South San Francisco, CA – January 18th, 2023
from San Bruno Mountain Watch newsletter
Doug’s Mountain Journal
A Fern, Now Known By Its True Name. A “Fogbow” and more!
“This is a story that began over a year ago…One particular species set off alarms and sent us on a treasure hunt and led to the involvement of a couple of botanical scholars to help solve a dilemma.”
Click here to read the most recent edition of Doug’s Mountain Journal!
Featured Volunteer Danny Yanow
Mission Blue Nursery
San Bruno Mountain Watch
Interview and Photographs by Ann Kircher 
How do you know about San Bruno Mountain? I have lived most of my life in San Francisco but was never on the mountain until I became a teacher and brought some kids on a field trip. That would have been in the early 2000s.
What do you most value about the Mountain? I love that it is an island of wilderness in the middle of this bustling metropolitan area. We need to preserve it and take care of it.
How did you find out about Mission Blue Nursery? When it was first created I read about it on the website and came and volunteered a few times one summer. Now that I have retired, I try to come regularly.
What motivates you to come to the nursery on Wednesday mornings? It feels great to be with like-minded people playing with plants and dirt.
What is your favorite thing about volunteering at the nursery? The other volunteers are always interesting people who care about our planet and our mountain.
What is your favorite native plant that grows on San Bruno Mountain? The Buckeye. A beautiful, idiosyncratic tree that lives on its own schedule.
What is your background? What kind of preparation and training do you have for volunteering at the nursery? I like to garden at home and love to go to parks and wilderness areas. I like to find seeds and acorns and grow them into trees.
What did you do with your life before Mission Blue Nursery? I was a middle school teacher.
Is there anything else you’d like to add? I used to coordinate with Ariel and directors before him to bring students from my school to work on the mountain doing restoration and planting. I love that SBMW provides these opportunities for young people. A couple of weeks ago I volunteered to plant lupine seeds up on the mountain. There was a group of young 4-H club members who were working that day, and I was inspired to see them doing this important work and they were excited to be doing it and hardly looked at their phones at all!