• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Glen Park Association

Up-to-the-minute news from Glen Park

  • Home
  • Glen Park Association
    • About the Glen Park Association
    • Join the GPA
    • GPA Board Contacts
    • GPA Meeting Minutes
    • Bylaws
    • Neighborhood boundaries
  • News Stories
    • Glen Park News
    • Editor’s Picks
  • Greenway
    • About
    • Greenway Plan
  • GPA Grants Program
  • Crime & Safety
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Volunteer Sign Ups
    • Event Submission
    • Author Submissions

Dispatch from the Canyon

May 26, 2011 by Elizabeth Weise

"Kay Westerburg excavating wild radish in Glen Canyon." May 25, 2011.

By Murray Schneider

“Neither rain, nor snow, now sleet, nor hail shall keep the postmen from their appointed rounds,” said Friends of Glen Canyon Park volunteer, Mary Huizinga, while rain pelted down on City gardener Randy Zebell’s Rec and Parks truck as it eased its way along Alms Road.

Huizinga had just completed her weekly Wednesday morning canyon stint grooming Glen Canyon, and she now sat in Zebell’s truck, snug and warm, inching her way to a well-deserved break beneath the “owl” tree, a towering eucalyptus that stands only a few feet from the canyon WPA Recreation Center, and serves as a magnet each spring for Glenridge pre-school children who annually search its branches for nesting baby Great Horned Owls.

Mary might have said the same for two other volunteers who had earlier slogged along a slushy and circuitous trail above a seep adjacent to the Glen Canyon boardwalk just east of Islais Creek, one of the Bay Area’s last remaining fresh water creeks.

The volunteers were on route to do battle with invasive wild radish and prickly Italian thistle.

Before their ascent and before the raindrops saturated their rain shells, each had knelt on the canyon’s floor, among Cape ivy and blackberry, attempting to unravel tendrils of mock strawberry that threaded its way in clandestine stalks beneath carpets of ivy.

"Taking a cookie and water break on rainy morning." Gardener Rachel Kesel, volunteers Mary Huizinga, Jean Conner, Kay Westerburg, gardener Randy Zebell and volunteer Steven Uchida.

“This is the first time I’ve seen it here,” said Zebell, a Rec and Parks natural habitats gardener. “Left to its own devices it will spread through the understory.”

Later in the morning, Zebell led his volunteers high above Alms Road where they eventually founds thickets of wild radish smörgåsborded among clumps of thorny thistle. The volunteers began tugging and pulling, stuffing the excavated weeds into yellow pop-up bags that were later emptied into blue tarp and then piled onto a compost heap.

Surveying the growing mound, after an hour-and-a-half, Zebell said, “It’s bigger than it was last week.”

He looked up at the grey sky, water soaking through his blue hooded sweatshirt, and glanced at his wristwatch.

“I didn’t dress for rain,” he said. “It’s quitting time.”

Kay Westerburg, a retired Herbert Hoover middle school teacher, yanked at a bulbous radish trunk. “This is too big,” she said.

“Leave it for next week,” said Zebell. “It’ll take a mattock.”

Zebell, Westerburg and Steven Uchida, a retired United States postal worker, collected their belongings, picked up their patched pop-up bags and began the descent back down the marshy path. Mud sucked at their soles of their work shoes and the cuffs of their pants clung to their legs.

“Careful,” Zebell called, “It’s mucky.” Zebell, a steward of the Glen Park 60-acre open space, passed a tree he had reintroduced to the habitat a few weeks before and gestured to the volunteers. He pointed to sprouting leaves. “See. It’s grown already.”

The group stepped onto the boardwalk as a dog walker passed, a St. Bernard lumbering in her wake.

The volunteers piled into the Zebell’s truck and drove back along Alms Road. They could hear a sparrow’s song and the rhymes of children on an outing, impervious to the rain.

Beneath the “owl” tree, the volunteers devoured a bag of cookies and sipped water from a thermos perched on the tailgate of Zebell’s truck. They stood together for a while in companionable conversation, recounting the day’s efforts until, until, one-by-one, each slipped away to the mid-day warmth of their own homes.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Primary Sidebar

IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES

Bosworth & Lyell tarp wrap
Saturday, May 10, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
RSVP to info@glenparkassociation.org
Just need to get last week’s
loose material into tarps!


SFCTA Freeway Ramp Open House
Thursday, May 15, 5-6:30 p.m.
Ingleside Branch Library, 1298 Ocean Avenue



Spread the Love and the Mulch
Saturday, May 17, 10 a.m. to noon
500 block of Arlington at Roanoke
The blooming Oakwoodland on Arlington and Roanoke turns two. Come join the community in keeping out the weeds and making space for the California Natives. Tools, lunch (sponsored by neighbor Jodell) and good company provided.


