Photos of a rainy September workday

Yesterday's rain showers started just before our 9 am starting time, but a good-sized group of both new and regular volunteers still came out for the community workday. We broke into two groups, the larger of which was tasked with planting nearly 50 plants that had been provided and laid out by Rec and Park staff.    

The new plants were designated for a patch around the playground that has been mostly weedy and sandy. A couple of months ago, we added thick layers of soil and mulch to start suppressing the weeds and building better conditions for plants. We chose California native plants like ceanothus, heuchera, currant, and penstemon, all of which will remain short in stature so as to keep the views into the playground. The area is partially shaded by tall eucalyptus and Monterey Cypress, and it will be interesting to see which of the plants are able to survive.  

Even with the recently added soil, in order to dig deep enough for the new plants, we ran into tough soil and a bunch of roots, which meant a lot more work. I was incredibly impressed by the volunteers who kept going, even as the rain started falling more steadily. 

The other volunteers worked in our rain garden, removing weeds and eucalyptus leaf litter.

By 10:30 the rain was steady, and we helped the waters breach the border of the rain garden. Everyone was stoked to see the garden working as designed. And with about a half-inch of rain accumulated, we called an early end to our workday. Sadly, we also cancelled the picnic that had been planned to celebrate the completion of our 2012 Capital Project. 

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.

 

Panhandle Workday - Next Saturday, March 9

The month of February goes by quickly, and our next Panhandle workday is coming up Saturday, March 9. 

Panhandle Community Workday 

Saturday, March 9

9am - 11:30am

Meet at the bulletin board (near Ashbury)

 

Work was underway earlier this week to address drainage at the rain garden. Since then, it looks like the work is complete.

Also this past week, students from SF Day School were at the park with their teachers to work hand in hand with the Panhandle gardener on planting and to help improve the meadow.  The new planting improves the eastern edge and greets people arriving at the park.  

February Workday Re-cap

At the community workday in the Panhandle on Saturday, we gathered inside the work site of our capital project to coordinate our projects and get a close look at the work. The two re-graded and re-seeded mounds within the fence are quickly sprouting grass, but the third area, the planned rain garden, is experiencing slow drainage, causing a postponement of the expected planting. City staff told us that they would seek a remedy for the problem starting this week. The rainfall Thursday might have actually prevented a bigger blunder, since the pond arising from the moderate rainfall was large enough to have drowned some of the plants that we plan for the site. 

One aspect of the capital project, new bike racks, 

served several of the volunteers Saturday

Instead of planting the rain garden, we instead turned our attention to an area next to our gardener's shack on the way to the playground, and after sheet mulching, planted 20 other plants - manzanitas, ceanothus, dune sagewort, and salvia - provided through the Golden Gate Park Nursery. Around the back of the shack, we also dug out clumps of invasive grasses.

A larger group of volunteers was dispatched to Lyon Street, where we spread two truckloads of compost fines in the meadow, followed by mixing and scattering grass seed. This new approach to caring for the turf in the Panhandle will hopefully help make a thicker grass cover. The meadows may look pretty green when seen from a distance, but they're pretty bare when you're out in them. Thanks to SF Day School first graders, and other students, and their families for joining us for this important work. 

Community workday February 9: It's finally planting time

Our next community workday is Saturday, February 9, at our usual time and location. Good news: we will be ready to plant into the rain garden that awaits us in the area just north of the playground. Tools and gloves (adult sizes, Small-XL) will be provided.

Panhandle Community Workday

RAIN GARDEN PLANTING DAY!! 

Saturday, February 9

9 am - 12 noon 

Gather near the restroom ( Oak @ Ashbury)

I am asking for extra help this month: please email me if you have some experience with planting and can be a planting leader (please send me your name even if you've already told me). The planting leaders will get a run-through of our planting methods for this specific area, and then will coach two or three other people to make sure the job is done well. Planting leaders need to be available from 9 am - 11 am.

The rain garden is an important component of our capital project, funded by San Francisco residents through the Community Opportunity Fund. We are bringing native California plants for our rain garden, and have selected species that should thrive in the partly shady, damp conditions. The initial (re)planting of an area like this is very exciting, and when you visit the park in the future, you will be able to see the plants you put in the ground grow and mature.

Does it seem like a long wait since we submitted our proposal for the Community Opportunity Fund in 2010? The capital improvement project is almost complete, according to city staff. Fences will be left in place for two months in order to help new grass get established. One issue that has complicated the completion of the project is a classic Panhandle problem that has irked countless neighbors over the years: pathways lined with mud, puddles, and tire ruts. Fortunately, some additional work to improve the condition of the Ashbury path has been ordered and should be done in the next couple of weeks.

