After Bay to Breakers 2013

The Bay to Breakers crowds are mostly gone, and there's still another hour or so of daylight, so head out for a walk in the park! Here are a few scenes from late afternoon.

Waste Busters and SF Conservation Corps nearly done with their big job

Temporary fencing helped protect some of the planting that is still getting established 

Volleyball near Cole 

Meadows still a little busy

May workday wrap-up

This morning's Panhandle community workday was a great time to catch up with friends and share news from the community while getting a workout in the spring sunshine. Our crew was made up of our regular volunteers as well as a several people joining us for the first time. Thanks to everyone's hard work, we were able to rake, weed, and fertilize our entire new planted landscape of California native plants. We also spread out to rake leaves from the playground and from the nearby lawns. Thanks to our Rec and Park garderner, Guillermo, for organizing the day and for bringing us pizza for breaktime.

Volunteers of all ages gathering in the sun after break 

Checking out the day's work

Thanks everyone for joining us today!

The fence is down! And next workday is this Saturday April 13

Our next Panhandle community workday is coming up: 

Saturday April 13

9 am - 12 noon

Meet at the bulletin board & playground (near Ashbury)

This will be our second workday in the newly established rain garden that was part of the completed capital project. The chain link fence around the project site was just removed, opening up the grassy areas and signalling an official end to the build out of the capital project. Park staff have installed a less intrusive cable fence running around just the rain garden while the plantings are getting established. We will have some weeding and additional planting to do in the rain garden. 

Plus, with your continuing support and efforts, we can continue to improve the conditions and enhance the natural environment in the central area of the Panhandle with a new area for perennials, outside the playground fence (northwest side). If you would like to see that work continue please join us next Saturday! 

Saturday workday: we planted into our new rain garden

The Panhandle capital project is complete, and the rain garden located just west of the restroom is ready for community-based stewardship, so Saturday we undertook a major planting.

Our plants came from the HANC Native Plant Nursery, from Rec and Park's Golden Gate Park nursery, and from Bay Natives. We selected plants that are local to the bay area and that have the ability to do well in the generally shady, damp conditions. Within the site, we also chose specific places for each species based on water & light conditions. Even after putting in 100+ plants, there remains a good amount of space for further plantings in the future.  

 

 

After break, volunteers also helped maintain a new bed of plants next to the gardener's shed.

Volunteers from San Francisco Day School began our first week in the area behind the restroom, where patchy asphalt surrounding several eucalyptus trees was recently removed. The first stage was to spread wood chips that will define a social path through the site.