All Blog Posts (53)

More answers to your questions regarding plans for Mount Sutro directly from the source.UCSF%20Sutro%20FAQ%202013%200220.pdf

If you want a better understanding of what the 1,000+ page DEIR responds to, please take a look at the 80 page UCSF Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve Management Plan. This is the document that has guided the process of creating the trail network (SF's first multi-use trails), Rotary Meadow and numerous restoration sites, and the Sutro Stewards.…

While I always love to hear how wonderful a visit to Mount Sutro can be… I'm sorry to see no mention of the thousands of volunteers who helped to create this Urban Oasis. Here is a link to a fresh article…I'll leave it up to you to send in your comments on the lack of recognition the Sutro Stewards and our volunteers have received!…

Hi everyone!

I wanted to introduce myself to the group.  I just finished yet another wonderfully refreshing hike through Mt. Sutro, although this time, I decided to get more actively involved in the important work of the Sutro Stewards, starting by creating a personal profile on this website.  :)  I'd love to help preserve, protect and maintain this wonderful piece of nature in the middle of San Francisco and look forward to getting more involved.  From what I've learned, Mt.…

If you've visited or volunteered at the propagation nursery we started this year you've seen and used many materials supplied by our partner Recology. We have everything from green compost cans (salvaged due to holes in them) to drip irrigation supplies, plant containers and tons of gravel,…

Roots are a major concern for any trail designer. They cut through trails, breaking apart rock walls and pushing paving stones out of place. They are forever uneven and slippery when they get wet, making them a legitimate safety concern. When a root crosses their trail, most designers simply rip them out. But, as with any trail treatment, that wont work everywhere.

Thick, matted patches of roots dot the Upper Historic trail. When faced with the question of how to deal with…

Re-designing and applying the top layer of trail is a great way to mitigate pooling and encourage draining - but it wont work everywhere. For areas that see a lot of water all at once (think of a trail with steep, rocky up-slopes), drains are the way to go.

On March 28^th I, along with Gered Doherty and Pieter Buysschaert (neither of whom had any idea what they were getting themselves into), hiked up the Upper Historic Trail to put in a trench drain. The drain is…

Those of you who frequent the western slopes of Mt Sutro may have noticed some changes to the Upper Historic Trail.

As the Hydrology and Trails Intern with the Sutro Stewards, I have been working since November on designing and testing new ways to keep water from pooling on the trails. I had my first chance to put in a test treatment on the February 4^th volunteer day when a small crew and I refinished a ten-foot patch on the Upper Historic. We scraped off the organic debris…

Wednesday's Sutro Nursery work was a treat! We transplanted our first flats of seedlings into larger containers, 500 in all! Very rewarding to really begin to fill up the tables with plants. At this rate, within a few more months, we'll be moving plants out of the nursery and locating them throughout Mt. Sutro. Our next Nursery event is on Saturday April 21st, join us if you can.…

Had a blast with my six year old son.  Rode downhill on Historic Tr.  Had to stop for some workers keeping the trail in its awesome condition.  Amazing area and looking forward to riding more and also volunteering.

What is now Rotary Meadow was Nike Site SF-89 in 1960. I made short video documenting some of the history of SF-89. It may be of interest to the Steward group who maintain this wonderful area. As a kid, living near the site, this was my eerie playground. 

SEE IT HERE

  Al 

Overjoyed to have a bonus day this month! It means I can be 1/29th more productive than the average February. Currently my desk is well hidden under layers of Sutro Stewards paperwork. Strategic planning, event planning, March 3rd planning, a very special event coming up in May, National Trails Day in June, the…

Happy New Year to All !

Looking forward to this year - already the weather has given me an opportunity to be up riding on Sutro without getting real dirty.

I'm also stewarding the Oak Woodlands Natural Area in northeast Golden Gate Park , our City's remaining remnant of its pre - European settlement  Coast Live Oak  ' forest '.

If you are interested in seeing what we have been doing in the Oak Woodlands during the past 15 years please come and join us on Sat Jan 14 ,…

Dawn broke on Saturday November 5th with the most beautiful blood red sky behind a still dark Mount Sutro. I regarded this as a good omen for a very challanging day of stewardship that had been in the making for several months. The Sutro Stewards hosted the Bay Area Ridge Trail (BART)/REI service day for the first time. We set the bar (rock bar if you will) very high and capped registration for the event at 100, making this our largest event ever. We reached that goal with a few days to…

There was a steepish trail I used to scramble up from somewhere on Crestmont in the Forest Knolls ‘hood into Sutro Forest before the trails up here were as well maintained as they are now. Today upon reaching the top of the long Oakhurst stairway at Crestmont (first pic), turned left to look for it. It’s marked on the Sutro Stewards trails map as a steep…

I sometimes consider looking for old trails or semi-trails hiked before serious trailwork began some years ago on Mount Sutro. 



One was where I’d climb up from Crestmont rather steeply in one instance, being obliged to sometimes hold onto tree branches while slipping and sliding on damp eucalyptus leaves. Now I’m not sure exactly where this one was. It seems to have disappeared…

Thanks Craig,  for posting all the photos !

We , of the volunteer stewardship movement, really like  signage - it gives the public information about what we are trying to do and ways to hook up and help out.

One of my peeves about some of the ' restoration ' projects in the City is that ' signage ' has not been placed as a priority , so it is next to impossible for a public user of these trails and ' under restoration '   green spaces to know who contributes to these efforts…