On a windy morning in the outer reaches of San Francisco, people gathered at Heron's Head Park, a wetlands area surrounded by power lines and warehouses. They were there for Coastal Clean-Up day. Volunteers from throughout the state had come to help maintain California's coastal habitats.

However, the volunteers picking up trash and planting at Heron's Head Park that day were also taking part in a community project that got its start in an unusual way.
"It's this total accidental wetland," said Lori Lambertson, a volunteer and teacher at the Exploratorium. "Now it's become this wild place in the southeast sector of the city, where there aren't very many wild places."

The park, according to non-profit organization Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ), was once a dumping ground before the Port Authority decided to clean it up.
Soon afterward a natural wetlands area began to move in, and they contracted LEJ to help steward the land.

The organization puts on monthly clean-ups as part of an environmental education program for members of the Hunter's Point community, which is typically characterized by its industrial ports and poor residents.

The project continues to serve as a learning place for the neighborhood, and with its new EcoCenter, a solar-powered educational facility, the park is aiming to become the city's newest green attraction.