Oak Woodlands Description
The Oak Woodlands in Golden Gate Park are the remnants of the only “forested” area originally within the 49 square miles of San Francisco. These coastal live oaks grow in sheltered ravine areas and, remarkably, were left intact when Golden Gate Park was created by removing all the native dune plant communities and planting non-native grasses and ornamental plants.
The chief management challenges in this project include coping with the dominant understory weeds — English ivy, cape ivy, blackberry, and ehrharta grass. The other problem that the Oak Woodlands project faces to a greater degree than any other remnant natural area in the City is the ever-present contingent of homeless and their encampments. Here is the management plan.
Through strong volunteer leadership, the Oak Woodlands project has enjoyed one of the most rapidly-increasing rosters of new volunteers. These folks have made huge gains in recovery of the biological diversity of this remarkable area.
Oak Woodlands currently has 82 volunteers who have subscribed to our regular email newsletters and work at this site. They have posted 66 photos and 18 posts to their blog.
Regular Workparty Schedule
- 2nd Saturday of each month from 10:00 to 12:00
Regular Meeting Location
- Conservatory of Flowers -- [Map and Details]
Blog Posts
Here are blog posts about the Oak Woodlands project — presented 2 at a time in reverse chronological order. Browse to earlier or later posts via the pagination controls below.
Eco-Root Canals
Mon, 12 May 2008, 4:55pm, jfred decker said:
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DO NOT SHOW THIS TO YOUR DENTIST!
Lisa wields the new Very Big Root Ripper-Outer (cool name: “Extractigator”) on a very big Maytens root. The Maytens Tree can be absurdly aggressive when it has water, and this site in the Oak Woodlands, on a hill next to McLaren Lodge, is badly infested with it.
Tom stands by with an orange, Not-So-Big Root Ripper (“Weed Wrench”-?) off to the right while Bert and Patrick also extract Maytens roots.
This were an Heavy-Duty work party! No lack of drama, either.
Here, Bert waves a very large Maytens root he’s just extracted. Tom is apparently ready to run, while Rob stands ready for anti-invasive action with a forester’s axe (a.k.a. the “Pulaski”).
Weary root rippers take a well-deserved break. Calvin (far center) has been loading us up with break-time treats from Arizmendi and other local bakeries, so we really can’t complain about the food.
We can complain about the invasives, and we do ... and we’re doing something about them, too.
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Work Party on Casino Hill
Fri, 25 Apr 2008, 9:03pm, jfred decker said:
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Dylan, a gardener on the Natural Areas staff wields loppers against Ivy on the Southern point of Casino Hill. The well-attended work party got a very good start on rolling back an exceptionally dense Ivy infestation reaching all the way to the sandy open scrub on the peak.
This photo, courtesy of volunteer Teresa Lawler, looks down the steep hillside toward Bunny Meadow.
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