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Travis Airmen support Muir Woods National Monument volunteer effort

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Renni Thornton
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Comfortably surrounded by a state park in northern California lies a 560-acre national park, which is home to the tallest living things in the world.

Muir Woods National Monument, located 11 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge and surrounded by Mount Tamalpais, has been home to the old-growth redwood tree for decades.

It was declared a national monument in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt.

Since that time, hundreds of thousands of visitors enter the park each year to appreciate the redwood trees which live and grow there. Each year, hundreds of volunteers work to preserve the park.

During a visit to Muir Woods in August with her family is where Tech. Sgt. Stephanie McCauley, a unit training manager assigned to the 60th Aerial Port Squadron, first learned of the opportunity to get involved in a restoration effort at the park.

But before she got involved with the redwood park project, Sergeant McCauley said she was first drawn to beach clean-up projects while assigned to another base.

"At my last duty station, I began volunteering in the clean-up efforts," said Sergeant McCauley. "Being from the East Coast and a big city, I didn't grow up near lots of beaches and parks. Participating in the beach clean-ups at Diamond Head and other beaches there made me appreciate these areas."

Since her arrival here from Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, in 2008, Sergeant McCauley has participated in the beach cleanup and maintenance project at Ocean Beach and others.

Volunteers collected and bagged mulch, exposing a dirt bed along the creek. They also removed chunks of toxic asphalt and turned the soil, said Sergeant McCarley.

"This project helped with the park's plan to re-design the upper parking lot into a plaza and uncover a meandering border next to Redwood Creek," said Lou Sian, National Park Service park ranger and media specialist.

Monday, the team of volunteers completed the restoration and laid down the previously collected mulch to aid Mother Nature in revitalizing that same area, said Ranger Sian.

Other restoration projects are planned, said Ranger Sian and getting help from Travis volunteers is tremendous, she said.

She and others have also completed a social trail eradication project Aug. 18 and a vegetation management project Nov. 15 at the national park.

Staff Sgt. Peter Christensen, 60th APS truck in-check noncommissioned officer, is one of those members.

"I have always been involved with restoration and clean-up in the environment," he said. Sergeant Christensen. A Santa Maria, California, native, he has worked on projects with Habitat for Humanity and spent a week on Channel Islands, restoring coastal areas.

"The past couple times Sergeant McCauley has organized an event, I had to work. This time I was able to attend," said Sergeant Christensen. He said he believes preserving the environment is essential.

"I particularly enjoy working in national parks. I enjoy the outdoors and nature. Restoration is important work. It has a great effect on the environment. Hopefully by preserving the parks, it will keep them around longer for people to enjoy."