After quite a bit of initial research about the Islais Creek, I can't help but realize that I keep finding myself focusing in on two different aspects: history and wildlife.
Regardless of the topic or subject I have always been interested in history, especially that of San Francisco. The city holds a lot of meaning for me and my family wouldn't be who they are today without it. I was hoping to incorporate some element of the history of the area into the midterm but as of right now I'm not too sure how to do it. As I believe I mentioned in a previous post, my grandmother grew up in San Francisco and that I planned on asking her if she knew anything about the Creek. Well to update this statement, I did indeed ask her about it but sadly even she had very little knowledge of the Islais Creek. She spent most of her childhood growing up in Ingleside Terrace, which is located not too far from the creek but during the 1920's and pretty much through the 1940's there was a lot of construction around and destruction of the Islais Creek area; one possible reason as to why she did not spend any time there. She was however able to tell me a lot of great stories of growing up in the area and that her father, as a young boy, had grown up in a small house (probably a farm house) where Alemany Boulevard now is. This however was in the late 1800's and early 1900's and so I have little documentation to work from.
The second aspect of the creek that I find very interesting is the wildlife, both natural and urban. Both times that I went out and visited Glen Canyon Park, I couldn't help but notice all the different critters running and flying around as well as the huge number of people with dogs. Its amazing to think that even though the park itself isn't very well known, people are still able to find it and go hiking around with their dogs (San Francisco has a lot of dog-walking activity). During my first trip and hike through the park, I saw a lot more animals than I would have expected. I was also surprised to see a warning sign for coyotes, which I didn't really think we still in the city; the amount of wildlife here is incredible when you think that the location of the park is hidden and surrounded by very urban city. When it came to documenting something about the area, the first thing I took note of was all the people with their dogs; what they were carrying and wearing, what kind of dog they had, whether or not they were by themselves, etc. Being a dog owner myself, I understand the joy of being able to bring your pet with you wherever you go, and even though a lot of websites will tell you that Glen Canyon Park is not a good place for dogs, the number of dogs outnumber the naysayers by far. The second thing I documented was all the birds (and other animals) I saw, mostly because when I sat in the car taking notes, they were one of the main sounds that filled the air.
To be able to incorporate both history and animals would be great but I have a feeling at this point that choosing one might be more practical at this point. I would love to be able to work with my grandmother further and perhaps come up with some idea as to incorporating some family history into this (or maybe the final) project... I'm open to anything right now.
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