UCSF Senior Vice Chancellor Bruce Spaulding joined San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, and urban planning and development leaders at UCSF Mission Bay during the recent launch of the Mayor's Open Space Task Force.
Conceived and coordinated by the Neighborhood Parks Council, the task force is charged with creating a vision for the planning of San Francisco's open spaces in the 21st century.
"Preserving San Francisco's open spaces is vital to maintaining a healthy environment and promoting healthy neighborhoods for our residents," said Mayor Newsom. "Drawing upon the creativity and experience of experts in our community, we hope to develop far-reaching recommendations to address the needs of our changing urban landscape."
For its part, UCSF, represented by Spaulding, senior vice chancellor of University Advancement and Planning, presented grant checks to GreenTrust and Friends of Esprit Park in support of their efforts.
In June, UCSF began donating $5 per car to GreenTrust each time a fan who attended a San Francisco Giants game parked at the UCSF Mission Bay Third Street Garage. This year, UCSF has donated $21,125 to GreenTrust, a community-based nonprofit organization that works to realize a greener central waterfront.
Spaulding acknowledged Jon Gledhill, director of Transportation Services, and Barbara Bagot-Lopez, associate director of Community Relations at UCSF, for working together with the community to make this donation possible.
UCSF also donated $50,000 to Friends of Esprit Park, which was founded by Dogpatch neighbors to encourage the Esprit Corporation to donate the park to the City and County of San Francisco. The group continues to raise funds and organize volunteers to help maintain and improve the park.
"UCSF is proud to be part of the Mission Bay community, both as a responsible property owner and as an active member of a dedicated group of concerned neighbors," Spaulding said. "We are extremely pleased that we can contribute to an organization committed to the community's social and ecological health."
With its strong San Francisco presence, UCSF has a history of cultivating and maintaining open space in the city. Adolph Sutro began planting blue gum eucalyptus trees on what was called Mount Parnassus in 1886 in celebration of San Francisco's first Arbor Day.
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UCSF Senior Vice Chancellor Bruce Spaulding, center, presents a check to the Friends of Esprit Park to help them improve the park. Joining Spaulding at the Nov. 15 event, are, from left, Mike Farrah of the Mayor's Office, Supervisor Sophie Maxwell and Mariuccia Iaconi and Andrew Detsch representing Friends of Esprit Park. |
This year, one of San Francisco Beautiful's 2007 Beautification Awards was given to the Mount Sutro Native Plant Garden and Trail Network. Led by UCSF Community Advisory Group member Craig Dawson, volunteers in conjunction with UCSF have restored a network of WPA-era pathways and maintain an abundant native plant garden on the top of Mount Sutro.
Today, the 61-acre Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve on UCSF's Parnassus campus is an ecological oasis in the heart of San Francisco's urban environment. For several years, UCSF, in partnership with community volunteers, has worked to help restore and rejuvenate trails and restore the native habitat.
Additionally, the 3.2-care Koret Quad at the UCSF Mission Bay campus includes more than 500 trees and shrubs at various stages of maturity, and serves as an informal landscaped gathering place for the public as well as the campus community.
San Francisco has more than 200 neighborhood parks that are enjoyed by thousands of local residents and visitors. In creating the Open Space Task Force, the Mayor aims to develop a comprehensive plan for acquiring and maintaining the city's open spaces.
"This is a tremendous opportunity to seize the advantages that open spaces provide San Francisco, and really create a world-class city for the next 30 years and beyond," said Isabel Wade, executive director of the Neighborhood Parks Council.
The task force will seek to improve park maintenance, support environmental sustainability and secure capital funding. Working with community input, the task force also will forge partnerships with local non-profits and volunteers to best meet the needs of the community.
Related Links:
Springtime Planting on Mount SutroUCSF Today, April 23, 2003
