Anna Purtscher, Civil & Environmental Engineering

Today was a very long but also a very satisfying day! At reflection last night we decided, as a group, to spend the day in San Francisco for Culture Day because our previous plans to head to Lake Tahoe were foiled by a snow storm (mid-March! In California!). Jefferson and many of the other participants had developed a thorough walking tour of the northern tip of the city, which Anna T. and I approved of! We woke up at 7:30 AM and ate as much of our leftover food as we could until 8:30 AM, at which time we split into groups. One group cleaned the van to avoid the ‘excessively dirty’ fine (because it was definitely excessively dirty after our muddy service over the last few days!) and the other group packed lunches (ROPE wraps) and baked the frozen pizzas we had planned for Saturday breakfast. By 9:30 AM we were on the road again, headed into San Francisco! The drive was roughly 3 hours long, with quite a bit of traffic going over the Bay Bridge. We parked in a garage and walked (according to my phone) roughly 10 miles total on our inner-city adventure! We stopped and explored Grace Cathedral, Lombard Street, See’s Candies (free samples!!), Fisherman’s Wharf, Ghirardelli Square (more free samples!!), Pier 39 (sea lions!), the Ferry Building Marketplace (even more samples!!) and the Palace Hotel. Overall, a very touristy view of the city. Typically I don’t enjoy sightseeing, but we spent so much time walking from destination to destination, it felt more like we stumbled upon these sights amid an urban stroll. We were amazed by the sheer number of small dogs we saw on our walk, as well as the (at times) incredibly steep hills (with the occasional stairs built into the concrete to ease the ascent and descent!). The weather was gorgeous and perfect for walking -- sunny with a light wind to invigorate the soul and quicken the step.

Many members of our group had been to San Francisco, but for some (including myself) this was the first visit. Upon discussion, it became clear that we all agreed on one thing at least -- the city gave off a very expensive and gentrified vibe. We look forward to discussing livability and learning more about the history of the city with the gentrification ASB, Renewal Vs. Removal, when we attend the ASB Return Dinner this coming Tuesday!

We ate dinner as a group at a restaurant in Chinatown, which, coincidentally, was the exact restaurant that Amy always eats at with her family when they are in San Francisco! Breaking with our vegetarian diet for the past week, we decided to eat meat for the sake of convenience and hunger. We were proud to have removed meat from our diet for the past week, but agreed that moderation is the key to sustainably transitioning to a new diet. We ordered a serving of the orange chicken, per her recommendation, and were immediately (and nearly universally) happy to call it the BEST ORANGE CHICKEN WE’D EVER tasted.

On our way back to the parking garage, Ji Won directed us to a boba place we were planning to stop by for desert. Unfortunately, we were greeted by a ‘Coming Soon’ sign on the door and decided to skip boba for time’s sake. I dropped off most of the group off at the airport and a smaller group (Amy, Grace and Ji Won) helped me navigate to the van rental return spot. We successfully returned the van (no additional charges!) and took a shuttle back to the airport.

At the airport, we engaged in our last reflection of the trip. Anna T. and I brought up pre-, during, and post-trip related questions. Notably, we asked the group “What is your biggest takeaway/lesson from our community partners and service activities?”. The following are a few of the answers from our group:

“The realization that many social and environmental and environmental justice issues boil down to funding and education of the people. Funding is required for any solid action to be taken to resolve issues and education helps startup nonprofit/grassroots organizations that help the cause.”

“The idea that change is connected to the passing of generations. We heard from so many partners that what keeps them optimistic about the future state of water rights and the environment is that young people -- like us -- care deeply about this issue and share common values with each other regarding environmental justice. I have never heard so many people two, three generations older than us have so much faith in our potential and the potential of the younger than us too. I found that to be truly inspiring, and a lesson that I will carry with me in all of my social justice related endeavors.”

“Connections between community partners and their roles in water justice (carrying out initiatives, procuring funding, educating communities, gathering data, etc.).”

“Large change comes in small increments”

Personally, my biggest takeaway from our trip has been that, while the connections between our community partners (described above) play a key role in the overall effectiveness of their endeavors, it is still the disconnect between them (that is still present) that limits their impact. I was astounded by the passion and dedication displayed by all the people we met with, but it was actually the disheartening comments made by our service partner at the Cosumnes River Preserve that illuminated these disconnections and made the largest impact on me: 1) our partner mentioned that, because of nearby cities competing for groundwater would likely stress the aquifer underneath the Preserve, the Preserve would likely not be able to function in the future, 2) our partner also mentioned that they believed the Preserve’s restoration efforts would be more impactful if a more natural approach to planting and watering were employed, contrary to current practices. These (somewhat offhand) comments struck me as incredibly insightful; there is a definite disconnection between practice and policy that is still present in water justice issues. I like to look at this realization as an opportunity rather than an irreparable flaw.

One of my favorite quotes, by Baba Dioum, reads: "In the end we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught."

The Shifting Tides ASB was a small group dedicated to learning how we can conserve and equitably distribute one of our most valuable resources --water. I’m so grateful for this group and our community partners, and am looking forward to lifelong education and action on the complex issue of water justice