Come to our volunteer day!

Hey everyone - it's time to deep weed PRG! We have a lot of plants on order to go in there, and we need to utterly clear the beds of weeds and  tired-looking plants before we can do that.

Meet us at PRG by the new benches at the corner of 17th x Pennsylvania on Saturday November 3rd at 10am and we will go from there with tools and drinks for all!

New trash can at PRG! New benches!

Behold! Such beauty!

During last week's meeting, Aditi asked Sophia Kittler, Senior Legislative Aide to Malia Cohen about a SF Public Works trash can for DPW-owned Pennsylvania Railroad Garden.

She got a positive response, and Sophia worked with Larry Stringer, Deputy Director for Operations at SF Public Works and others at Public Works to make it happen.

Much to our surprise, a can was installed this week! It'll be emptied by DPW daily so feel free to go right ahead and throw trash INTO it, vs on the ground - your volunteer gardeners appreciate your help with that.

Can of Joy Delivery Truck

It's a thing of beauty. We've never been so excited about such a mundane thing, but TBH the reason we had trouble with trash cans before was, well, where do we empty them? And who will do it? Thus far, Aditi and Chris are emptying the poop cans, and that's a Not Fun Task.

Are there any dog walkers who would like to help out every week or two with this task?

One bench of two

In other news, two new benches went in at PRG as well. They've already been seen in use by neighbors, and that brings us joy too. Will they become graffiti-ed and used as the foundation for homeless shelters? TBD. Enjoy them while they are there!

Our next volunteer workday (Nov 3) will be all about weeding PRG, so join us - we need your help as we have new plants coming in that can't be planted until weeding is complete.*

*Just kidding. Weeding is never complete.

Rapid response!

Today at the garden I saw a needle. I texted SF AIDS Foundation Needle Pick-up Crew: 415-810-1337 - they prefer text and pictures but calls are welcome 7am to 7pm, 7 days a week.

Within moments they replied: they’re on it!

Try this next time you see a needle.

Great meeting: Save these numbers

Me, giving my speech!

Deepest thanks to all who attended the meeting on Friday at PG! We had a fabulous turnout of passionate and informed agency partners, and a lot of great questions from neighbors and volunteers.

Thank you to Randy Quezada of the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, Larry Stringer of SF Public Works, Chris Balingit of Caltrans, SFPD Sgt Davin Cole,  Whit Bastian of the SF AIDS Foundation Needle Pick-up Crew, Claude Imbault of the San Francisco Parks Alliance, and Sophia Kittler, Senior Legislative Aide to District Supervisor Malia Cohen for all stepping up to speak about what their agencies are doing about these issues.

The team is going to discuss the best takeaways from the meeting so we can look into other ways to prevent damage to the gardens from homelessness.  Stay tuned.

In the meantime, below is the text of the handout I made, which Hilary passed out to everyone on the day. The key takeaway is don't be afraid to CALL 911 if you see illegal activities, before things get worse,  call 311 to get trash picked up and text the SF AIDS Foundation Needle Pick-up Crew if you see needles.

Help Us Keep This Garden Safe: Do Your Part
Damage to the gardens costs us many thousands of dollars each year, and encampments create an unsafe volunteering environment, as well as an unpleasant garden experience. We are volunteer run and cannot continue to bear this cost.


Please do your part to prevent the gardens being damaged: report illegal activities at Pennsylvania Garden and Pennsylvania Railroad Garden. Here’s how:


Illegal activities include:

• Damage to, of theft of, trees or plants
• Dumping, littering, graffiti
• Public urination/defecation. Dog feces
• Fires. Theft. Verbal or physical threats. Aggressive animals

Pennsylvania Garden:
Property is owned by Caltrans

• Report illegal activities/emergencies: Call CHP at 911
• Trash pickup: https://csr.dot.ca.gov/ or
• Caltrans Maintenance Dispatch: 650-358-4127

Pennsylvania Railroad Garden:
Property is owned by SF Public Works

• Report illegal activities: Call SFPD at 911
• Trash pick up etc.: Call 311 or use the 311 app.

Other useful numbers:
SFPD non-emergency: 415-553-0123
CHP non-emergency: 707-641-8300
SF Homeless Outreach Team: 415-355-7401
DPH/Crisis services - for acute mental health emergencies: 415-970-4000
SF Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing: 415-252-3232
SF AIDS Foundation Needle Pick-up Crew: 415-810-1337 - prefer text and pictures but calls welcome. 7am to 7pm, 7 days a week

This is important: Please join us

Hi Everyone,

You're invited to Pennsylvania Garden this Friday, October 19th at 6pm for a public meeting - BYO beverage!

Homeless issues have affected the gardens badly in the last 2 years, and our volunteer days are spend cleaning encampments vs gardening. We need to make a change.

Representatives of DPW, SFPA, Caltrans and SFPD will be in attendance and we're going to discuss what is the best thing to do when encampments how up, what NOT to do, and how to prevent the gardens being damaged.

I hope you'll join us - the future of the garden is in question, and we cannot continue without your support. Please email me at annie@psgsf.org if you have questions. A flyer is attached.

Annie

Volunteer Day: Clean & Green

Clean & Green Team!

Today I'd requested the help of SP DPW's Clean & Green Team to get rid of some debris at the garden. I didn't actually think it was that much stuff but it ended up being a LOT. Chris, Carrie, Aditi, Josh, Gina and Hilary joined me too, and we started at 9am - by the time everyone left at 1.30pm, a huge list of things was accomplished.

First up, the encampments. This has been a brutal week for encampments at PG and the entire back area was overrun, with almost all the plants there being trashed, or burned, and the tool box being broken into and ransacked.

Officer Foltz and Gina

On Friday, Chris witnessed the carnage, and told the thieves what he thought of it all in no uncertain terms. Shortly after, the police arrived and later on, Carrie filed a police report for us.

Meanwhile down at PRG, Gina and Aditi have been reporting the encampments there. It takes a team of committed neighbors to keep this place decent, and calling the police is the first step.

The Hasps of Doom

So, at PG we set about picking up all the trash and the dozens of needles. We cleaned out the tool box, and Chris put on new, very strong hasps, and a heavy strip of wood to hold them in, as well as fixing the somewhat loose back. We don't leave the expensive tools there, but it feels very safe now. And very tidy.

I called my contact at Caltrans to get the hole in the bottom fence fixed (yet again) and moaned to Charlie from SFPA, who was on site with the Clean & Green guys, about our situation. He was very sympathetic, and told me about a new program for cleaning up encampments that's being initiated now. Can't wait to hear more.

About 25 needles picked up...

While the Clean & Green Team removed the entire debris pile at the top of the garden, which looked like about 10 yards of stuff, as well as loads of trash, and loaded it into dump trucks, Carrie, Aditi, Hilary and Josh cut back the Brugmansia, Leonotis and Salvia canariensis. A ton of weeds got pulled too, especially from the garden edges by the off-ramp.

Inviting pathway

Next up the team spread wood chips on the lower path, which I have to say is looking really nice now.

Gina was at PRG picking up trash and let me know about the THREE encampments there. I called the police right away and a nice officer tried to roust them but no luck: SFPD's homeless team were called and they should visit today to sort this out... what with those encampments having been there for going on 2 months now though, and many 311 and police calls being made, I will be shocked if they move soon...