City College of San Francisco ESL Students Explore Crissy Field and Learn about Environmental Conservation
Instructor: Cora Chen (visit Cora's ESL website)
On July 30, 2010, a group of students from different campuses of City College of San Francisco enjoyed a field trip to Crissy Field, the Golden Gate National Park. The cloudy, freezing cold morning didn’t dampen their enthusiasm for learning about environmental conservation.
The activities for this field trip integrated reading, speaking, listening and writing skills. Before the field trip, students read about Crissy Field especially its Green building with green eco-features. During the field trip, students had the chance to practice speaking English with the park rangers and staff, listened to the park rangers, and took notes. After the field trip, students wrote reflections on their learning experiences and shared these with their classmates.
The following students participated in the field trip: (their names are listed in alphabetical order)
Konstantin Ananyev (from Russia), George Blanco (from Mexico), Ling Chen (from China), Rebeca Franco (from Mexico), Lena Golubyatnykova (from Ukraine), Ramesh Kannan (from India), Natalya Ananyeva – Lee (from Russia), Betty Yin Li (from China), Marcos Mardero (from Mexico), Judith Morais (from Mexico) and Maria Amparo Medina Pina (from Mexico).
Students' Reflections on Their Learning Experiences:
A Special Educational Tour to Crissy Field
by Rebeca Franco
CascadaBasaseachi National park in Mexico
Visiting Crissy Field and learning from the tour was a great experience for me. The tour taught us about conservation of the natural environment, about the native plants of California and mostly the history of Crissy Field, which had made the field trip more dynamic and special.
In my native country Mexico, there are so many beautiful places, but I want to mention one that is in the city where I had lived before: Chihuahua Mx - Casacada de Bassaseachic National Park. It’s a big waterfall, 246 meters free fall , and it’s one of the biggest waterfalls in Mexico. Unfortunately, people haven't made special efforts to preserve it, perhaps because it still seems to be in good condition. Now, people in that area start to preserve nature by stopping tree cutting, hunting ,and starting to maintain clean environment and supporting the local tarahumaras ethnic group and its interesting culture. These local people use many kinds of medicinal plants like gordolobo for cough , sabila or manzanilla for stomachaches , laurel as a diuretic, yerbanis for cold , ruda for earaches, just to mention a few.
I think it is important to educate people about preserving nature, so that´s why I really appreciate Cora Chen's arranging this tour for us and the lessons given by the park rangers who guided us on this tour.
A Great Informative Field Trip to Crissy Field
by George Blanco
The park ranger explained how to explore plants.
The field trip to Crissy Field was great with lots of information about environmental conservation. I learned how people tried to save lost lands and convert them into sanctuaries for birds and wild life. It’s also good to learn about several names of medicine plants and to see different birds living free.
I'm from Mexico and I really don't know how many parks or Sanctuaries there are, but I know the tribal people who live in the forests hunt different kinds of animals.
In my native country Mexico, people use a lot of remedies or alternative cure medicines:
- Mullen (in Spanish - Gordolobo) -- good for cough and tuberculosis
- Eucalyptol -- good for cough
- Lemon (vitamin "C") -- good for stomachaches, headaches or flu.
- Tea of Tila -- good for high and low pressure, anxiety, headaches, insomnia, good for sleep.
- Arnica – good for bruises.
- Belladonna – cures swollen muscles, bruises and pain, good for muscle relaxing.
- Fenegreco – eliminates stomach gas, pimples and eliminate grease of the body and bounds of syphilis. Good for the nerve system. The most remarkable function is to stimulate libido, so it is advised not to take more than three cups at day.
- Chicura, Axocopaque,Sanguinaria and Matarique.- good for Arthritis swollen and pain, cleans the liver, kidney, gall bladder and uric acid of the bones.