Back in 2010, I looked at the problems with our pathways by conducting initial and followup assessments of every cross-over path in the Panhandle. I found fewer ruts and puddles over a 3-month time span between winter and spring. Because pathway conditions have seemed to improve, I haven't conducted another park wide assessment since then. We are making progress, and I credit our gardening staff for caring about and trying to find solutions, and our volunteers at community workdays who scoop mud and weeds from paths, and even Recology workers who now keep their trucks on Oak and Fell when fetching trash bins from the park. There are surely other helpful factors, too. We're seeing these improvements despite frequently having heavy trucks in the park (e.g., targeted tree removals in 2012, installation of traffic control devices at Masonic).

At Ashbury, however, this problem has persisted. A year and a half ago, park staff devised a short-term fix for the north side by laying down a mosaic of chunks of concrete. And about a month ago, in keeping with the circulation design that was a component of the capital improvement project, the westside Ashbury pathway leading from Fell St was widened. However, this winter the conditions on the Ashbury path leading south towards Oak St worsened, with a combination of puddles, compacted soil, and even broken asphalt. That part of the pathway is not really car or truck-accessible due to the presence of lightpoles & utility boxes near the street, and that path has not been widened. The additional work to be done in the next few weeks should improve the conditions so that the outcome of our capital improvement project isn't compromised by problems in that area.

Some related good news in the neighborhood: For residents interested in a community garden, the "New Liberation" Church community garden (Divisadero near Eddy) is making a comeback! If you want to help, and possible earn a garden plot of your own, check out the effort by Neighbors Developing Divisadero and join a "Garden Party" on Saturday February 16. You can find out more at their Facebook event page.

Capital project: Construction phase is fast out of the gates

It took a while to get started, but the capital project to refurbish the central area of the Panhandle near the restrooms started construction November 26 and is moving quickly. Peek around the fence, and you'll see that turf islands have been regraded and a cement seatwall has been built. At this rate, we are on track to be ready for community planting in the rain garden at the community workday on Saturday, January 12. We even have a banner with the important details.

Today digging was underway to begin repairing the Ashbury cross-over paths that have been drainage disasters. 

The hard storm on Dec 2 knocked over part of the fence just days after it was set up, but park staff had it set back in place that afternoon with the help of some cyclists riding by. More recently, cones were placed in the fence supports along the bike path, which should make them more visible and reduce the potential hazard of riding or tripping over them.

Starting this week, the restrooms are not available because the fence perimeter has been expanded as the work continues on repairing the paths in the vicinity. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Capital Project date calendared for November 26

Breaktime

Thanks for checking in on the Panhandle Park! For those who read the article in the just-published North of Panhandle neighborhood newsletter, our big planting day did not happen yet, because of changes in the timetable of the capital improvement project. I now predict that the big planting day will be in January. Fortunately, we are closer to seeing the capital project begin, and a contractor is actually in place, with a start date: November 26, according to the capital division of SF Rec and Park.

Working to make a better lawn

Yesterday was a good day for our regular monthly community workday, thanks to the combined effort of many volunteers from the neighborhood and even more families of the San Francisco Day School sixth grade class. We worked to restore the the turf in the center of the park between Masonic and Central. Specifically, our work was to spread compost fines around bare spots. In conjunction with aeration of turf, we expect to see improved quality of our meadows! We used similar methods last month at the far east end of the park around the McKinley memorial and we're beginning to see good results there.

Raking up eucalyptus leaves to start

Remove the leaves in the cushman

Special project: free a tree from ivy

GRAND OPENING at NEW TRADITIONS

For anyone with an interest in improving our neighborhood and making our schools a place for environmental experience, here's news of an upcoming event: GRAND OPENING of New Traditions Elementary Habitat Garden & Rainwater Cistern Project.  Parents at this school have been involved in transforming the building and building grounds for the last five years, and parents say they would love to see a large turnout for this special event. During the workday, help plan oak trees and install a rainwater cistern! It's scheduled for: 

• Saturday, November 17
• 9 am - 12 pm workday; 11 am ribbon-cutting
• New Traditions School at 2049 Grove Street

You can view a poster for the event at Flickr and also a set of photos showing the development of this project over the years.

Next community work day; Ashbury project update

You're invited to participate in the next Panhandle volunteer work day, on Saturday June 9. We'll gather at the normal time and place: 

Second Saturday work day

Saturday, June 9

9 am - 11:30 am 

Meet at the Bulletin Board (near Oak @ Ashbury)

Dress in layers, wear sturdy shoes. Tools and adult-size gloves are provided. 

During the summer, we don't have the organized presence of families from the SF Day School, so drop-in volunteers from the community are more vital than ever!  Please share with a friend and plan to take part!

=====================

There's some further delays to report for our approved Capital Improvement Project (to restore turf and pathways near the Ashbury cross-over path and the basketball courts).  That was frustrating news to receive, and it's not fun to pass it on to the group. The project has been re-assigned within Rec and Park's Capital Division to Jeny Wegbreit.  Jeny told me that the city's design review process has been lengthy, and she expects to have completed construction documents by mid-summer. 

