Gardeners Say More Help Needed at GG Park

By Jonathan Farrell

Golden Gate Park, upon close inspection, seems to be fading away and those who tend to its care want the public to know the park needs help.

As gardeners in the park for more than 25 years, Joan Vellutini and Doug Martino provided a short tour while pointing out neglect at the 136-year-old park.

A treasure that is one of the city residents' favorite places to visit, they fear the park will not survive. With a budget last year of $112 million, SF Recreation and Park Department administrators say there is not enough money for increased maintenance.

"The park is dying," Vellutini said. She is discouraged because her cries for assistance to restore the park have fallen on deaf ears.

"Gardeners have been complaining for years, but to no avail," Vellutini said.

Among the most visible examples of the park's decline is along the Crossover Drive bypass, between 19th Avenue and Park Presidio Boulevard - a main entrance to the park. The grass has turned to hay and some spots are bare dirt.

"This used to be a small meadow, but not anymore," Vellutini said.

"When I started working for Recreation and Park we had over 120 gardeners," she said. Currently, 38 gardeners are available to maintain an area that covers more than 1,017 acres.

Hoping that administrators will understand how much work needs to be done, she calls attention to the fact that a competent and reliable workforce must be set and remain in place to meet the park's needs.

As staff at the park keeps dwindling, there are fewer qualified people to fill gardening positions.

According to Vellutini and Martino, the park requires constant, labor-intensive care.

They say the park is a green space that was created in a desert environment by human hands.

"This entire park is literally built on sand," Martino said.

In 1868, Golden Gate Park was established as a sanctuary away from urban life. Thriving on San Francisco's mild, almost Mediterranean climate, the park was host to a world-class variety of plants and flowers. With the founding leadership of John McLaren, the park employed an army of gardeners, who tended it year-round.

Many of those varieties disappeared as the park received less maintenance.

More than just pulling weeds and clearing dead brush, Martino and Vellutini say one of the most pressing concerns at the park is its trees.

Martino and Vellutini, who are both trained in horticulture, worry that with such poor attention being paid to the trees, they will not be replenished fast enough.

Kelly Cornell, supervisor of urban forestry, agrees.

"Maintenance is critical - we are hurting pretty bad," Cornell said. His group of three oversees 28,000 trees. He admits he has seen better days in the park.

"Survival of the park is an issue because Mother Nature is not waiting," he said.

Vellutini and Martino pointed out that many of the trees are suffering from canker and have long outlived their life-span of 80 to 100 years. For example, when the number of pine cones on a Monterey Pine more than triples, the tree is nearing the end of its life span.

Vellutini says tree maintenance is more than just "digging a hole in the ground."

"We need trained professionals, not just volunteers, to do the work," she said. "Trees need skilled care."

Cornell describes his work as jumping from crisis to crisis.

"With few staff and a lack of funds, it takes so long to get things done," he said.

Cornell feels things are going in the wrong direction and he senses a lack of accountability because administrators do not interact with department staff.

The two gardeners and supervisor agree there is no clear communication between park administrators and staff. An example, they say, is the new irrigation system in the park - it has problems that need fixing but progress is slow.

Martino and Vellutini are also worried about the lack of leadership and how it may affect the park.

Recently, park supervisor John Farley decided to take an early retirement; for the next three to five months, park administrators will search for a new general manager.

Former general manager, Elizabeth Goldstein resigned from the department May 5. Goldstein refused requests for comment concerning the current conditions at Golden Gate Park.