Genentech Brings It Again!

Astounding team!

Every year Genenetech has a volunteer week where they show up at various nonprofits and help out. For the last few years they have worked with us, and Friday was their big day. We're always excited to have Genentech-ers at PG because they work darn hard!

Mandala

I packed up my trailer with a couple dozen extra tools and three additional wheelbarrows from the SF DPW yard, coolers full of chilled beverages, and of course all our usual hand tools, gloves and so on (and on!) and headed to PG for noon.

As I was unloading, I saw a woman creating a lovely flower mandala for the solstice. We don't encourage flower picking, but this was for a very unselfish reason, and we had a nice chat about it.

New gravel path

At 12.30 I was joined by volunteer coordinators Carrie, Josh, Mikey, Matt and Gina. Around that time, Bayview Greenwaste arrived to deliver 10 yards of wood mulch for the paths.

And then the Genentech volunteers started showing up! We had about 13 this time around, and we quickly split them into teams to do the work required.

Josh took one team who set about removing the last of the gravel from the street and clearing and renovating the pathway to the composters.  Josh also weeded the nearby beds, and the whole area looks fantastic now, and is MUCH more functional.

Weeds - gone!

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew set about weeding the paths in preparation for wood mulch. This was a pretty fast job - we've been keeping up the paths pretty well. However, we still filled 10 leaf bags with green waste for Recology to pick up - no mean feat. A fair bit was cut back Euphorbias and Romneyas from the bottom pathway, too.

Then the huge job of shifting 10 yards of mulch started... and it ALL had to be moved away from the street by 3.30pm, so I was a bit stressed! I'm always a bit stressed about leaving material in the street, obviously, but somehow we usually make it happen...

Mulch pile - gone!

Incredibly, we finished early - by 3pm all the mulch was GONE and the team was giddy with exhaustion and (I think) joy, at finishing early.

Thank you Team Genentech for helping us with one of our biggest tasks of the year, with unrelenting good humor and energy!