Gardening

Volunteers Working in Black Point Historic Gardens
(CANCELLED) Black Point Historic Gardens

Upcoming Event Dates

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Help us restore the long-neglected gardens of East Black Point, a spectacular park site tucked away above the bustling San Francisco waterfront.

Parks Conservancy staff working to restore the Black Point Historical Garden at Fort Mason.
Black Point Historic Gardens

Black Point Historic Gardens is the San Francisco Bay Area’s newest national park site, a one-acre hillside that connects San Francisco’s Aquatic Park to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) at Fort Mason. 

Visitors enjoy Alcatraz Island.
The new Alcatraz experience: Now is the time to escape to Alcatraz Island!

In this article, we’ll get you set up with some tips to explore Alcatraz like a seasoned park ranger. Visit for those views, for the lush gardens, and the history that ties into present-day social justice movements. Here are some of our insider tips.

A group of colorful wildflowers in front of a disused federal penitentiary building on Alcatraz Island.
Just the essentials: How the Alcatraz gardens grow

For two months this year following the shelter-in-place order, the five gardens at Alcatraz grew wild and untended until Shelagh Fritz, the Senior Program Manager on the island, was able to return. The history of the Alcatraz Gardens is one of careful planning, wild growth, and dedicated work.

Presidio Volunteer
(CANCELED) Presidio Garden Stewards

Help enhance the Presidio’s historic gardens and grounds, as well as support the park efforts to become a model of environmental sustainability.

Presidio Volunteer
(CANCELED) Presidio Garden Stewards

Help enhance the Presidio’s historic gardens and grounds, as well as support the park efforts to become a model of environmental sustainability.

Register Now
Presidio Volunteer
(CANCELED) Presidio Garden Stewards

Help enhance the Presidio’s historic gardens and grounds, as well as support the park efforts to become a model of environmental sustainability.

Register Now
The Alcatraz Historic Gardens with the Rock's famed water tower in the background.
'Historic' water once meant for laundry now helps Alcatraz Gardens thrive

Shelagh Fritz, Program Manager for Alcatraz Historic Gardens, has worked to install an innovative rainwater catchment system on the Rock. We sat down with Shelagh to learn more.

A volunteer waters plants at Black Point Historic Gardens
Black Point Historic Gardens

When: Thursdays, 2–5 & Fridays, 9 am–Noon; 1st Saturdays, 10 am–1 pm
Where: Fort Mason, San Francisco
Help us restore the long-neglected gardens of East Black Point, a spectacular park site tucked away above the bustling San Francisco waterfront.

Soil mixing
Our (Not-So) Secret Recipe for Making National Park-Quality Soil

On a crisp morning in April, the Parks Conservancy and the Presidio Trust made in a 46-cubic yards of soil, enough to feed tens of thousands of native plants throughout the parks. The “recipe” and procedure behind this many-handed effort is a must-read for any dirt devotee.

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