The EcoCenter at Herons Head Park is the first environmental education

Environmental education

Environmental education refers to organized efforts to teach about how natural environments function and, particularly, how human beings can manage their behavior and ecosystems in order to live sustainably. The term is often used to imply education within the school system, from primary to...

 center in San Francisco to concentrate on providing a hands on example of green building

Green building

Green building refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition...

 systems with an emphasis on environmental justice

Environmental justice

Environmental justice is "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies." In the words of Bunyan Bryant,...

. It represents a critical effort by a San Francisco community-based organization, Literacy for Environmental Justice, to provide a hands-on design alternative to the active presence of dirty polluting

Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...

 industries in the Southern San Francisco Community of Bayview-Hunterspoint, a community that has experienced great environmental distress to launch a solution to the poor environmental legacy left by the Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

, by dozens of polluting industries, by an unresponsive power company

Power Company

The Power Company was a team of professional superheroes-for-hire in the DC Comics universe. The team, created by Kurt Busiek and Tom Grummett, first appeared in JLA 61,...

, and by decades of irresponsible land use planning

Land use planning

Land-use planning is the term used for a branch of public policy encompassing various disciplines which seek to order and regulate land use in an efficient and ethical way, thus preventing land-use conflicts. Governments use land-use planning to manage the development of land within their...

.

The Ecocenter features an array of green solutions to responsible planning within the context of promoting solutions to environmental injustice to advance concepts of equity

Equity (economics)

Equity is the concept or idea of fairness in economics, particularly as to taxation or welfare economics. More specifically it may refer to equal life chances regardless of identity, to provide all citizens with a basic minimum of income/goods/services or to increase funds and commitment for...

.

The center's systems are demonstration based and are used to educate the general public about renewable energy

Renewable energy

Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...

, pollution and greenhouse gas reduction, wastewater treatment

Wastewater Treatment

Wastewater treatment may refer to:* Sewage treatment* Industrial wastewater treatment...

, “green” building materials, and the green economy

Green economy

A green economy is one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities - United Nations Environment Programme...

.

Technologies Included are:

• Eco-Machine wastewater treatment utilizing a series of wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

 cells and ultraviolet

Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...

 sterilization lamps to treat wastewater and recycle treated water for landscape irrigation

Irrigation

Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...

.
• Green living roof to reduce building needs for heating and cooling

Cooling

Cooling is the transfer of thermal energy via thermal radiation, heat conduction or convection. It may also refer to:-Techniques:* Air conditioning* Air cooling* Computer cooling* Cryogenics* Conduction * Infrared solar cells* Laser cooling...

, provide retention of stormwater

Stormwater

Stormwater is water that originates during precipitation events. It may also be used to apply to water that originates with snowmelt that enters the stormwater system...

 on site for reuse, reduce heat island effect of building on site, and encourage wildlife

Wildlife

Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....

 habitat.
• Solar panels and wind turbine

Wind turbine

A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...

 to meet all electricity

Electricity

Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...

 demands of the building.
• Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPs) that provide high energy efficiency

Efficient energy use

Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...

 and strength in the walls and roof as well as seismic support and fire resistance.
• Native landscaping

Landscaping

Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including:# living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly referred to as gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal of creating a beautiful environment within the landscape.#...

 to help promote water conservation

Water conservation

Water conservation refers to reducing the usage of water and recycling of waste water for different purposes such as cleaning, manufacturing, and agricultural irrigation.- Water conservation :Water conservation can be defined as:...

, the elimination of synthetic fertilizer

Fertilizer

Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...

s and pesticide

Pesticide

Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...

s, and encourage education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

 around native plant

Native plant

Native plant is a term to describe plants endemic or naturalized to a given area in geologic time.This includes plants that have developed, occur naturally, or existed for many years in an area...

 propagation.

Founded in 1998, Literacy for Environmental Justice is a youth empowerment

Youth empowerment

Youth empowerment is an attitudinal, structural, and cultural process whereby young people gain the ability, authority, and agency to make decisions and implement change in their own lives and the lives of other people, including youth and adults....

organization created specifically to address the ecological and health concerns of Bayview Hunters Point and the surrounding communities of southeast San Francisco.

External links

• http://baynature.org/articles/jan-mar-2010/ear-to-the-ground/environmental-education-off-the-grid
• http://www.vimeo.com/2642263
• http://www.sanfranmag.com/story/a-green-gem-amid-toxic-blight