Endings can be bittersweet. On Saturday January 12, LEJends (both staff and volunteer) and members of the Potrero Hill community gathered together to continue planting Starr King Open Space, closing out a two-year project.
Starr King Open Space is a 3.5-acre serpentine grassland that once had a road running through it. A few years ago the community came together to restore the open space. A grant was won to remove the road, and LEJ was engaged to both consult on the project and provide plants and stewardship services for this remnant prairie. Now, native perennial grasses and wildflowers abound where cars once drove. The hilly slice of green below Starr King Elementary commands a view of the city any developer would envy and offers a respite from all the concrete, wood, steel, and asphalt that make up the surrounding area. This environmentally protected area boasts winding trails, jutting serpentine rock, and lush groupings of poppies, sage, ferns and native grasses that help hold the land together and offer a much-needed return to nature.
Starr King Open Space is more than just a green space. It is also a local nonprofit whose goal is to keep this little slice of nature undeveloped in perpetuity.
On this not too cold, clear day, Starr King was a nice place to spend a morning. In addition to the neighbors and volunteers planting additional grasses, coastal shrubs, and wildflowers, other regulars passed through on their morning walk either solo or with canine friends. One little girl and her mom stopped in before going to a work day at Starr King Elementary, helping to carry plants and tools. It was clear that members of the local community really cherish their green space.
Projects like Starr King are LEJ’s bread and butter. They offer an opportunity to share our skills and ethos with the broader community while helping to ensure that local green spaces are cultivated and preserved. Along the way, there are always unexpected things, like seeing one perfect mushroom, or hearing about the recent coyote sightings in the area, that keep things interesting and lend a unique character to the project.
As this phase of the project comes to a close, ideas and inspiration abound for continuing to bolster the habitat for local wildlife and people to enjoy. LEJ and Starr King Open Space stewards, dream about continuing the removal of the last bits of asphalt from the remains of the road, propagating and amplifying the locally rare Mariposa Lily found at this site, and continuing management techniques that enhance the ability of the native grasses and wildflowers to thrive above the invasive weeds. There has been tremendous progress from the days when cars drove over the grasslands, and there is still an abundance of biodiversity to return to the land. The good news, as we discovered on Saturday, is that this work is fun! It feels good to work with our neighbors to bring plants and animals back to our city, one little grassy open space at a time.