Hamerton steps logoHamerton Steps Planting
Saturday, May 17, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
RSVP hamertonstairs@gmail.com



Upper Noe Neighbors Community Meeting Wednesday, May 21, 7 p.m.
Upper Noe Recreation Center auditorium
295 Day Street
Agenda


San Francisco Department of Public Works logoDPW Love Our City
District 8 Cleanup Day
Saturday, June 7, 9 a.m. to afternoon
Learn more and sign up here


 

Logo Center for Creative Exploration

The Center for Creative Exploration
Explore all the Colors of the Rainbow
one-day workshop
Saturday, June 7, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
300 Chenery Street
Learn more and link to registration here


Weeding Party
June 21, 10 a.m. to noon
100 block of Arlington at Charles
Join neighbors on the North end of the Cut to keep down the weeds and beautify top to bottom. Tools, lunch and good company provided.


Monthly cleanup on the Greenway
First Saturday of the Month (usually)
Click here to learn more


Friends of Glen Canyon’s
Glen Canyon Habitat Restoration
Every third Saturday 9:30 a.m to noon
Sign up here

Subscribe to this Newsletter

Sign Up for Glen Park Association News Updates:

* indicates required

Check It Out at the Glen Park Library

Click the above button or here to see all upcoming Glen Park Branch Library events. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to get events highlights in your inbox.

Glen Park Rec Center

Glen Canyon Park sign
Click here for latest
Glen Park Rec Center
class schedule


Saturdays 3-4:45 p.m.
Questions? Call 415-239-4007


GP Movie Night Schedule

Renew Your Glen Park Association Membership for 2025

Join the Glen Park Association and help promote our community’s interests. Together, we can secure improvement funds, publicize neighborhood concerns and strive to speak as one voice on neighborhood and city issues.

Membership in the Glen Park Association is only $10 annually and can be purchased online.

Glen Park Association Advertising Sponsors

JE_Digital Small Space Ad
Diamond Heights Digital Ad
GPA Ad- Perez Construction ad 6.27.22 v Glen Park
moroco
Center for Creative Exploration - adult
JE_Digital Small Space Ad
Diamond Heights Digital Ad
GPA Ad- Perez Construction ad 6.27.22 v Glen Park
moroco
Center for Creative Exploration - adult
previous arrow
next arrow
Shadow

Current Weather & Air Quality

Glen Park featured on…

FacebookSF ChronInstagramTwitter

Join the Glen Park Association on Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons
Glen Park Association is in Glen Park.
4 days ago
Glen Park Association

Save the Date! May 17th, Saturday 10:00AM - 11:30AM

Join us and help pick up trash & litter in the neighborhood!
We’re celebrating 3 years of collaborating with @refuserefusesf and the @glen_parkmerchantssf of #keepingGlenParkclean and bringing the #community together!🙌🏽

Meet at Critter Fritters Pet Food and Supplies @critterfritterspetfood
📍670 Chenery Street

Supplies and refreshments provided
No experience required

#refuserefusesf #glenpark #sanfrancisco #keepSFclean @rafaelmandelmand8 @anhishere @danielluriesf @sfpublicworks @avenuegreenlight #avenuegreenlight
... See MoreSee Less

Save the Date! May 17th, Saturday 10:00AM - 11:30AM

Join us and help pick up trash & litter in the neighborhood! 
We’re celebrating 3 years of collaborating with @refuserefusesf and the @glen_parkmerchantssf of #keepingGlenParkclean and bringing the #community together!🙌🏽

Meet at Critter Fritters Pet Food and Supplies @critterfritterspetfood 
📍670 Chenery Street

Supplies and refreshments provided
No experience required

#refuserefusesf #glenpark #sanfrancisco #keepSFclean @rafaelmandelmand8 @anhishere @danielluriesf @sfpublicworks @avenuegreenlight #avenuegreenlight
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • likes 0
  • Shares: 1
  • Comments: 0

0 CommentsComment on Facebook

Glen Park Association is in Glen Park.
6 days ago
Glen Park Association

Yesterday was a great day at the Glen Park Small Business Stroll presented by the San Francisco Public Library’s Small Business Center and our Glen Park Branch Library!
Participating merchants were @bird.beckett , @perchsf , @theclarktechnique , @pebblescafesf , @glen_park_station_bar and Glen Park historian Evelyn Rose did a BART history talk at the Glen Park BART station.

📷: Photos courtesy of Bonnee Waldstein

@sfpubliclibrary #glenparksf #glenparksmallbusinessstroll
... See MoreSee Less

Yesterday was a great day at the Glen Park Small Business Stroll presented by the San Francisco Public Library’s Small Business Center and our Glen Park Branch Library!
Participating merchants were @bird.beckett , @perchsf , @theclarktechnique , @pebblescafesf , @glen_park_station_bar and Glen Park historian Evelyn Rose did a BART history talk at  the Glen Park BART station. 

📷: Photos courtesy of Bonnee Waldstein 

@sfpubliclibrary #glenparksf  #glenparksmallbusinessstroll
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • likes 6
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 1

1 CommentComment on Facebook

Wonder what’s going on with the French restaurant on the corner of Chenery. It never reopened.

Blog Roll

Coyote Yipps
Friends of Upper Noe Recreation Center
Glen Park Neighborhoods History Project
Open SF History
Sunnyside Conservatory
Sunnyside History
Sunnyside Neighborhood Association
Tramps of San Francisco
Upper Noe Neighbors

Copyright © 2025 · Metro Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in