1 - Sustainability at Golden Gate

WAYSIDE PANEL TITLE: Sustainability at Golden Gate
PANEL DESCRIPTION: The wayside is located on the south eastern corner of the Crissy Field Center and faces north towards the bay.

VIEW FROM WAYSIDE: Just beyond the wayside is a row of vertical wind axis-turbines, tall metal poles with differently shaped devices designed to harness wind energy at their tops. The turbines are arranged in a line straight out from the wayside within a grassy lawn bordered on all sides by well-maintained trails. To the east, or right as you face the wayside, is a path that leads to the steps up to the Crissy Field Center. To the left is the parking lot. Straight ahead on the far side of the lawn is more parking and the San Francisco Bay Trail, which hugs the edge of the bay.

TEXT: The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is going greener. National parks are experimenting with innovative green technology and this climate-friendly park is working toward a goal of being carbon-neutral by 2016. Carbon neutrality is achieved through advances such as adding electric vehicles to the park fleet, incorporating renewable energy features and designing energy-saving buildings. There are plenty of places in the park where you can experience cutting edge sustainable technology.

Crissy Field Center is one of the nation's greenest park-based buildings. This high performance modular educational facility is a model of sustainability where youth learn from the building itself.

DESCRIPTION OF IMAGE #1: An aerial photograph of the Crissy Field Center and the surrounding campus complete with lawns and terraced walkways. The Center has elaborate arrangements of solar panels on three roof sections, and glass front walls and doors.

DESCRIPTION OF IMAGE #2: In the lower right hand corner of the panel is an aerial photo of the main cellhouse on Alcatraz Island. The remains of the warden's house as well as the lighthouse are visible, as are the solar panels on the roof of the cell house.

CAPTION: Alcatraz has a number of sustainability challenges, from generating electricity on the island to shipping the sewage back to San Francisco. One major improvement was to add solar panels to the cell house reducing the amount of diesel fuel needed to run the generator.