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Patrick Rump (left) with Bay Youth for the Environment intern. Photo: Literacy for Environmental Justice

Contact:

Pamela Calvert

415 282-6840/510 220 6919 cell
Patrick Marley Rump
Bay Youth for the Environment Manager

415 282-6840/415 574-5103 c

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Literacy for Environmental Justice staffer Patrick Marley Rump has been named a 2007 national "Garden Crusader" by Gardener's Supply Company, winning first place in the Restoration category for his pioneering work at Heron's Head Park and Candlestick Point SRA in Bayview Hunters Point.

While still a student, the Indiana native began living and working in this waterfront neighborhood which has served for decades as the dumping ground for San Francisco's most toxic industries. In 1999 Patrick took a position with Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ), a youth empowerment and environmental education organization, managing the newly formed Heron's Head Park. The site was a 23-acre litter-strewn brownfield which the Port of San Francisco was converting from an industrial pier to a restored wetlands. Under Patrick's patient care, the park began to be transformed; today it is not only a thriving habitat for migratory waterfowl, but the center of environmental education in southeast San Francisco, hosting thousands of schoolchildren and community volunteers annually for hands-on education and service projects.

Having established Heron's Head on a sound footing, in 2004 Patrick had the opportunity to achieve a long-held dream of establishing a native plants nursery at Candlestick Point State Recreation Area, the largest contiguous wetland on San Francisco's southeastern shoreline. Patrick set to work with youth interns from LEJ; together they built a native plant nursery, repaired the planting beds, planted a native garden, built outdoor sitting areas, and began collecting seed and propagating thousands of native plants. The youth are learning key professional skills in habitat restoration and wetland ecology, horticulture, environmental field monitoring, and open space advocacy.

Located adjacent to the decommissioned Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, Candlestick Point's once thriving wetlands, wildlife, and fisheries have been severely damaged due to industrial contamination, erosion, wastewater overflows, and illegal dumping. The park is now being carefully restored in a $20 million remediation campaign spearheaded by the California State Parks Foundation. During this time, the youth at the nursery are collecting native seeds and growing the estimated 10,000 plants needed for native grass restoration, transition zone re-vegetation, and tree plantings at sites throughout Candlestick starting next year. In addition, the Candlestick nursery supplies plants to the ongoing restoration of Heron's Head Park and Pier 94.

For the youth interns, the nursery provides a quiet, steady, and settling environment in the context of a hectic and often negative environment. With Patrick's support, the youth have taken a leading role in advocating for urban parks at the state policy level, and LEJ intern LaConstance Shahid was recognized with a 2005 national Brower Youth Award for her "outstanding activism and achievements in the fields of environmental and social justice advocacy." The nursery now brings in hundreds of volunteers from all over San Francisco, dispelling negative stereotypes about the neighborhood and giving the youth the opportunity to take pride in their knowledge and leadership skills as they direct teams of adults in service projects.

Patrick's plans for the future include building a greenhouse at the site--presently all the nursery work happens in the open air, rain or shine--increasing the number of youth in the program, taking the youth on field trips to regional nurseries and restoration sites to expand their networking and training opportunities, and helping the youth with college preparation.

The next community service day at LEJ's Native Plants Nursery is Saturday, November 3, 10 AM - 1 PM. This month we are dedicating a tree and commemorative table to a gardener whose son was recently killed by gunfire. The nursery is located at 1050 Carroll St. by the Candlestick Point State Recreation Area Ranger Station.

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Founded in 1998, Literacy for Environmental Justice addresses the ecological and health concerns of Bayview Hunters Point and the surrounding communities of southeast San Francisco. Our mission is to foster an understanding of the principles of environmental justice and urban sustainability in our young people in order to promote the long-term health of our communities. We define environmental justice as the right of all people to clean water, safe energy, healthy food, non-toxic homes and schools, open space, and equitable educational and employment opportunities. www.lejyouth.org

More information about the Gardener's Supply Company and a complete list of Garden Crusader Awards are at www.gardeners.com/2007-Garden-Crusader-Awards/default/8124.page