is your view from Rob Hill area. You are going to connect to the Coastal Trail which is right across the street from Rob Hill. And if you're connecting to the Coastal Trail and enjoying the Coastal Trail this is the view you're gonna experience. This is you're looking down to Baker Beach and this is the Pacific Ocean. Next slide. So these two pictures right here one was taken in the early morning at seven in the morning viewing down to Baker Beach down the sand stairs to Baker Beach. The other picture was taken in the afternoon as the sun was starting to set and this is the Batteries to Bluff Trail. So like I said, if you are like me and my family we like to social distance. So we always go early in the morning or late in the afternoon when most of the people that are from far away have gone home. Next slide. And if you're into history as I am and you love ethnobotany well then you definitely have to go to El Polín. I mentioned El Polín before for the Flora and Pana but for history as well, Juana Briones lived at El Polín. And so you can come and learn more about the Spanish, Mexican and early American period if you check out El Polín spring. You will learn the history of Juana Briones who was a medicine woman and who lived there and use the plants that grew around her for medicine, for food and even for art. She helped many people and you can learn that story by checking out El Polín spring. Next slide. All right, so the 10 essentials. Okay, now there's actually 11 essentials because we have to add face covering and a high alcohol based hand sanitizer to your 10 essentials. But the 10 essentials, the original 10 essentials are these. Whenever you're going to visit a national park whether you're camping or visiting for the day or however you decide to enjoy your national park maybe you're backpacking. These are the 10 essentials you need to always include. Navigation, which includes maps, compasses and maybe a GPS system. Sun protection, definitely even on a foggy day you should always have some protection with you. Sunglasses, sunscreen and a hat. Insulation, especially here in San Francisco. Okay, if you're coming to a Presidio especially always, always wear layers, a jacket, a hat, gloves rain shield, thermal underwear if you're gonna be camping out or backpacking. Elimination, you never know how long you're gonna stay. Maybe you're thinking you're only gonna be here for one or two hours and then you stay the whole day and then the sun sets because you wanted to see the sunset. Now you need flashlights, you need lanterns, you need a headlamp. So always make sure you have this. First aid supplies, so always have the first aid kit that's really smart in your backpack, in your car make sure you are always prepared. Fire, so if you're camping out make sure you brought your matches or a lighter or a fire starter, okay? Or all of the above. Repair kit and tools, you'll always need these whether you're in your car or whether you're hiking, duct tape, knife, screwdriver and scissors. Nutrition, you know, especially right now with COVID a lot of cafes had to close for a while. Right now we're starting to open up again here and there but you should always have your own healthy snacks especially if you have allergies, bring your own food and pack in and pack out, remember that, leave no trace and hydration, always, always have a water bottle have some extra water in your car have extra water in your backpack. And if you're camping out especially if you're doing a backpacking trip whether it's here in Golden Gate National Recreation Area or you're going out to Yosemite make sure you have some water treatment supplies and emergency shelter. So if you're definitely camping out make sure you have your tent, maybe some space blanket or some other thermal blankets, a tarp and a VVSAC. I didn't know what a VVSAC is because I'm not a big camper myself, I looked it up but basically it's like a personal size tent where only your sleeping bag fits in there. And so it's really cool if you are a backpacker and you wanna pack as light as possible. So these are your 10 essentials and I hope that this will help you prepare for your park experience so you can enjoy your park safely and responsibly. Next slide. All right, so here's our website again www.mps.gov backslash G-O-G-A, Goga, that's us, Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Check out that website, you will get all the information that I just shared with you and more if you visit our website, especially alerts and closures will be up on that website as well. So that's the first thing you do when you wanna come out and enjoy your national parks. And I invite you to come out here and enjoy the special places whether you're coming out here on your own or you're coming out here with your family and friends, please, please, please enjoy them, they're here for you. It doesn't matter where you were born in the world, I was born in El Salvador, but now I live here. So these places belong to me just as much as they belong to you and you belong in your national park. Next slide. If you have any questions for me that you think about after this presentation, you can always contact me. My email is Fatima underscore colindres at MPS.gov. I'm here to help you enjoy your national park. Right now I am working from home, so the best way to reach me is through email and I will respond to you and give you the best information that I can find for you. But remember, you can always check out the website for yourself and find the information there. Thank you so much and I hope that you will come out and enjoy your parks. Ranger Fatima, thank you so much. This was really a wonderful program and we're so lucky to have all this beautiful land right in our backyard and these wonderful animals and creatures and medicinal plants that are so healing. We're so lucky to be here now. So thank you for a wonderful program. We have some questions. Are you down to answer some questions for us? Of course, I'm here to answer questions and invite you all to enjoy your special places. Yes, if you have questions, type them into the chat and then that way I can read them and then we can answer them. So the first question we have, where are the best places to walk a dog in the Presidio or other parks? Okay, well the best place that I enjoy to walk my dog is Chrissy Field. On Chrissy Field there's areas where you can actually have your dog off leash. I always like to keep my coqualti on leash because