I think it is safe to say that this is a moment unlike any other in most of our lives. We are facing great change, great uncertainty and great loss. Here at Sutro Stewards, we still have the Mountain, but we can’t hold public programming there right now. Our staff has been brainstorming on how to bring nature to you as you are hunkered down in your homes. We are launching Bringing Nature Home, (shout out to the book by Doug Tallamy of the same title) our Sutro Stewards virtual programming. We will feature highlights of nature in our neighborhood walks, offer the video series “Sheltered in Place: The Backyard Series” featuring the wildlife enhancing joys of gardening with native plants, and virtual wildflower walks!
As the world slows down, there is tremendous opportunity to vision the City we want to have. Sutro Stewards, over a decade long work on Mount Sutro, enhancing trails and stewarding this urban nature gem, is part of a larger movement to bring nature back to our cities. Now is the time to notice the nature we already have, bring nature back to our urban gardens by planting native plants, and envisioning how else we can welcome nature home. How can we increase public urban space for nature? As parks are being closed to vehicular traffic, It is clear that we need more walkable, public, urban nature space. A city with integrated and abundant nature accessible within walking distance to all is the vision that shapes our “Bringing Nature Home” programming.
Look out tomorrow for our first video that calls attention to the details of urban nature that we pass by everyday, “Study on Strawberries.” Did you know that there are 3 different kinds of strawberries that grow wild in San Francisco? Kelly Dodge, our Conservation Coordinator will introduce you to each of them, tell you a little about their ecology and how to tell the difference between the three.
Follow us on instagram, @sutro.stewards where we will be hosting live wildflower walks, sharing beautiful photos of urban nature and links to resources for your home garden. The content will keep coming and opportunities for you to participate will be shared as well. This is just the beginning, and there will be more ideas and opportunities. Like us on facebook and follow our youtube channel. Share your sheltered nature stories and we’ll post them on our blog. Send submissions to kelly@sutrostewards.org. Stay tuned for more. As we can’t leave our homes, let's bring nature to us!