In fact, the real health is in ourselves, because if we want to take care of the world, we need to begin in ourselves--how? Stop eating animals; eat vegetables and fruit. When we do that, we don't need to use remedies or other kinds of medicine. According to the Western father of medicine -- Hippocrates of Cos or Hippokrates of Kos (ca. 460 BC – ca. 370 BC), an ancient Greek physician and one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine, your food should be your medicine and your medicine is your food.
An Interesting, Informative Field Trip
by Natalya Ananyeva – Lee
Students learned about the uses of natvie plants.
Our field trip to Crissy Field was really interesting and informative. First, we had the chance to meet interesting people and talk with the park ranges who gave us a tour. It was my first time to be in this park.
During the tour, the park rangers showed us the local flora and fauna. It was interesting to observe birds and ducks in the marsh.
During the activity of exploring plants, I saw a grass which grows in Russia. We drank tea with this grass. In Russia, it is called Yarrow or Milfoil. This is the herb that people use for stomachaches. The Russians also use the following plants for medical uses:
- Chamomile-- anti-inflammatory
- Dandelion – good for liver disease
- Mint – has soothing effect
- Balm – good for headaches
- Linden – good for fever and cough
- Nettle – good for skin diseases
- Bear berry –good for kidney disease
A lot of other herbs also grow in Russia and they are preserved. Flora and fauna in Russia are very rich. However, political instability in the country has led to poaching, and many plants and animals are exterminated completely. Environmental enthusiasts and scientists have made efforts to make it possible to rescue the remaining unique plants.
I’m from Tatarstan. This is the big republic in Russia. There is a huge wood reserve-Raifa where hares, foxes, wolves, bears, elks and many small animals live. The well-known river Volga flows on the republic territory. Among the large varieties of fishes, there is a unique kind known as sturgeon. The surrounding nature in Tatarstan is also very beautiful, so beautiful that it is difficult to describe it in just a few words.
Crissy Field, a Historical Place
By Marcos Mardero
Banco Chinchorro, located near the Xcalak town in Mexico
First of all, I want to thank Cora Chen for giving us the opportunity to take this trip and thanks to the park rangers for being so friendly with us.
Crissy Field is a magical place-- beach, birds, lake and one of the most beautiful views of the Golden Gate Bridge. The first moment you set foot in the park, you feel a relaxed environment. It was a very educational trip, and we learned a lot from the park rangers about plants, history and conservation of the environment. First, we learned about green technology to conserve the environment, and we saw a sustainable green building at the Crissy Field Center that uses recyclable materials including rain water that reduce electricity demand in order to have less impact on the environment. Then, the park rangers told us about the history of Cissy Field. At the end of the trip, we had the opportunity to enjoy a cup of tea made with a plant called “yarrow” grown in the park.
In Mexico we have many national parks, forests, deserts, caves, beaches, lakes, lagoons and waterfalls, Mexico has a great natural diversity. But in my experience, one of the most beautiful parks that I have known is the second biggest coral reef barrier of the world, located in Xcalak, Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is an amazing place for diving and snorkeling where you can see turtles, dolphins, rays and many different species of fish.
Crissy Field is a magical place-- beach, birds, lake and one of the most beautiful views of the Golden Gate Bridge. The first moment you set foot in the park, you feel a relaxed environment. It was a very educational trip, and we learned a lot from the park rangers about plants, history and conservation of the environment. First, we learned about green technology to conserve the environment, and we saw a sustainable green building at the Crissy Field Center that uses recyclable materials including rain water that reduce electricity demand in order to have less impact on the environment. Then, the park rangers told us about the history of Cissy Field. At the end of the trip, we had the opportunity to enjoy a cup of tea made with a plant called “yarrow” grown in the park.
In Mexico we have many national parks, forests, deserts, caves, beaches, lakes, lagoons and waterfalls, Mexico has a great natural diversity. But in my experience, one of the most beautiful parks that I have known is the second biggest coral reef barrier of the world, located in Xcalak, Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is an amazing place for diving and snorkeling where you can see turtles, dolphins, rays and many different species of fish.