Thank you teachers for participating in the Mission Greenbelt project!

Download the Mission Greenbelt lesson plan.

Mission Greenbelt Public Awareness Campaign Headquarters
at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery 401 Van Ness Avenue Nov to Dec 22, 2007 open Wed to Sat 12–5 pm

What is the Mission Greenbelt?

Right now, the Mission Greenbelt project is an idea. The idea is to inspire community support for a Greenbelt in the Mission District. The project goal is to build a living artwork of continuous native plant sidewalk gardens connecting Franklin Square Park to Dolores Park.

What is the Mission Greenbelt Public Awareness Campaign?

The Mission Greenbelt Public Awareness Campaign Headquarters is located at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery through December 22. At Campaign Headquarters, learn about the Mission Greenbelt project, the Sidewalk Landscaping Permit and about the ecological benefits of native plants. Headquarters is the hub for campaigning, hands-on workshops, special events and education. Inside Headquarters, you will find Mission Greenbelt project artwork and information about local. Outside, in front of the Gallery, explore a native plant demonstration garden.

Learning objectives:

Students will learn how to work cooperatively to design plans for a sidewalk garden beside their school or home. They will learn how their school or home sidewalk garden fits into the local ecosystem. Students will also learn how these gardens can improve the local ecology by collecting rainwater and feeding the roots of plants and trees. The way it is now, rainwater runs on top of the cement and into the storm drains. These drains send the water to be treated as sewage, and during heavy rains, sewage overflows into the Bay and Ocean.

Through brainstorming, designing and learning together, students will learn how to accomplish projects that would be much harder to do alone.

Questions for discussion (before the field trip/classroom visit):

1. What did my school or home neighborhood look like before there were streets and buildings?

2. Which plants and animals may have lived here? Name some plants and animals that live here now.

3. What would I like my school or home neighborhood to look like?

What to expect on the field trip to Mission Greenbelt Campaign Headquarters:

On your field trip to the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, artist Amber Hasselbring will guide students through her exhibition about the Mission Greenbelt project. Then, students will work together to design and sketch plans to build native plant sidewalk gardens near their schools or homes. These plan drawings will be displayed as part of the exhibition, and will be given back to teachers after the show is over. Please encourage your students to visit the Gallery with their parents.

What to expect if Amber visits your school:

If you cannot take a field trip with your class, the artist will present a similar program at your school. As a group, we walk the block surrounding the school to choose the best location for a sidewalk garden. In choosing, we think about who uses the sidewalk, how much sun the garden will get and if there is water running underground. Inside, students work together to design and sketch plans to build this native plant sidewalk garden. Plan drawings will be displayed as part of the exhibition, and will be given back to teachers after the show is over. Please encourage your students to visit the Gallery with their parents.

Questions for discussion (after the field trip/classroom visit):

1. What are the connections between the sidewalk garden we designed and the Mission Greenbelt project?

2. What else would I like to see change in my neighborhood? 3. How might that change be accomplished?

How to build a community greenbelt (details provided on field trip/classroom visit):

1. Find appropriate spots on your block for sidewalk gardens

2. Contact the city to get a permit application

3. Design the sidewalk garden following the city’s guidelines, learn about the native plants that will thrive in your neighborhood and make a plant list; submit these materials with a permit application and fee to the city

4. Remove the appropriate portion of the sidewalk Prepare the soil by breaking up hard pieces and adding new soil and compost

5. Plant

6. Get final approval from the city and receive your permit

If you’d like to schedule a field trip/classroom visit during the exhibit, contact: Keegan Finberg, Arts Education Program Assistant, San Francisco Arts Commission, 415.252.3298, artsedintern [at] sfgov [dot] org, http://www.sfartscommission.org, www.sfinsideout.net

If you can’t make it before then, but would like to schedule a classroom visit in 2008, contact: Amber Hasselbring, MISSION GREENBELT, 415.786.4957, amber [at] art-eco [dot] org, www.art-eco.org

Thank you Liesa Mook for working with me to write this information for teachers, students and parents. Special thanks to following people and organizations for your support:

Dia Penning and Keegan Finberg, San Francisco Arts Commission Education Program http://www.sfinsideout.net/

Meg Schiffler, Joyce Grimm and Dana Hemenway, San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery http://www.sfacgallery.org/

Mark Major and Tamar Hurwitz, San Francisco Department of the Environment http://www.sfenvironment.org/index.html

Jens-Peter Junclassen http://www.teacherwiththebus.com/

Rachel Kesel http://sfcompact.blogspot.com/

Josiah Clark http://habitatpotential.com/

Jane Martin http://plantsf.org/

Peter Brastow http://www.natureinthecity.org/

Dana Curran http://worldsavvy.org/

Mohammed Nuru, San Francisco Department of Public Works http://www.sfgov.org/site/sfdpw_index.asp?id=42766

California College of the Arts Center for Art and Public Life http://center.cca.edu/