Natalie Eckhart Portfolio


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CalStudies : NPS Internships : Education : Marin Headlands : Roxi Farwell : Natalie Eckhart
Natalie Eckhart E-mail: queennataly@msn.com Area of Service: Education Park Site: Marin Headlands Mentor: Roxi Farwell Spring 2004
Overview: My internship brought together history, geology, conservation and ecology for the purpose of teaching 6-8th grade students about Point Bonita and its lighthouse. Students come from a variety of schools and backgrounds to go on a hike through a mountain and out to the lighthouse for their Science classes at school. After a brief discussion about National Parks, its resources and its rules the children are broken into three separate groups for more in depth learning. Portfolio Items: - Résumé - Description of the National Park Service - Description of Internship - Evaluation of Internship - Photographs of the Internship

Résumé
Profile	Hard-working team player with great communication skills and a perfect attendance record. Computer skills include: Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.
Experience	National Park Service (Internship) 2004-current - Educational Internship Program · Teaching Basic Geologic Mapping · Volunteer for “Rocks on the Move” program which teaches children about the geology and history of Point Bonita and Stinson Beach in the Marin Headlands. · Teaching children about the nursery and greenhouse at Fort Cronkite. · Teaching planting, growing and invasive species removal. Eckhart Orthodontics 1997- 2004 - Insurance Manager, Reception Duties: · Insurance billing and follow-up. · Insurance collections. · Phones and new patient calls. · Reviews from insurance companies. · Upholding OSHA requirements. · Patient billing and accounts.
Education	San Francisco State University - current Currently working toward Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies. Passed CBEST. El Camino Community College - 2003 Earned Associates of Arts degree in General Studies. Received Earth Science Award and Scholarship. Studied abroad in Costa Rica, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, Greece and Kiribati. Hubbard College of Administration - 1999 Completed courses and certificates in business administration.
Volunteer Experience	Narconon Drug Treatment Center - current Organized the corporation’s central files system. Took surveys. South Bay Mission of Redondo Beach - 2003 Cleaned common spaces and bathrooms for the church. Answered phones. Provided counseling to parishioners.
	Personal and Business References Available Upon Request

Description of NPS, and the GGNRA

“By some great protecting policy of government... in a magnificent park.... A nation's park, containing man and beast, in all the wild and freshness of their nature's beauty!”
George Catlin, 1832

That quote was said by George Catlin, who by crossing the Dakotas, noticed that westernization was going to soon destroy the natural beauty of the United States. Catlin is credited to be the man who thought of the governing and preservation of a National Park Service. And thirty-two years later, in 1864, Catlin’s vision was realized with Yosemite being the first national park followed eight years later by Yellowstone. The government had started a tradition of have space “as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.” (Congress, 1872)

Combining San Francisco and Marin County, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), part of the National Park Service (NPS) was incepted in 1972 and proved to be a management challenge because of the significant space and history that was brought together under the GGNRA management. The GGNRA is labeled a "national recreation area," the lands included in the park offer diverse tourist and recreational activities from biking to sailing to visiting Alcatraz Island. The significance of the GGNRA system is that it is an impacting force on natural resources and next door to many communities (e.g. San Francisco, Sausalito, etc.). The GGNRA had to be cautious both in the preserving of history, geology and cultures (sacred Coastal Miwok Tribe lands) while implementing a recreation area that all visitors could enjoy.
With the addition of the Presidio, ideal factors combine to make Golden Gate National Recreation Area the archetype for national park is because of its urban location and its close relationship with the surrounding communities. The GGNRA has the ability to involve the public and at the same time adhere to agency and other federal standards. Its issues are different from those of the traditional national parks, it is no longer just a remote area, and it is now a functioning center to San Francisco’s patrons.

Point Bonita, where I interned, is part of the Marin Headlands and the GGNRA – it is where the Point Bonita historic lighthouse is kept which has been erected twice since 1855. Originally kept by light keepers, the United States Coast Guard is now currently preserving it.

Description of Marin Headlands Internship

My internship brings together history, geology, conservation and ecology for the purpose of teaching 6-8th grade students about Point Bonita and its lighthouse. The students come from a variety of schools and backgrounds to go on a hike through a mountain and out to the lighthouse for their Science classes at school. After a brief discussion about National Parks, its resources and its rules the children are broken into three separate groups.

