Greetings Sign Hill Stewards, 

The wet winter is finally behind us and Sign Hill is painted with the vibrant pallet of springtime. This year we are experiencing bountiful blooms of bright orange poppies sprinkled with various purple, yellow, and pink wildflowers. Along with the enchanting show of color, the plentiful weeds are keeping parks staff and volunteers as busy as the buzzing bees! 

There is much work to be done this time of year. Parks staff are monitoring the federally endangered mission blue butterfly (Icaricia icarioides missionenses), the establishment of our freshly planted restoration areas, and the presence of rare and endangered butterfly host plants. Meanwhile, Sign Hill Stewards volunteers are hard at work pulling up invasive weeds. 

Thanks to the ample rainfall, the restoration areas we planted with nursery plants are flourishing, so far without the need for additional irrigation. We are also happy to see many of the seeds we planted are beginning to establish, including silver lupine (Lupinus albifrons), purple needle grass (Stipa pulchra) and the rare coast iris (Iris longipetala)! 

With the effects of climate change creating a drier and hotter landscape across California, a bloom like this is one you will not want to miss. I hope you will make your way to Sign Hill soon to take in the sights and sounds of this special spring!



Candace LaCroix

Natural Resource Specialist

Leading the Sign Hill Habitat Restoration Project

San Bruno Mountain Watch Board Member

Historical Society of South San Francisco, Circa 1923

The famous Hillside Sign, for which Sign Hill was named, is 100 years old!

Sign Hill has become a symbol of city pride for South San Franciscans, but many may know little about its origin. The Chamber of Commerce erected the massive sign on "the hill behind the high school" in 1923 with the help of local high school boys.

It was strenuous work to climb and work on the steep slopes, and finding a truck capable of moving materials to the work site was no small feat. City Engineer, George A. Kneese, was the man responsible for carefully guiding the construction of each letter so that the words appear to be straight from afar despite the contours of the land they sit on.

When viewed close up, it gives one a deeper appreciation for the skill and planning that it took to create this massive monument. In appreciation of its historical significance, Sign Hill was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

I hope you will enjoy reading these newspaper clippings, archived by the Historical Society of South San Francisco, from a formative time in South San Francisco's history 100 years ago!

It was a very special Earth Day celebration on Sign Hill this year with the largest group of volunteers we have welcomed to date, a total of 26 people! Local So. San Francisco companies Seagan and VDT came to offer their enthusiasm for protecting the wildlife and hard work pulling weeds in the area below the letters where we have been working to combat scrub encroachment. It was amazing to see how much work can be done when we come together as a community!

It has been really inspiring to have received so many inquires from local companies about volunteering. In fact, our Earth Day event was full so there will be more groups joining us in the weeks to come! Soon we be working with Pliant and a local Starbucks!

A sincere thank you to all of the volunteers and to the companies that are prioritizing community volunteerism and environmental conservation. You are what makes So. San Francisco proud to be called The Industrial City!

Spring is in full-swing on Sign Hill, and many wildflowers have begun to bloom. Here are just a few of the many flowers that can be found blooming on Sign Hill. Remember not to pick wildflowers and take pictures instead in order to protect sensitive habitat and ensure that everyone can enjoy the beautiful wildflowers of Sign Hill.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Dwarf checkerbloom (Sidalcea malviflora)

Coast iris (Iris longipetala)

California golden violet (Viola pedunculta)

Coast larkspur (Delphinium decorum)

Purple sanicle (Sanicula bipinnatifida)

Footsteps of spring (Sanicula arctopoides)

California poppy (Eschscholzia californica)

Blue dicks (Dichelostemma capitatus)

Silver lupine (Lupinus albifrons)

-Featuring a mission blue butterfly-

Caraway leaved lomatium (Lomatium caruifolium)

Pacific pea (Lathyrus vestitus)

Long leaved suncup (Taraxia subacaulis)

California buttercup (Ranunculus californica)

This year was an exciting first for the City of So. San Francisco as we joined all of our volunteer appreciation events into one grand celebration!

The Gala was held at the So. San Francisco Conference Center and had over 200 volunteers in attendance. It was a pleasure to visit with some of our most dedicated Sign Hill Stewards volunteers out of the field! We enjoyed a delicious three-course meal while looking at photos from volunteer groups across the city and recognizing So. San Francisco residents who were receiving Presidential Service Awards!

Join in the 2023 City Nature Challenge in the San Francisco Bay Area, April 28 - May 1!

It is easy to participate! Use iNaturalist join to the San Francisco Bay Area 2023 City Nature Challenge and make observations of wildlife anywhere in the nine counties touching the San Francisco Bay during. Your observations will be automatically added to the project.

Look in the project journal or visit the Cal Academy's City Nature Challenge page for a list of events happening throughout the Bay Area!

When: Every other Friday from 9am-12pm and the second Saturday of each month from 9am-12pm. Only cancelled for heavy rains.

Where: Volunteers will park at the Sign Hill Parking Lot nearby 964 Ridgeview Ct, South San Francisco, CA and hike with staff to the restoration site.

Registration: Registration is required. Volunteers under the age of 18 must have a youth waiver signed by a parent/guardian. Youth under the age of 15 are welcome and must be accompanied by an adult. Click the link below to RSVP.

What to bring: To prepare for working outdoors, please bring work gloves, plenty of water, sturdy shoes, long pants and long sleeves, a hat/sunscreen, and a completed waiver for each volunteer. Volunteers should expect some hiking on steep terrain.