Pictures from January workday

Today's Panhandle workday involved repeat volunteers and the families of the second grade class at San Francisco Day School. Here are a few photos from our day and one of our special guest.

Sweeping in the memorial circle


Clearing the Shrader cross-path of mud and debris

Dale Danley (L) with Megan Bierman by the sign that honors her mother, Sue Bierman

Someone gets a ride in a wheelbarrow pretty much every month

Besides what you see in the pictures, there was also a lot of leaf-raking, soil spreading, and shrub clipping. We were a large group and I think we all felt amazed by the amount of work we got done. Megan Bierman joined us in the work and expressed her appreciation for making the Sue Bierman Glade, installed in 2001, a more welcoming spot. To help us understand some of her mother's work in the struggle to keep the Panhandle park from being turned into an elevated freeway, she led us in singing The Cement Octopus, written by San Francisco song-writer Malvina Reynolds about the freeway revolt.

Starting our 2012 at the Panhandle's West End

2012's first community workday in the Panhandle is coming up this Saturday, and the forecast is for clear weather.

Saturday, January 14

9 am - 11:30 am 

Meet in the park at the bulletin board near Ashbury

Tools & gloves provided, wear sturdy shoes and dress in layers

Park staff tell me that our projects will be centered in the area between Shrader and Stanyan, where the Sue Bierman Glade is located. It's rare that our workday takes place all the way up at the west end of the park, so Saturday's program is a rare opportunity to care for an area that, despite some recent tree pruning and path upkeep, isn't reaching its potential as a transition area between the Panhandle and the rest of Golden Gate Park (or as a tribute to a neighborhood hero).

Let's take time Saturday during our snack break to learn more about Sue Bierman, for whom the grove of redwoods, cypress, and pines was dedicated more than ten years ago. All are welcome to join us, and our break typically starts around 10:30 a.m.

Santa brought us Masonic traffic safety measures

Park users crossing Masonic on the Oak Street side now benefit from a ladder crosswalk. High-visibility crosswalks are part of the SF MTA's pedestrian safety program, and alert pedestrians and motorists to watch out for conflicts. 

We also got a red-light camera facing the westbound traffic on Fell Street at Masonic. San Francisco's city government began implementing photo enforcement for red-light running 15 years ago. 

Thanks to San Francisco and to the outspoken community leaders who have been demanding safer Masonic crossings.

December Workday wrap-up

Not just leaves, but also branches and twigs have been falling in the Panhandle this month, and so we began yesterday's workday raking and filling dozens of wheelbarrows full in the garden around the playground. The small plants were glad to be uncovered.  

A bigger project also awaited the sixth grade class from the Day School and other volunteers: moving the soil from a long-neglected pile that had been left unused on the paved area east of the playground.

The soil had become heavy and compacted over time, so it took extra work to shovel and wheelbarrow over to some nearby trees.

We spread the soil around the grove of elms and pittosporums near Oak/west of Masonic Ave.

We took our break by the massive eucalyptus that stands nearby.

Emmett and his dad investigated a drain that we had uncovered. It's full of silt, so will take some further maintenance and further before it can do its job. Maybe when it works again it'll reduce the boggy conditions at the northeast end of the pavement.

Charlie and his crew were on hand and helped us finish the job.

Some volunteers asked me, "what is this space?" The simple answer is that it's a very useful paved space: birthday parties, Tai Chi groups, and bicycle ballet rehearsal all make frequent use of it. Historically, it's a reminder of the roadway that used to wind down the center of the park. Here's the area between Ashbury and Masonic in a 1938 aerial photo (and visit the image at the David Rumsey Map Collection to zoom in and see the surrounding area).