No/minimal hike: Spring Equinox ceremony at Cesar Chavez Memorial Solar Calendar

I'll be leading this spring's equinox celebration at the Cesar Chavez Memorial Solar Calendar (http://www.solarcalendar.org/05_seasonalcelebrations.html) near the Berkeley Marina, and thought some members might enjoy it. Not much hiking, but the calendar is a great tool for looking at the "reasons for the seasons."

Here's a map showing the location of the calendar, parking, and the closest bus: http://g.co/maps/mms5c

These quarterly celebrations are held on the solstices and equinoxes, rain or shine. Each celebration includes a short talk on the science of the seasons and of the calendar, along with a talk and sharing on themes of the season associated with Cesar Chavez. The spring theme is "Hope."

Come on out and join the celebration. We gather at 6:30, and the program will run about 6:45-7:00ish, with the sunset about 7:15 (the calendar marks the location of the sunset on the horizon).

If you'd like to get in a short hike beforehand, meet me at the traffic circle at the end of Spinnaker Way at 5:25. We'll leave at 5:30 and do a "lap" around the park (about 1.5 miles). There's not much geology--everything down there is man-made--but we'll be able to see the methane burner that burns off methane generated by the garbage underfoot (the entire area used to be the Berkeley dump)--giving us some insight into how small amounts of fossil fuels are formed on a human time scale. If it's raining, the hike will be cancelled but not the ceremony.

In your RSVP, please let me know if you're coming to the hike, so I know who to look for.