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Walking through the Presidio on my way to work, I take a look
around my surroundings and see joggers running on a clean pavement;
behind the joggers I see an abundance of flowers, plants, and
trees. Behind that I see the marsh and bay filled with all kinds
of animals ranging from crabs to seals, and beyond that, the Golden
Gate Bridge.
 This
is the most beautiful view in San Francisco and it can only be
found in Crissy Field, a national park on land that was once a
military installation.
This year, I am interning at Inspiring Young Emerging Leaders
(IYEL), a high school program that meets at the Crissy Field Center
and brings a group of diverse students from different parts of
the city to work for positive change in their environment.
This life-altering experience would not have happened if it were
not for Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC).
In 1989 the BRAC commission - a group empowered to recommend
which military bases should close or change - said the Presidio
should be closed. By 1994 the Army transferred the site to the
National Park Service. A trust to manage the newly designated
park was created and by 2001 Crissy Field marsh and the historic
air field were restored.
The area surrounding the Crissy Field Center was restored from
a rundown military base to a clean and welcoming environment--
part of a National Park that brings animals and plants back to
the city.
I, along with many others who enjoy Crissy Field everyday, take
ownership over the site since it is a nationally owned trust.
What keeps me excited about working is the people I meet there
who become as close as family to me. I would have never met them
if it weren't for IYEL, because we are all completely different
in every way, but our feelings for this program and the center
are all the same.
The Crissy Field Center is not just a place to get food or use
the bathroom; it is the command center for this National Park.
There is a café, a bookstore, a media lab, an ecology lab,
and a sustainable arts lab. There are classes available for the
community.
When the military left the Presidio, a lot of businesses and
companies offered to buy parts of the space. The view of the Bridge
would bring in so much money, many people thought. Thankfully,
the area was made into a National Park, which means it can't be
touched because everyone owns it.
I suggest everyone walk down the Presidio to Crissy Field, and
take a second to look at what it has become and how it has changed
our community for the better.
--
Maura Blake is 16 years old Junior at Phillip and Sala Burton
Academic High School. She has been with I-YEL and the Crissy field
Center for two years.
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American schools and financial aid should be only for legal citizens of the United States. There should be no exceptions to this.
