McLaren Park Needs Your Vote

From Chuck Farrugia, co-founder of Help McLaren Park:

Sears put up a nationwide contest online for a $30,000 Park Makeover. I nominated one section of McLaren Park (Burrows Street area) and guess what? We are one of the 10 finalists! This is a great opportunity considering that we were selected out of all the parks in the country! Just for being one of the finalists we will receive a gardening package for our park, including a yard tractor among other thing to keep the park green.

Vote here.

McLaren Park was one of only two selected in California — the other is in Long Beach — so rally the troops if you want to win this for San Francisco. (Or however else you want to look at it.)

If you need a little more encouraging, here’s part of the description from the voting page:

The park’s 317 acres include natural areas rich in native plants and animals, lawns and planted gardens, as well as transition areas between the two … However, parts of the park are in clear need of beautification and renovation The Burrows and Gambier St. site is one of the most glaring examples of deterioration. Instead of an inviting entrance to acres of green space, the area is a sad reminder that the neighborhood lacks a well-maintained park. The grass is patchy and there is no real landscaping to speak of. Where a playground once thrived, now sits a dirty sand pit that parents are afraid to let their kids play in because dogs use it as a bathroom. … Families and children, who would normally go elsewhere or not engage with their fellow neighbors, will have a reason to connect to their local community by using the renovated area.

Okay, one more thing to try and convince you to exercise your democratic right: The contest is called More Green Across America, so what better way to cap Earth Day?