Glen Canyon Park

Been thinking about San Francisco's natural areas, and the people who take care of them for the rest of us. By "natural areas" I mean the remnants of our indigenous local landscapes, the flora that supports our fauna. There's been such a tug of war through the years over these precious bits of green (brown, yellow) spaces in a city so disproportionately paved with asphalt and concrete. Sometimes it's easy to lose the thread that connects plant life with wildlife. If it gives you a thrill to see a red-tail hawk, then think about the food it eats, the small vertebrates that live in our parks and open spaces. What do THEY eat? Follow the thread that eventually leads back to plants and trees growing native in our clay/rocky/sandy soil sustaining life that gives the hawk its lunch. To lose our natural native areas is to lose the little bits of wildlife left in the city. The folks who work to preserve and maintain the vestiges of our native plant cultures are full-blown heroes in my book.

I've talked about natural areas in earlier posts, but for me, the best place to experience nature in the city is Glen Canyon Park, 60 acres of quiet, almost rural open space smack dab in the middle of San Francisco yet totally removed from the urban cacaphony around it. My son Charlie went to pre-school at Glenridge, tucked way back in the canyon, a daily hike along pathways bordering Islais Creek under tree canopies (Eucalyptus mostly, non-native, drops camphorous bits of detritus that poison the undergrowth, and yet, love walking under those trees, guilty as charged). The Friends of Glen Canyon Park working with the city's Natural Areas Program pull out great swaths of blackberry bramble beside the creek to daylight the natives beneath. Talk about sweat equity - this is back-breaking work. Follow the path all the way in, past the school building, to the raised walkway, an ingenious method enabling hikers to cross sensitive habitat areas without harming them. My son grew up here, learning the value of land not built upon but preserved by human hands. Lucky kid.

I may get blow back from folks who just love to let their dogs run off-leash here and think 4-year-old kids are a menace who interfere with their fun, but I don't care. My blog. Put your dog on a frickin' leash. And clean up the poop - it's ruining the creek.

www.natureinthecity.org

www.sfnap.org

Billy Goat HIll

How is it possible that a rustic open space with sweeping views to the bay hasn't been desecrated with a McMansion yet? Billy Goat Hill still sits in all its natural splendor, plants so thick you may need a machete to make your way down the path to the rope swing (see it?). Named for the goats that roamed the dairy farms here (Right? Or did I make that up?), the hill is a designated city park in the upper reaches of Noe Valley or Glen Park or somewhere in-between. There's no better view of downtown and the East Bay than from its rocky perch, an easy walk (just kidding about the machete) from the Harry Street stairs leading from Laidley to Beacon Street, a vertical climb through banana trees and enviable cozy cottages. The winter rains bring native lupines that dot the hill with color. Soar over the city on the swing - so scary but worth the ride.

Residents of Noe Valley work with Recreation and Park's Natural Areas Program to restore and maintain the native plants on and around the hillside. Join in!

http://noevalleysf.blogspot.com/search/label/friends%20of%20billy%20goat%20hill

Water Water Everywhere

Holy smokes, the storms are coming one after the other. Thunder, lightening, sudden heavy downpours, high winds, the works. I love it (but my poor cat skulks around the house flat as a pancake, in total terror). As I watch the water flooding my basement, I wonder how the rain is impacting Lake Merced. You might recall that the lake, once one of the finest freshwater urban fisheries anywhere, suffered from years of neglect (not to mention the paving over of our permeable surfaces), until the water level declined so that it went from a cold water to a warm water lake, which altered its ecology, and not in a good way. Rowing, fishing and boating pretty much evaporated (no pun intended, or maybe so). It took years of advocacy from the Lake Merced Task Force, started by several of us in 1999, made up of users, neighbors, environmentalists working alongside the SFPUC who owns it, the Recreation and Parks Department (especially the Natural Areas Program) and lots of other folks (and at least one lawsuit) to establish the lake as a priority. That led to multiple studies, new policies and constant attention that has helped restore the water level and beneficial uses that had once been virtually lost. Rowers, Dragon Boats, birders, fishing folks have all returned. The Task Force was put to bed last year after 10 years of great work as the PUC continues to implement sound plans to assure the lake's longevity. Lake Merced is located in the southwest corner of the City, for those, including many SF residents, who have never seen it. Let's all go and watch the water rise.