Then by myself or with a fellow intern, I took a group of kids and show them how to use a compass. We used the compass to locate North, South, East and West along with the directions of the Golden Gate Bridge and I also taught degrees. Then all three groups headed down the mountain to group up where an intern discussed the history of the lighthouse. It is explained that the lighthouse was built in 1850 on top of a hill almost 300 feet up. But when fog in San Francisco was determined to start 100 feet off the ground – the lighthouse was covered, thus it had to be moved. The story goes on to discuss the move through the mountain before electricity and drills were used.

After the group went through the mountain, the students gathered to do a lesson on plate tectonics using Oreos as plate boundaries. One intern leads the lesson, the Oreos are split apart and the one with the most frosting is the oceanic plate and the other is the continental plate – then with sliding the plates together the frosting is scraped onto the continental plate, representing mountains. The students like knowing that they are standing on the frosting and then get to eat the cookie, which is their favorite part.

The students were then put into small groups, and one was sent to me. Then I taught my group about the native and non-native plant species and how to determine whether a plant is poison oak or a berry (which intertwine and look alike) and the historic significance of the non-native plants that were grow in the light keepers gardens and that are now running rampant in the Marin Headlands. I taught the students about succulent plants like ice plant and live-forevers that absorb a lot of moisture and take over the landscape.

After the plant discussion we headed over to the lighthouse and talked about the construction of it. We talked about the lightening rod and gargoyles that are used for rain drainage. We discussed the transition from wick lighting to electric 1000 watt bulbs. Then we talked about the light keepers and the old and new foghorn houses. The children walk away form the lower trail of the mountain knowing a lot about the history of Point Bonita.

The trail of Point Bonita is divided by the interns into three separate groups, the high, middle and low trails. I take my chosen trail and show the students how to map each part of the trail by rock types (pillow basalt, radiolarian chert, greywacke sandstone). I teach the students how to determine whether a rock weathered and what type of rock it is by texture and color. It is a very hands-on experience. We discuss in this segment faults, the boathouse and the asbestos bearing serpentine.

When the mapping is complete the students are taken to the Visitor Center to for lunch, the students are taught how to recycle their lunch leftovers. They learn to reduce, reuse, recycle and compost.

Sometimes after lunch the students are brought to Rodeo Beach. At the beach the students are taught to look at the sand with loupes. The children have a lot of fun looking for grains of carnelian, chirt and other rocks. Carnelian on the beach is the most hard to find but by far the more pretty. At one point big chunks of carnelian could be found but so many people have taken the pieces over the years, only pieces found by loupes are left.

Part of my internship also required me to work at the Marin Native Plant Nursery as a teacher of invasive species removal. I taught the students which plants are native to the Marin Headlands and which are not and which ones that are not native but are historic and thusly protected. Then I taught the students to take the plant by the root and compost it.

I have a lot of responsibility to knowledge that I need to impart to these students, I also need to make sure I know information about other areas in the Headlands just in case the students come up with questions on other subjects. I learned from the students and they learned from me, it was a win-win situation.

Evaluation of Internship

I am a Liberal Studies major and wish to become a credentialed teacher, when I saw the Point Bonita internship and how I would be able to teach children about geology – I jumped at the chance. When I attended El Camino College in Torrance, California I received the Earth Science Award and Scholarship after completing every course in geology that the school had to offer. Geology was one of my new found passions, now I just needed an opportunity to put some of my knowledge to good use; and I have.

Since starting this internship my understanding of geology has grown, it is always one thing to learn it – but you have to have a thorough understanding to teach it. In this internship I have learned how to communicate to children on their level so that they understand the geologic formations being studied and are continually interested in what I have to say. I know how important it is to ask them questions and get them to think with the information provided.

I have also grown and affinity for plants and am readily aware of the different species surrounding me. I can explain to the children how to detect poison oak and how not to become fooled by its look-alike, the berry. There are many plants that are native and many that are not – it is surprising to learn how many species of plants are just in the Point Bonita area; many of whom are not especially native. Some plants which are not native, like the cabbage, are considered historic and their historic significance must also be related to the children.

I have learned so much about the students, geology, plants, animals, lighthouses and historic value of Point Bonita and Rodeo Beach that I would have never dreamed even existed. This experience has been a real eye-opening and valued experience that I will take into the classroom well after graduation.