For Immediate Release

March 4, 2010

Contact:  (415) 554-6931      

CITY TO COMMEMORATE COMMUNITY CLEAN TEAM’S

TENTH ANNIVERSARY AND ARBOR DAY



Community organizations and volunteer groups to be honored for their

support to successful citywide volunteer program

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – More than 500 volunteers and community partners will gather on Saturday, March 6, 2010, at 9 a.m. at Alemany Farm (Alemany & Ellsworth) to commemorate the Community Clean Team’s 10th Anniversary and kick off San Francisco’s Arbor Day celebrations.

Over the last decade, thousands of volunteers from San Francisco neighborhoods and throughout the Bay Area have donated their time to clean and green San Francisco.  Several community organizations, volunteer groups, and corporate sponsors will be honored Saturday for their commitment to the volunteer program, including Tzu Chi Foundation, One Brick, Department of Corrections, Academy of Art University, Lowell High School, Washington High School, A.P. Giannini Middle School, Pretrial Diversion Project, Juvenile Probation Program, SF Housing Authority, SF Recreation and Park Department, SF Environment, Walgreens, Recology, Clean City Coalition, and Local 261.

“The addition of volunteers to our Saturday work days has tremendously contributed to the cleanliness and beautification of our city,” said Mohammed Nuru Deputy Director of Operations for the Department of Public Works. “All of our city agencies combined could not complete the amount of work our volunteers complete in a short amount of time.”

On Saturday, volunteers will plant fruit trees, work on landscaping and gardening projects, remove graffiti, and pick up litter at locations throughout districts nine and 11, including Alemany Farm, Alemany Farmer’s Market, Precita Park, Crocker Amazon Park, Alemany Boulevard, Holly Court, Public Housing developments, and Brotherhood Way. In addition, volunteers will install a sidewalk garden at the corner of Mission and Geneva streets.



The celebration also includes a Green Eco Resource fair, planter box building and water conservation demonstrations, information on recycling and composting, a petting area for ‘landscaping’ goats, and a full schedule of family activities.



More Clean Team events are planned throughout the year to help promote Mayor Newsom’s challenge to plant healthy and sustainable foods in San Francisco. A calendar is available at www.sfdpw.org.



On March 13th at 1:00 p.m., students from Balboa High School will plant fruit trees in front of their school on Cayuga Avenue, restoring and planting their own food garden.

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