April workday report

It was great to have USF students show up and join with our regular volunteers

After a morning of raking by a group of volunteers, a thick layer of San Francisco's own home-grown wood-chip mulch now covers the ground beneath the branches of the cherry, plum and horse-chestnut trees at the Panhandle's eastern edge. The mulch will protect the roots of these juvenile trees from the heavy feet of the many, many human visitors the park will see this spring and summer. Over the past several years, volunteers for the community workdays in the Panhandle have spent a good deal of time with this cluster of trees, amending the soil, sheet mulching, and removing weeds. They now provide a welcoming sight, with the pink blooms of the cherry and plum trees in early spring and the large panicles of the horse chestnut holding creamy white flowers in late spring.

Brian deposits a load of wood chips under Cheryl's watchful eye

We actually separated into two groups of volunteers, so that several young trees near Clayton could also get a layer of protective mulch. Once these projects were complete, and we were fortified by a snack of homemade baked goods, we ventured to the rain garden and mound to remove spring weeds. In comparison with the perpetually chilly March workday, the April workday was warm and sunny, so it felt good to work in the shade of the Panhandle's tall trees.

Walkway rebuild at the east end of the Panhandle

Work began last week on the paved walkway on the eastern edge of the Panhandle. As of Friday, Bauman Landscape, a go-to company for construction in San Francisco's parks, had removed the portion of the path that was previously asphalt. During the construction, car parking along Baker Street is suspended and a wall of bright orange barriers is in place so that people are able to walk in the street.

Midblock at the eastern edge of the Panhandle

A smaller portion near Fell is also excavated

The walkway along the eastern edge of the Panhandle has long had inconsistent design, part asphalt and part cement.

From the archives - prior to re-orientation of parking on Baker St

The area next to this path, between Baker Street and the McKinley Monument, has seen improvement, starting about seven years ago when the city planted an orderly, symmetrical arc of cherry trees and horse chestnuts. The parks department's tree crew and volunteers from Panhandle Park Stewards have put a considerable effort into helping those trees grow tall and strong.

From the archives: 2011 workday

2014 workday

May workday report

At the community workday on May 9, volunteers planted a bunch of new plants provided by Rec and Park for both the rain garden and the plots surrounding the children's playground. Two years after initial planting, our rain garden appears more filled in as the plants mature and we continue to bring new plants in. 

Guillermo organized a special snack for us at breaktime: organic fruit and juice smoothies blended by bicycle. Delicious, and healthy, with second servings for all! 

Rain garden filling in

Anna and Guillermo at work on our snack

Conversations at the park often turn to California's extreme drought, and how to manage parklands to reduce water use. As watering is cutback further, some sections of the park have turned dry. To protect the soil from drying out completely and blowing away, one tool in the toolbox is to amend the soil and spread woodchips. Piles of compost fines and wood chips, sourced from the compost yard in Golden Gate Park, were situated around the Panhandle, and Guillermo explained that he would have help from the sixth graders of San Francisco Day School during the coming week to spread the material around the trees of the Panhandle. The timing is excellent, since a couple hundred thousand of runners, walkers, and partyers will be out in the Panhandle for Bay to Breakers on Sunday, May 17. The park always gets wear and tear from this event, and spreading woodchips will help protect the turf around mature trees, which can be a sensitive spot. 

Many of the park meadows are resilient and are still green, due in part to our late spring rains. The horse-chestnuts (near Shrader) and the cherry trees at the eastern edge (by Baker) are also in bloom. Get out to the park to enjoy them this month.  

May workday report

At the east end of the Panhandle, a double row of Cherry trees and Chestnut trees have grown large and healthy since being planted in 2010. The focus of last week's community workday was to give these young trees some routine maintenance. 

Step 1: cut and place cardboard

In order to supplement their soil, protect their roots from trampling, and suppress weeds, our basic method was sheet mulching: laying down a layer of cardboard, followed by composted fines, and then a layer of wood chips.

Step 2: many wheelbarrows full of soil

Step 3: Spread wood chips

Our small group of dedicated volunteers wrapped up that project and went on to give the same treatment to a few more trees, too, going on to the magnolia, one of the redwoods, and the Giant Sequoia.

Meanwhile, cyclists gathered nearby for a tour of dim sum

April Workday report

Volunteers from the neighborhood joined with Rec and Park gardening staff on Saturday to work in the Panhandle around Lyon Street, spreading wood chips around the pair of arbutus close to the redwood grove. Volunteers also worked to shape some fast-growing shrubs bordering Oak Street, and then spent time with some detail work tending a long bed close to the multi-use path, where perennials like ceanothus, yarrow, sage, and sticky monkey are getting well-established (they were planted by students from the Day School about a year ago).

Additionally, one volunteer teamed up with a Rec and Park employee for a special project by the playground. Cobblestones now line the bed at the west side of the playground and look beautiful.

Photo by Leah Hickey. See more photos of the work by USF students at NOPNA's Facebook page. 

Meanwhile, Saturday was also a day of service for students from University of San Francisco. Dozens of students chose to perform service in Golden Gate Park, and a group of them was assigned the vital duty of lifting mud and weeds from pathways. Thanks to the labor of more than a dozen students, the cross-over paths at Shrader and Cole were cleared and cleaned. We've done this job before and we know it's hard work. Thank you, USF!  

Good results at the first workday of the spring season. Pictured: Horse Chestnut in bloom

Final verdict for the Horse Chestnut

There was no saving the common horse chestnut that split in half two weeks ago. The remaining half was removed, and then it was cut down to the stump. 

Looking on the bright side, the loss of the old tree gives plenty of growing room for another Aesculus growing close by. With the red blooms it's clearly a Red Horse Chestnut, a species that's becoming increasingly popular as a street tree in San Francisco, on Waller, Dolores, and elsewhere. 

Big tree splits in half

The old horse-chestnut that dominated the center lawn of the Panhandle Park near Cole split in half on Friday afternoon. The falling branch reportedly came close to knocking out a family walking nearby.

Seen from the north, the damage may not look so drastic, but from the side view (below), it's clear that the tree is nearly destroyed. I enjoyed its showy white flowers each spring and hope that it can be saved. 

The big leaves of the tree were interesting to see during their vernation in March.

March vernation of our Aesculus

While many trees in the Panhandle still have their winter form (above), others are quickly leafing out. Below is the vernation (fun new word) of the leaves on the grand old tree between Shrader and Cole - I believe its genus Aesculus, of which several species, including this, are called Horse Chestnuts. Same genus as the much-loved species California Buckeye.