March 20th is the Spring Equinox and The Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association’s March meeting (7pm on the 26th) will celebrate spring with a very special evening of presentations, discussions, and appreciation bestowed on some of the most influential individuals and organizations that are making Hayes Valley ever greener.

We’ll start the festivities off with light refreshments from some of our great local eateries. Come early to have a drink and a bite before the discussion begins. We are very fortunate that so many volunteers and organizations have been working year round to make Hayes Valley a greener place to live, work, and visit. This night is dedicated to those people and to bring opportunities for involvement to the attention of the community.

Friends of the Urban Forest have been friends to Hayes Valley for a long time. On Arbor Day, which was just this past March 7, FUF helped plant dozens of new trees in the neighborhood. We’ll get an update about that planting and all the great work FUF does for us year round.

The San Francisco School District has given a grant to John Muir School to create a green schoolyard. It has hired a consultant who has already begun the community design process. There are many great opportunities for green conversion technologies to be applied to this great site. The staff and PTA of John Muir are very involved as are others in the community. We will learn more about this great project and the possibilities it presents.

The Trust for Public Land, a national non-profit land conservation organization, has selected Hayes Valley Playground to receive a multi-million dollar renovation as part of its Parks for People – San Francisco initiative. TPL and WRNS Studio, the project architects, have worked with the Hayes Valley community to come up with a stellar design for the playground and clubhouse. You can see the progress of this design at tlp.org .

The Hayes Valley Neighborhood Parks Group will be making some changes in its mission. After over a decade of cultivating our five neighborhood parks, Barbara Wenger will be focusing the group’s efforts to something they have been very successful at: educating, and inspiring at-risk youth to be healthy, nonviolent, environmental leaders of their community. We owe Barbara, Nora Brereton, and many others in that organization a big hand for all that they have done over the years. Come hear what’s up with their new direction.

Finally, we will be discussing the new green heart of the community, Patricia’s Green. John Thomas, DPW landscape architect and Green designer will join us as will the new Recreation and Park Neighborhood Services director, Jim Wheeler. They will be joined in a discussion of ongoing maintenance issues by Green volunteer coordinator and new HVNA Board member, Henry O. The spring celebration of HVNA will be March 26, 2009 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm at the First Baptist Church at the corner of Octavia and Waller Street near Market Street. Please join us and learn how you can make Hayes Valley a greener place to live.