On the morning of June 29th, I was on my way to Fort Funston Nursery and I couldn’t help but admire what a beautiful day it was in the southwestern region of San Francisco. What was surprising was that I didn’t know this area existed despite the fact that I use to live only less than 10 minutes away!
As we walked up to the volunteer area, Yolanda, Giang, and I, we were greeted by the staff as well as a station with snacks and refreshments. As we waited for all the other volunteers to arrive, we explored the on-site greenhouse; inside was a plethora of plants!
Shortly after, we were called over to the station where we were going to be working. We were then introduced to the Silver Leaf Loofin. The Loofin is an endangered plant and our duty was to transplant a bunch of Loofin into single tubes so an abundance may be rehabilitated and restored back into it’s natural habitat. As we began, volunteers grabbed gloves to protect their hands, but I wanted to go bare and embrace mother nature; a little dirt is not harmful! 🙂 When I was transplanting, I felt at ease and calm and definitely focused; I forgot how peaceful it is when gardening and planting.
When we got done with the project, all the volunteers voted to take a walk and tour other plants that are living on Fort Funston. Some of the plants we were introduced to(and had a catchy name to remember) included Purple Milk Thistle, Coyote Bush, Sticky Monkey Flower, and the Yarrow plant which is a medicinal plant use to help with blood clots.
I had a great time volunteering and learning a little bit of mother nature and its history…Nonetheless, it was an absolutely gorgeous day to be outdoors helping out at a nursery!
For more photos, please visit us at MVNCI!