Update on the Panhandle Park's Capital Improvement Project

The plan to improve the central area on the Panhandle Park will be realized soon, though city staff have told me that a delay pushes it back to April 2012 at the earliest. Conceived by community members and selected by a review panel in December 2010, the plan is one of several San Francisco park projects funded by the Community Opportunity Fund, a program of the 2008 Clean and Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond.

The plan is a commonsense approach to addressing chronic problems near the bathrooms and basketball courts. There'll be better seating, repaired paths, new grass, and native plants. The work should eliminate standing water, improve routing of service vehicles, and rejuvenate grassy areas. It will make the area between the playground, bathrooms, and basketball courts an appealing area for the community to gather.

I previously prepared a video explaining the planned changes and want to summarize the main improvements that are included:

New grass. And of course, drainage and irrigation, are planned for large areas next to the north pathway, marked here as A and C. Mound A, which is closest to the basketball court, will get a low, arching wall, pictured in orange here, to provide some new seating near the court. 

Native plants. Area B will be planted with native plants that can thrive in the local conditions and will be planted and maintained by local residents. The plants will be donated by the HANC Native Plant Nursery. The arrows pointing inward indicate a slight slope downward where water will seep.   

Bike racks are also included in the plan and will be installed near the east gate of the playground.

No more muddy ruts. The plan repairs pathways along the Ashbury cross-over and rationalizes access for the service vehicles that enter the park several times each day. We've  worked closely with park staff to assess which access points are safest and most convenient, and will slightly widen the path in those places while limiting access at other points.

The project will be implemented by the city, either by city staff or by a company selected by and overseen by the parks department.

These changes are coming soon, and are possible due to contributions of time and funds from residents and neighborhood organizations.

Did anyone else notice?

Sometimes, a pet peeve just goes away and you hardly notice. In the Panhandle, many, many years ago wooden poles were lodged deep in the ground in several locations around the basketball courts, apparently to create some kind of mount for a garbage can. The Park moved on to a new design, but the poles were left behind, despite being an eyesore and tripping hazard. Well, they're finally gone, removed from the park by gardening and maintenance staff.

Having the posts removed means one less detail to tend to during the upcoming refurbishing of the area between the basketball courts and the restrooms. Thanks SF!

What the heck, one more shot for old time's sake:

September workday report

Community work crew at the Panhandle

September's workday brought the park stewards to the far east end of the park, where we worked in the shade of the redwood grove at the northeast corner of the park. Previous workdays have improved the soil and removed weeds at the base of these trees, and when the rains come we will be ready for planting. We hope to diversify the park by bringing in understory plants that you might typically find beneath sequoia sempervirens, thus beautifying the eastern entrance to Golden Gate Park and giving our community a way to experience a habitat that's representative of coastal California. 

Cobbling together a fix at Ashbury

Also in the park this month, we got to see the work done by our Rec and Park crews to address a persistent problem with standing water where Ashbury meets the Panhandle. The work definitely showed a dedicated attempt to fix the problem, and I'm glad for the effort, but would also like to see work proceed for our approved capital improvement project, which includes regrading and path repair in this spot.  

Capital Improvement Project at the Panhandle

Please check out this new video on YouTube (by yours truly) with news about the Panhandle Park and the capital improvement project coming this year. Folks from the Neighborhood Parks Council did me the favor of offering some suggestions about the rough cut and then posted it to their website this past week.


I hope this video contributes toward improving perceptions about the Panhandle Park held by people across San Francisco. Comment, share, or just enjoy. 

Panhandle Project Selected for Implementation

Ready for change?

Great news yesterday: Our proposal for capital improvements in the area between the playground and basketball courts has been selected for implementation!

The plan repairs a key area in our big neighborhood park while leaving the current design intact. It will fix broken pathways between the playground and basketball courts, replace degraded turf while modernizing irrigation and drainage, and place small-stature, moisture-loving native plants in a small area. It will also build a seating wall positioned close to the basketball courts, and installs bike racks. To protect the area from harmful impact of heavy vehicles, it re-routes service vehicles to get them in and out of the park more sensibly. And it builds a walkable wood-chip path to improve access to the Kevin Collins Children's Garden surrounding the playground.

Project overview. Drawing by Holly Kuljian

SF Rec and Park Department will get this work underway soon - hopefully in the first months of 2011. We have an immediate opportunity to ensure the project is fully realized -

- park outreach to let even more park users know about the project

- visit neighborhood associations and tell them about the project

- become acquainted with the work team and document the project through photos and videos

- organize the day when neighbors will take part in planting as part of our volunteer match

- learn more about the plants chosen and lead tours of the project

- organize a park celebration - before and after project

- propose creative reuses for any materials being removed from the park

- make a financial contribution to help us reach our match

We'll need lots of help to make these things happen. Looking forward to working with you on this in 2011!