The first task for garden volunteers was to clean out the one-acre project site that started out with rocky hard pack (clay/loam) and overgrown with weeds and invasive species. Recology contributed multiple debris dumpsters filled up by volunteers to clean up the land and make it reusable. Feral cats had made a home at the site, with cat feces everywhere. Despite street cleaning, large quantities of trash collect regularly, especially along the northern fence line. A surprising amount of used diapers found in the litter suggests both the the prevalence of young and/or underserved families in the area. - February 2014
Mulching the entire one acre site was perhaps the biggest and most difficult task needed to launch the garden. It took the hard labor of many volunteers over 3 months and many weekends. Thankfully we had a special assist from Recology San Francisco to finish things up! Alan Perotti and Kenny Stewart brought out the Recology tractor to help do the final evening-out of the mulch which was generously donated by Bayview Greenwaste. Special thanks to Maurice Quillen and Paul Giusti at Recology and welcome new Recology Group President Mark Arsenault! - July 2014
Recology San Francisco helped launch the Florence Fang Community Garden with our first set of recycled tools from the garbage dump of San Francisco! Thanks to all our friends working at Recology who went through everything that was brought in and found us these great slightly-used garden tools! - October 2014
Attending the first Open Garden Day in April 2015 (l. to r.) Ted Fang, AsianWeek Foundation; Fiona Ma, California Board of Equalization; Mrs. Florence Fang; Minna Tao, General Manager Recology Golden Gate; Roger Kim, Mayor’s Office Senior Advisor on the Environment.