Skip navigation
NAP Gardeners

SFNAP gardeners clearing weeds off Glen Canyon.

About NAP

Our Mission:

The mission of the Natural Areas Program is to restore and enhance remnant natural areas and to develop and support community-based stewardship of these areas. Habitat restoration activities invite urban dwellers to participate in the city's dynamic and enduring natural history. Habitat restoration activities span the full cycle of restoration, from seed collection and propagating seedlings, to planting young plants in restoration sites, to weeding invasive plants, to monitoring the results of restoration efforts, to planning for park improvements.

The Natural Areas Program

A bird's-eye viewpoint above San Francisco reveals the remnants of an ancient wild landscape. Scattered here and there are small oases of wildlife that escaped the transformation from wildland to metropolis. These are San Francisco's natural areas, where a remarkable diversity of plants, birds, reptiles and amphibians, endangered butterflies, and mammals survive.

Natural areas are the undeveloped remnants of San Francisco's historic landscape and biodiversity. Some well-known natural areas are Twin Peaks, Lake Merced, and Glen Canyon Park. Natural areas contain rich, diverse plant and animal communities such as oak woodlands, creeks, lakes, grasslands, sand dunes, scrub, and rock outcrops. In many cases these nature preserves are the only places where wildlife such as the red-tailed hawk, gray fox, great horned owl, and endangered mission blue butterfly still live and thrive in the city.

Related Topics