In honor of Earth Day, on Saturday April 24, the Pt. San Pedro Road Coalition held a Weed Pull to remove fire prone vegetation. We were fortunate to partner with the Center for Volunteer and Non-Profit Leadership (CVNL), the San Rafael Fire Department, and Friends of China Camp (FOCC). We had a great turn out and our hard working volunteers made a very visible difference! Among the volunteers were members of the Coalition’s Board and Disaster Preparedness Committee, and community members from the Pt. San Pedro Road area and beyond. Vice-Mayor Maribeth Bushey and Supervisor Damon Connolly pitched in, too! The volunteers worked their way up the Shoreline Trail from Biscayne Drive while volunteers from FOCC worked their way toward us from the other side of the hill, meeting at the top of the hill. With help from SRFD’s vegetation management team and the partnership with CVNL and FOCC, we were able to accomplish a great deal — and not just in terms of removing fuel for fire in our area, but in terms of building great relationships with other organizations.
In case you missed the post about our weed pull in the City’s Snaphot, go to:
http://www.cityofsanrafael.org/snapshot-sustainability-initiatives-public-works-week-local-events/
and scroll down to “TALES OF THE CITY”.
Volunteers sign in at the Coalition registration table on Biscayne Drive 
Bonnie Marmor, Coalition co-President, was a leading force in making this event a reality. 
Volunteers gathered to receive instructions. 
Friends of China Camp set up their registration table at the other end of the trail to be cleared. 
Ian Nelson, Head of China Camp Operations, gave a demonstration on how to properly use the weed puller without hurting your back! 
Elaine Tokolahi (CVNL Director of Volunteer Services and Coalition Disaster Prep Committee member) and Beth Sherbo (CVNL & Americorps volunteer) haul brush down to the dumpster 
Mark Lowenstein (FOCC Exec. Director) and a China Camp employee pitched in. 
This is the trail as it initially looked when we started the work 
A view back down the trail to Biscayne Drive 
Chris Gray in blue shirt, past S.R. Fire Chief, pitches in and the work begins!! 
Removed brush was piled into a dumpster 
Bill Gates (Coalition Disaster Prep Committee member) and our County Supervisor Damon Connolly hard at work 
S.R. Vice Mayor Maribeth Bushey participated in this effort 
The largest sized dumpster wasn’t enough and an additional trailer was brought in. Beth Sherbo (CVNL) and Kate Anderson (SRFD Vegatation Mgmt) work on compressing the load to make room. 
Alan Schaevitz, Coalition Board Member and Webmaster, puts his back into it. 
Supervisor Damon Connolly worked tirelessly throughout his shift 
Ashley Green (Americorps volunteer) digs into a big clump of Scotch Broom. 
Progress becomes increasingly visible 
What a difference our volunteers made! 
With just a half-day of work by a vigorous crew, there was a huge improvement. 
Key members of the Event Planning Team left-to-right: Simon Wright & Kate Anderson (SRFD), Ian Nelson (China Camp), Bonnie Marmor (SPRC), Beth Sherbo & Elaine Tokolahi (SVNL). A rousing thank you to to this team and all of the volunteers for making this event a fantastic success.
With a drought this year, we are at increased risk for wildfire. Our area has a great deal of Scotch Broom and French Broom plants, an invasive type of non-native plant that greatly increases fire danger. These shrub-like plants with green stems and yellow flowers are easy to recognize. The seed pods ripen during the dry summer months, then explosively eject their seeds several feet away, Broom plants grow and spread rapidly. As the plant grows, the inner stems die back, providing a highly flammable fuel. Broom can also spread and thrive in our precious wetlands, presenting a threat to their vitality.
We planned our weed pull for late April because it is important to remove broom in the Spring before the seeds spread. The sooner they are removed, the better. With the right tools, broom can be removed fairly easily. At our weed pull, volunteers used weed wrenches to get out the broom plants. The result was amazing!
Volunteers expressed the desire to do this again and we hope local neighborhoods will be inspired to soon sponsor their own weed pulls.