Sign Hill Stewards

Sign Hill Restoration Project

Sign Hill Stewards

Summer 2026 Newsletter

Close up of the top of a mission blue butterfly resting on green leaves.

Greetings Sign Hill Stewards,

Spring has flown by in a flutter on Sign Hill as SSF Parks Natural Resource Staff and volunteers have worked ardently to combat invasive weeds across the park and conduct time-sensitive mission blue butterfly monitoring surveys. Now vibrant flushes of pink farewell-to-spring clarkias have bloomed across Sign Hill's slopes, ushering us into the summer months.

For many California native plants summer is a time of dormancy, an adaptation to a season of warmth and dryness. And while the plants may be at rest, the work on Sign Hill is only heating up. Since the summer months are somewhat inhospitable, the invasive plants that we are abating have a particularly hardy nature that can make them challenging or impossible to remove. Noteworthy species include sweet fennel, pampas grass, wild mustard, and the ever-growing eucalyptus and acacia trees. Additionally, the mighty Green Climber and nimble string trimmers will be working at a steady hum as we create fire breaks around the park and break up the dense thatch in the mission blue butterfly habitat.

We hope you will join us for a Sign Hill Stewards workday this summer and experience the satisfaction that comes from working as a team to accomplish something big. The environment will thank you!

Candace LaCroix

Natural Resource Specialist

Leading the Sign Hill Habitat Restoration Project

Sign Hill Stewards in Spring

A group of people are kneeling in a grassy field with mountains and a blue sky in the background.

For much of this spring, Sign Hill Stewards dedicated their efforts to restoring an area along the summit of Ridge Trail. The area was densely covered with invasive Italian thistle which the stewards meticulously removed by hand. This work can be arduous, especially as the thistle grow larger and spinier- yowch! Next a restoration planting palette of native nursery plants and seeds was installed. It will be exciting to observe how this area establishes over the coming months and years!

Three people are installing plants in a field with a blue sky and mountains in the background.

A man wearing a hat and sunglasses grins into the camera while lunging close to the ground.

A woman smiles and holds up a nursery plug with a couple other people in the background under a blue sky.

A woman wearing a hat and sunglasses looks at the camera while installing a plant in the ground.

Several people kneeling in a field smile toward the camera under a blue sky..

Four people stand and kneel in a field with yellow flags with a mountain and blue sky in the background.

A hand wearing a garden glove holds a lizard skin with green grass in the background.

A man sits in grass pulling weeds under a blue sky.

Have you ever felt like you wanted to crawl out your own skin? Well, no one understands that feeling better than the local alligator lizard! Unlike most lizards that shed their skin in flakey patches, the alligator lizard sheds it's whole skin in one piece-- just like a snake. A volunteer discovered this alligator lizard skin nearly perfectly intact, what a find!

A young child and a woman sit in the grass pulling weeds under a blue sky.

A woman wearing a hat and sunglasses kneels and leans forward holding a garden tool and smiles.

You have heard of sand art, but what about seed art? These stratified seed mixes are just so pleasing to the eye before being shaken up.

A path and a field covered in yellow marking flags with a mountain, cityscape, and bay in the background.

Two hands hold a clear plastic container with orange lid half full of layers of seeds.

16 people pose along a trail behind a poster with a mountain and blue sky in the background.

It was a pleasure to work with a special group of South San Francisco High School students this spring who helped pull Italian thistles and plant a native seed mix along the top of Ridge Trail. This impressive group of young leaders is getting an early start to building strong communities through environmental stewardship!

Several people kneel in the grass along either side of a trail pulling weeds under a gray sky.

Two women sitting in a field with a blue bucket talking with a few others in the background with views of a mountain behind.

Several people sit in a field with blue buckets and one person walks by holding a blue bucket.

Four people crouch and reach to down to pull weeds in a grassy field with mountain and gray sky behind.

FUN FACT: I bet you wouldn't have guessed that, under the direction and funding of the Chamber of Commerce, the Hillside Sign as we know it today was actually built by students from South San Francisco High School. Sign Hill and SSFSH's history goes way back!

17 people pose for a photo with a cityscape and gray sky in the background.

