11 Nov Hello from the GGNRA San Francisco team!

Hey there! My name is Kristiana Petrie, and I’m one of the new EFTA interns for Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA)! I’ll be working with Michael and John as part of their San Francisco habitat restoration and plant monitoring team. So far, we’ve toured and made a sweep of our various worksites, which includes anything from Battery East right by the Golden Gate bridge to Fort Funston near the San Francisco Zoo. Mostly our sites consist of sand dunes and coastal habitat, though there are some riparian, bluff, and marsh environments mixed in as well. As someone who grew up in Vermont and Hawai’i, the foggy, windy coastlines of the Pacific Northwest are unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. Each worksite feels like a new adventure! 

Speaking of new adventures, part of the habitat restoration work that we do is managing invasive species. I’ve removed invasives before with conservation crews in Hawai’i, but the plants we work with here are ones I’ve never seen. It’s been exciting identifying these new invasives, often identifying them alongside with the native plants we’re trying to protect. Right now, our team’s focus is on suppressing these invasive species, especially grasses, and seeding and outplanting natives in prepped areas. This isn’t my first time doing conservation fieldwork, but every place I’ve been to (even within the same state!) has pushed me to adapt to new situations and to pick up new conservation practices. Since this is just the beginning of my year-long internship with GGNRA, I’m looking forward to how much I’ll grow and learn with the San Francisco team. I hope you’ll enjoy reading about my time here! 

See you next time,

Ana

One of my worksites called Presidio Bluffs.

Me (right) and my supervisor, Michael (left)!