By Matt Nauman
Even by the standards set by the World Series champions Giants, Sunday, July 10, was an exhilarating day at the ballpark.
Thousands of fans waited for hours to claim a bobblehead of San Francisco Giants catcher and 2010 National League Rookie of the Year Buster Posey.
The bobblehead included a PG&E logo as the company is a sponsor at AT&T Park where signs and other messaging help to tell the story of energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy.
Burrel students learn about recycling at AT&T Park
Solar panels create electricity at AT&T Park
Green concession stand makes popular garlic fries
PG&E on the scoreboard at AT&T Park
Giants head groundskeeper Greg Elliott meets the students
Burrel group proudly wore their Go Giants! Go Solar! tshirts
Teacher Mary Funk gets Solar Inspirational Educator award from Chris Johns
Teacher Mary T. Funk of Burrel Union Elementary in Riverdale
Lou Seal celebrates
Teacher Mary Funk, PG&E President Chris Johns, PG&E employee/volunteer Winsey Kan
Giants fans celebrated a victory and PG&E-sponsored bobbleheads.
Burrel Elementary students took a “green tour” of AT&T Park before Sunday’s San Francisco Giants game.
In the middle of the orange-clad crowds, a group of 18 students and 16 parents from Burrel Union Elementary School in Riverdale took a unique, behind-the-scenes “green tour” of the ballpark. They later participated in a pre-game, on-field ceremony.
The group was there in honor of Mary T. Funk, a 5th and 6th grade teacher at the Fresno County school, and PG&E’s Solar Schools Inspirational Educator of the year.
(Click here to read about how Funk created an outdoor learning center complete with a 200-foot, solar-powered river at her school thanks to PG&E grants.)
The group went inside, around, above and underneath the ballpark to places that the normal Giants fan never see.
- At the recycling center under the bleachers compost and cardboard are gathered, separated and processed. The Giants report that 86 percent of the garbage generated at the park doesn’t go to a landfill.
- Hundreds of solar panels shine in the sunlight at various spots of the park. Even the park’s scoreboard has solar panels – right above the PG&E sign. AT&T Park was the first major-league ballpark to install a solar system and since its installation in 2007 it has provided power to more than 5,200 homes.
- At brief stop at a green concession stand, the smell of garlic caught everyone’s attention. This stand uses energy-efficient fryers and recycled oil to make garlic fries – the most popular food item at AT&T Park. Every element of the green concession stand, from its paints to its compostable carry trays, is environmentally friendly.
- Greg Elliott, the Giants’ head groundskeeper, told the students and parents about his green practices for keeping the park green, including composting all of the lawn clippings. One day soon, he said, he hopes to use frying oil from the park’s garlic-fry stands to create biodiesel to run his crews tractors and mowers.
Laila Rollin, an 11-year-old who starts 6th grade at Burrel in the fall, liked seeing the groundskeeping room, where the Giants keep tractors, sand, dirt and extra bases.
At Burrel, Laila visits the outdoor learning center each day as she feeds the school’s rabbits and checks the progress of plants such as strawberries and sweet peas. Her mom, Christina Rollin, enjoyed the day at the ballpark.
“One of the kids told me this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and it is,” she said.
Christina Rollin praised Mary Funk as a teacher who gives students a whole-world view by focusing on the importance of the environment. At the same time, she never forgets that most students come from families that work in agriculture and that that is a part of their education, too.
Funk, who got to throw out the game’s first pitch along with PG&E employee/volunteer Winsey Kan, seemed to enjoy the whole experience. She got a trophy from PG&E President Chris Johns. She met Giants players Cody Ross and Sergio Romo, got to see a video tribute to her and her students and proudly made sure her first pitch didn’t bounce before it got to home plate.
“It was totally amazing to me,” she said.