Sign Hill Stewards brave steep slopes to restore habitat for mission blues. These volunteers are weeding the restoration area we installed earlier this year close to the top of Seubert Trail.

A few people work on a steep grassy slope with trees and gray sky in the background.

Four people sit and stand around a restoration planting full of tall weeds on a grassy slope with a cityscape in the background.

Sow thistles had really taken this plot over, but Sign Hill Stewards came to the rescue!

6 people and a toddler stand behind a weeded restoration plot on a grassy slope with a gray sky above.

Hornworm wonder! While weeding this restoration area Sign Hill Stewards discovered something delightful, a hornworm. This enormous caterpillar with a protruding orange "horn" was found curled around a California dandelion stalk.

A hand wearing a garden glove holds a large brown and black moth.

A thick green and black caterpillar wrapped around a plant stem surrounded by green leaves.

If it is successful this hornworm will grow to become a white-lined sphinx moth, Hyles lineata(left). These charming moths resemble hummingbirds in flight and pollinate many of the park's native wildflowers.

While working off-trail, Sign Hill Stewards help to protect sensitive habitat by scrubbing our boots with alcohol. This helps to prevent the spread of potentially harmful plant pathogens and introductions of invasive plant species.

Here, Leslie and Sylvia help show little George the proper technique.

A todder sits on a the tailgate of a truck full of buckets with two women assisting him with cleaning his boots with a scrubber.

Four people stand on a slope looking toward the camera with a telephone pole strung with lights and gray sky in the background. .

Don't let the small size of this group fool you, these highly experienced volunteers are a powerhouse! In just a few hours they weeded out dense patches of Italian thistle at the summit of Sign Hill leaving the area completely transformed. These thistles were right on the cusp of dropping seed and had some gnarly spines, but they were no match for these fearless volunteers!

A man kneels on a trail near a grassy area with a toddler standing on his legs that appears to be yelling.

Two men stand in a field of tall grass, one holding a 5-gallon bucket and the other holds a tall weed while smiling at the camera.

Before

A path and grassy landscape with mountains and gray sky in the background.

After

A group of 5 adults, one holding a toddler, stand in front of a white truck with a chain-link fence and flagpole behind.

Later in spring, we begin to focus our efforts on removing wild mustard as it is beginning to flower.

Three people crouch in a grassy field with their back to the camera and a view of a city and mountains in the background.

Man with a straw hat and sunglasses takes selfie with four people posing in the background with 3 large green hampers full of weeds.

Three people on a trail face away from the camera with knees bent and hands together with a mountain and blue sky in the background.

After sowing a native seed mix, Sign Hill Stewards encourage the seeds to establish with a little happy-growing dance, crouching then reaching our arms up to the sky like little seed leaves.

Five adults, one holding a toddler, pose behind a wooden sign that reads "IRIS HILL TRAIL" with a cityscape and blue sky in the background.

Thank you for all your hard work this spring, Sign Hill Stewards!

Bird Nerd!

Entry #3- Great Horned Owl

Close up of the breast and head of a great-horned owl.

Great horned owl. Photographed by Joe Batom, 2024.

Hello everyone! Welcome back to Bird Nerd, a section of the Sign Hill Stewards Newsletter dedicated to the discussion of our avian friends on the Hill. In this entry, we are discussing the great horned owl (Bubo virginianus).

Betwixt groves of eucalyptus, cypress, and pines on the Hill, silent wings flap deftly. A characteristic “hoo-hoo-hoo-hoot” beckons the attention of nearby birders. Hushed fingers point to the canopy above where yellow eyes pierce through dense vegetation. Having been graced by the presence of a great horned owl, the birders fumble for their cameras and phones to record the observation.

The great horned owl is a well-known bird, widely represented in pop culture. They are the subject of storybooks, films, and cartoons alike, often pictured as being scholarly and mysterious. All for good reason–they have a striking appearance and a charm to them that makes them quite memorable.

Great-horned owl perched in a coniferous tree stares directly into the camera.

These birds are nocturnal predators, meaning that they do most of their hunting in the darkness of night. Sound-dampening features in their large wings allow them to soar almost silently. Paired with an excellent sense of hearing and strong low-light vision, great horned owls are fierce and efficient generalist hunters. They typically target small mammals like squirrels and mice, but will hunt amphibians, reptiles, and even other raptors.

