3 - "The Natural", Off-Set

WAYSIDE PANEL TITLE: "The Natural" Off-Set

PANEL DESCRIPTION: The wayside faces south west, overlooking the lawn in front of the Crissy Field Center and beyond that, the East Beach parking lot.

VIEW FROM WAYSIDE: Facing south west, this wayside looks out over the lawn in front of the Crissy Field Center. The tall, metallic vertical-axis wind turbine poles line the edge of the lawn in front of the sidewalk that borders the East Beach parking lot. Immediately to your left is an asphalt path that leads to stairs up to the Beach Hut Cafe. Go up the stairs and continue straight to go to the Beach Hut, or turn right, then left, for the entrance to the Crissy Field Center. Before the stairs that lead to the Beach Hut and Crissy Field Center is another path to the right, which takes you to several wooden benches on the left-hand side of the path. Directly behind the wayside about 30 feet away, are trash and recycling bins.

TEXT: Using Nature's Gifts to Achieve Sustainability. What if each building was able to supply its own energy and water? What will our world be like? And what will our future look like? There are many ways to reduce a building's impact on the environment. One way is to maximize the use of natural elements: sun, wind and rain. Crissy Field Center harnesses nature to "off-set" the resources the building would otherwise need from the grid (the network of electricity, gas and water lines). For more information about all of the Center's green features and to see how its systems are performing, check out the interactive building dashboard for real-time data: http://frogdashboard.com/crissy/home.htm

DESCRIPTION OF IMAGE #1: A photograph of a row of three black, rectangular solar panels on the roof of a building set at a 45-degree angle with the roof.

CAPTION: Off-Setting Electricity. Five vertical-axis wind turbines (of three designs) capture the wind that rushes through the Golden Gate. Wind speeds average 10.5 miles per hour in this area. This experimental 5.4-kilowatt (5,400 watts) system is wildlife safe, quiet and operates at relatively low wind speeds. The turbines along with the 28kW solar panel array help to off-set the electricity needed from the PG&E grid.

TEXT: Off-Setting Natural Gas. The cafe utilizes a solar thermal hot water heater. The energy from the sun preheats water, which then moves to a standard gas heated water tank. Pre-heated water reduces the amount of gas needed to keep water hot in the tank.

DESCRIPTION OF IMAGE #2: A large, dark green tank with a domed cover and a metal pipe connected to it on its right side surrounded by creosote bushes. In the background, part of a building is visible on the right.

CAPTION: Off-Setting Water. A 5,000-gallon catchment tank collects rainwater for use in the facility's restrooms. More than 50% of the water used to flush toilets is reused greywater.

DESCRIPTION OF IMAGE #3: In the top right corner of this panel is a photograph of a long building with many windows that alternates between two-story and single-story sections, the Crissy Field Center. In front of the center, the photo captures the image of three metal poles with different shapes at the tops.

DIRECTIONS TO NEXT WAYSIDE: The next wayside is a little under two tenths of a mile west. Facing the Natural Off-Set wayside, walk to your right, or west, along the grassy edge of the lawn bordering the parking lot 70 feet. To your right is a crosswalk across the parking lot to the San Francisco Bay Trail waterfront path. The crosswalk takes a diagonal jog north west across the parking lot to the edge of the San Francisco Bay Trail. From where you stand, walk 18 feet to your right to cross the parking lot in the crosswalk, then, change your trajectory slightly left for 30 feet to stay in the crosswalk, then slightly right for 18 feet until the parking lot ends. Then, walk straight, or north, 30 more feet. Now you are on the San Francisco Bay Trail, a wide area for bikers, joggers and pedestrians to walk along the edge of the Bay from East Beach to Crissy Field and further west to Fort Point. The trail periodically has benches on its southern edge.