This cache is located in the Palo Alto Baylands Park. You’ll find plenty of parking if you choose the Terminal Blvd. trail entrance. It’s nearly a 3 mile round trip from the parking lot, but the trail is flat, and the bird watching is second to none. Be prepared to find several other caches along the way, and please bring your pen.
It’s fitting that from this cache location you’ll learn the importance of the complex “Interrelationships” between wetlands plants and animals, and that CARE must be taken to protect these sometimes fragile relationships.
If you look across the wetlands from this spot you’ll see NASA Ames Research Center and its many unusual looking structures. Those unique structures include the historic Unitary Plan Wind Tunnels, the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex (the world’s largest wind tunnel), and the amazing Arc Jet Complex.
The workforce of NASA Ames includes a mixture of Civil Servant and Contract employees. Just like the complex relationships that exist between the plants and animals of the wetlands, CARE must be taken to protect the “Interrelationships” of the Ames workforce.
One contract company at Ames, Jacobs, believes that if a workforce CARES about eachother, they'll be less likely to allow eachother to be injured. This “Culture of Caring" mindset is called Beyond Zero.
Beyond Zero Is:
- First and foremost about being injury and incident free
- An integral approach to being injury and incident free
- Our expectations starting with not getting injured
- Not allowing others around you to be injured
- Not allowing unsafe practices, behaviors, or conditions to continue
- Expecting leadership to achieve these goals and to be personally accountable
- Knowing that using processes and procedures gives us a better chance of avoiding accidents
The Beyond Zero “BZ” Walking Club was spawned from this mindset of CARING. Each time the BZ Walking Club meets, those workplace “interrelationships” are strengthened. These relationships are critical in a work environment that relies on teamwork and CARING as essential elements of the injury prevention program.
The BZ Walking Club walks the Baylands Preserve @ 4pm on most Wednesday afternoons between March and October, and at 11am at other Bay Area parks on the last Saturday of each month.
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Our Upcoming Walk Schedule
1.28.12 - Seal Point Park, San Mateo
2.25.12 - Fremont Older Open Space Preserve, Cupertino
3.31.12 - Garin/Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park, Hayward
4.28.12 - Waterdog Lake Park, Belmont
5.26.12 - Pichetti Ranch Open Space Preserve, Cupertino
6.30.12 - Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area, Fremont
7.28.12 - Angel Island State Park, San Francisco Bay
8.25.12 - Vasona Lake County Park, Los Gatos
9.29.12 - Pearson-Arastradero Preserve, Palo Alto
10.27.12 - Coyote Hills Regional Park, Fremont
11.24.12 - Los Trancos Open Space Preserve, Palo Alto
12.29.12 - Sunnyvale Baylands Ponds, Sunnyvale
This is cache 4 of 6 in the first "Beyond Safety" series of safety themed caches. Please post stories or pictures of how your caching experiences have strengthened your "interrelationships."
Beyond Safety - Cache 1 of 6 - Hearing Conservation
Beyond Safety - Cache 2 of 6 - Eye and Face Protection
Beyond Safety - Cache 3 of 6 - Voluntary Protection Program
Beyond Safety - Cache 4 of 6 - BZ Walking Club
Beyond Safety - Cache 5 of 6 - Earthquake Preparedness
Beyond Safety - Cache 6 of 6 - Slips, Trips, and Falls
Congratulations to PDFrogs for being the first to find all 6 of the first "Beyond Safety" cache series!