this little one is a little crazy. So I keep her by my side, but yeah, I would recommend Chrissy Field. Another place I love to take coqualti is I like to walk around leash around Mountain Lake. There's other dogs there and so she can socialize with them. So and in the park that's not a national park but that is part of the recreation and parks department. They actually have an area for dogs close to Mountain Lake where you can have your dog off leash and run and socialize with their dogs, I've noticed. But that's over by Mountain Lake. Those are the two places that come to my mind that I love to take my little dog me to. Wonderful, we have one more question. I always thought that Rob Hill was just for school kids. Oh, wow, that's a great question. Well, you know what? Half and half, you're right. So half of Rob Hill is run by the Parks Conservancy. They have a program called Camping at the Presidio and that is a program for nontraditional campers, people that have never camped out before that are part of a community-based organization or a school or a church group and they've never camped out before. So what the Conservancy does is that they train the leaders to be able to bring out their group and they provide everything that the group will need, like tents and supplies, like cooking supplies. All that the group needs to bring is the people and their food. And then, you know, people like myself, Rangers or other park staff provide them a program like a hike or a campfire experience. So that is the camping at the Presidio program, but that's just half of Rob Hill. Cause there's four campsites. The other two campsites are for the general public. And if you are, you know, general public, you love camping, you have a group of friends or you have a big, large family and you wanna all camp out at the same time, you can go through the Presidio Trust website and go camping at the Presidio or Rob Hill Campground and you will get all the information on how you can camp out there as general public with your friends and family, up to 30 people. Fantastic. All right, one last question. How did you become a park ranger? Well, for me, you know, it started in sixth grade. Okay, I was inspired by my first camping experience in sixth grade at Visitation Valley Middle School here in San Francisco. They took us all to Caritas Creek, which was a campsite back in the day. I don't know if it still is now in the Santa Cruz Mountains. And I had never been camping before. I had no idea what to expect. I was a little scared actually because I originally already told you that I came originally from El Salvador and I came during the time of the Civil War back in the 1980s. And so I was scared of being outdoors in nature. And on top of that, I was scared because I grew up with folklore, like stories of evil spirits out in the water and in the forest that would take little kids away. So I was scared. But what happened on that first camping experience was that they took us around a campfire and they told silly stories and they sang silly songs and it really changed my view of nature. And I felt so happy and so relaxed and so good that week at Caritas Creek that I wanted to grow up to become a person like those educators that had made me feel so comfortable outdoors. And so that's where the inspiration began. And the first time I met my first park ranger was when I was in high school. I was in 11th grade. I was part of an environmental group at Balboa High School. And they took us to Marin Headlands to build a trail with the maintenance crew part of the National Park Service. I met my first park ranger. I fell in love with the whole scene, the whole experience. And I was like, I wanna be her because the lady that I met happened to be a female person. And I was like, I can be a park ranger, what? So I went to my college career counselor. He told me I had to go to college. I had to graduate from university. He told me I had to be a biology major. But it turns out that you don't have to be a biology major to be a park ranger. You can study any field that you want to be a park ranger. I actually graduated in history with a major in history. So if you are like me, if you love to read, if you love to tell stories, if you love animals and plants and history, you can be a park ranger. And if you love computers, you can be a park ranger too. So that is how my inspiration to become a park ranger began. And here I am today living my dream and sharing these national park sites with all of you so that you can feel safe and happy and secure in the outdoors as much as I do today. Thank you. You're such an inspiration and we are honored to have you here today. And I'm coming from Visitation Valley Branch Library. So all those city kids out there and I grew up in the city just like you. So all those city kids, don't forget, this is your backyard. You can get out there and learn so much by being in nature. So thank you. It's been great to have you as part of the Summer Stride Nature Boost series. And I wanna know, do you have any words of farewell for our community here? Yes, I wanna make sure that you all remember that Mirror Woods will be free on August 4th, August 25th, September 25th, and November 11th. So if you've never visited Mirror Woods and you wanna go check that place out, it will be free on those days, okay? If you wanna social distance, the best time to visit your national park is early in the morning or late in the evening or on a really foggy day or even on a rainy day, okay? Those are the best times that I like to go out and social distance. And when you do come out, remember to bring your masks, use them, social distance whenever possible, you know, stay safe and pack in whatever, pack out whatever you pack in, leave no trace, take only memories, take lots of photos and enjoy your special places because these places are here for you. And I can't wait to see you out there, social distancing in your national park. All right, this was really fun. Thank you everyone for watching. Thank you Ranger Fatima. If you enjoyed the stories this week, you can join us next week to learn about wild animals in the Presidio. Woo, wild animals. But that's all for us today, folks. So take care. We look forward to seeing you soon either online or at one of our open branches. We're starting to open up again. So come and see us and come and see Fatima in the Presidio. All right, everybody. Thanks for tuning in today. Go out and be in nature. Heal your heart.