César Chávez Park is a city park of

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

named after

César Chávez Cesario Estrada Chavez (; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta and lesser known Gilbert Padilla, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), ...

.Berkeley Department of Parks, Recreation & Waterfront
It can be found on the

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

on the north side of the Berkeley Marina in the

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

and is adjacent to Eastshore State Park. The park's east position in San Francisco Bay provides panoramic views of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, the

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...

, the Marin Headlands, and the East Bay hills. The park's terrain is characterized by very open grassy hills that have become popular for kite flying. Paved paths run the perimeter and throughout the park where picnic tables and barbecue grills are available to the public.

Features

* Grassy areas for kite flying, " Frisbee" playing, etc. (no officially designated sports fields). * Hiking on trails throughout the park; the Dorothy Stegmann trail around the park's perimeter is fully wheelchair accessible. * Off-leash dog area (). * Picnic tables with BBQ grills (several arranged for large groups). * Solar Calendar. * Wildlife sanctuary. * The park's traditional public washroom was closed in 2015, but, in 2019, City Council considered replacing it with a more robust Portland Loo.

History

The park began as a

landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

dating back to 1957, when dikes were constructed for the purpose of containing

municipal waste Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. "Garbage" can also refer specifically to food waste, a ...

. In 1969, the city adopted the Marina Master Plan, which set aside the landfill area for unstructured recreation. In 1991 the city completely sealed the landfill and the park opened soon thereafter, originally as North Waterfront Park. In 1996, the city renamed the park after César E. Chávez, union leader and founder of the United Farm Workers of America.

Landfill gas

A landfill gas flare station lies on the eastern side of the park. Decomposition of the garbage below emits gases, primarily

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...

. To prevent its uncontrolled seepage from the ground, the gas is collected by over 40 extraction wells buried throughout the park and routed to the flare station, which then de-waters and burns it at over , converting approximately 99% of the collected methane into

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

. Though both methane and carbon dioxide are

greenhouse gas Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. Unlike other gases, greenhouse gases absorb the radiations that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. T ...

es that contribute to the ongoing

climate crisis ''Climate crisis'' is a term that is used to describe global warming and climate change and their effects. This term and the term ''climate emergency'' have been used to emphasize the threat of global warming to Earth's natural environment an ...

, the conversion of methane to CO₂ reduces its heat-trapping effectiveness by a factor of 25. A 1990 study reported low levels of methane seepage from the underlying waste and attributed the absence of gases to rapid oxidation by soil microorganisms. As an alternative to the incinerator, local activists proposed to leverage the effect as a

bioremediation Bioremediation broadly refers to any process wherein a biological system (typically bacteria, microalgae, fungi in mycoremediation, and plants in phytoremediation), living or dead, is employed for removing environmental pollutants from air, wate ...

method. The proposal was rejected by the

Bay Area Air Quality Management District The Bay Area Air District (BAAD), formerly Bay Area Air Quality Management District or BAAQMD, is a public agency that regulates the stationary sources of air pollution in the nine counties of California's San Francisco Bay Area: Alameda County, ...

due to its experimental nature. In 2016, the waning flow of gas was unable to properly sustain the existing flare station, leading to problems including visible smoke, flames, and odor emanating from the chimney. As a result, the original incinerator, which was built in 1989, was replaced with a newer, smaller model better designed to be sustained by the lesser supply of fuel.

Activities

Popular activities include

model rocket A model rocket is a small rocket designed to reach low altitudes (e.g., for a model) and #Model rocket recovery methods, be recovered by a variety of means. According to the United States National Association of Rocketry, National Associati ...

launching,

kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have ...

flying, drone and

model airplane A model aircraft is a physical model of an existing or imagined aircraft, and is built typically for display, research, or amusement. Model aircraft are divided into two basic groups: flying and non-flying. Non-flying models are also termed s ...

flying,

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...

king, dog walking,

jogging Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...

and

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an " inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults o ...

. Although on a peninsula, the park has no access to the water because there are no beaches nor steps down through the park's reinforced shoreline.

Events

* Solstice and Equinox celebrations at the Solar Calendar: Celebrations are held quarterly on the solstices and equinoxes. These celebrations include both scientific and cultural components. From the web site: "Many cultural celebrations are rooted in the cycles of the sun and moon, especially the solstices and equinoxes. For example, Easter, Passover, Narooz in the Spring,

Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The Hebrew Bible, biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summe ...

, Kwanzaa, Christmas in the winter, etc." * Fourth of July Celebration and Fireworks: While most of this event is held elsewhere in the Marina, many people gather on the small hills at Cesar Chavez Park to watch the fireworks. * Berkeley Kite Festival: Annual event held the last weekend in July. Hundreds of kites of all sizes are flown by amateurs and professionals. Thousands of people attend, making parking difficult.

References

External links

César E. Chávez Park
– City of Berkeley
The Solar Calendar: A César E. Chávez Memorial
– located on a hill on the west side of the park. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cesar Chavez Park Parks in Berkeley, California San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay Trail Former landfills in California