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.  

Green Connections propose waxwings and quail for the Panhandle

What do these two gorgeous birds have to do with the Panhandle?

Cedar waxwing

Cedar Waxwings are often observed in flocks, feeding on berries and insects. They may be hard to see up high in the tall trees, but with binoculars you'll be able to spot the black mask and red "wax" droplets on the wing feathers. (I really have seen excited birdwatchers in the Panhandle identifying Cedar Waxwings). This bird is the emblem of a proposed route in the Green Connections network. The Route, #4, would be called the Bay to Beach route and would travel directly west from Market and VanNess to Ocean Beach. 

A grab of the bigger draft network

The Green Connections draft network has not just one, but two routes overlapping in (or next to) the Panhandle. Fell Street along the Panhandle would be a segment of the Ridge Trail (Route 23) between Twin Peaks and Tennessee Hollow. The Ridge Trail's emblematic species would be the California Quail (our state bird). Sadly, that species is not currently seen in the Panhandle. In fact, I'm not sure Quail have survived anywhere in San Francisco. The last place I saw a family of California Quail was on Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands. 

California Quail by davidyuweb @ Flickr

The Green Connections project has the full map and more information available online. You will find a survey to give your comments on the draft network. The survey is up now through the end of February.