You’ll have to be patient to catch one of these mystic predators on the Hill. During dawn and dusk, survey the foliage of trees and listen for their characteristic hooting. When they are not calling, they are remarkably quiet, so they will be tricky to locate otherwise. As always, keep your distance and remain on trails when looking for these birds. Make sure to utilize a pair of binoculars to spot them from afar. If you get lucky–you may be able to catch a gaze from their golden eyes.

Happy birding!

Joe Batom

Natural Resource Aide

City of South San Francisco

Sign Hill Field Diaries

March 24

SSF Parks team came together to mow all of Sign Hill's trails in just one day! Teamwork!

Before

A grassy slope dotted with trees and fence and houses below under a blue sky.

A grassy area with scattered trees and a trail and red sign reading "LETTERS TRAIL".

A forked path leading up a grassy hill with a trash can and tall tree to the left.

After

A freshly mowed trail on a slope dotted with trees and fence and houses below under a blue sky.

A trail through a grassy area that has been freshly mowed with two men, one carrying a weed-whip.

A freshly-mowed forked path leading up a grassy hill with a trash can and tall tree to the left.

March 26

A green caterpillar with two ants on its back crawling under a lupine leaf with a background of leaves.

Mission blue larva being tended by native ants.

A green caterpillar egg sits atop a lupine leaf.

Red admiral butterfly egg.

Gopher snake slithering through the grass.

A fuzzy yellow cocoon on the underside of a lupine leaf with blurred background.

Cocoon of a parasitic wasp. These wasps lay eggs in caterpillar hosts which become food for their larvae when they hatch.

A large fuzzy black caterpillar with brown spots munches on a lupine seed pod.

Painted tiger moth caterpillar.

A green butterfly rests on a green leaf with a brown grass in the background.

Green hairstreak resting on a soaproot leaf.

April 7

Who could this have bean? We have recently discovered several curious piles of dry beans near the summit of Sign Hill. Could they be someone's lunch leftovers, remains from a sacred ceremony, or scraps from a child's art project? We may never know, but it does serve as a friendly reminder to please never feed wildlife.

Not only are animals not adapted to eating foods from outside their natural environment, but feeding them can also create an association between humans and food, leading to negative or dangerous encounters.

Two pairs of work boots point toward a pile of dry red beans on the ground with sparce plants around.

A brown and orange colored butterfly with spots resembling eyes rests on some green grass.

Common buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia).

A narrow red beetle with black spots walking across a white coumpound flower.

A female Dimorphic Flower Longhorn Beetle (Anastrangalia laetifica).

April 9

A female red-backed jumping spider a.k.a. Johnson's jumping spider (Phidippus johnsoni) scurries away from the freshly mowed area.

A black jumping spider with red markings on its abdomen on the ground with some bits of cut grass.

April 14

A path through a grassy slope with some trees in the background and a fence and houses below.

A vigorous ceanothus bush had grown over the beginning of Seubert Trail, forcing hikers to walk around on a slope. SSF Parks trimmed it back to set the trail back on track. Happy hiking!

April 25

A y-shaped branch with several kinds of lichen and some moss growing on it lies on the ground with some plants around it.

A beautiful array of lichen and moss growing on a dead coyote bush branch.

A green seed casing lies split open with several large brown seeds spilling out.

The fruit of the native California man-root (Marah fabacea)split open to reveal the large penny-sized seeds.

May 7-11

This year were were grateful to partner with SSF Fire Department and CalFire in our effort to control the fuel load on Sign Hill. The crews mowed the tall grasses and reduced the woody material that had regrown after the tree removals of 2022 into discrete piles. This work will help keep the park safer in the event of a wildfire. We look forward to continuing this valuable interagency partnership!

A large group of people firefighters and other uniformed personnel gather around a red fire truck at the end of a street with a cityscape in the background.

Two men in fluorescent yellow jackets oversee other workers moving across a grassy hillside with scattered trees and shrubs.

A large group of firefighters creating a pile of wood in a grassy field with some large trees. There is a cityscape in the background.

Three workers in protective gear walk around a large pile of branches, one holds a chainsaw.

May 9

An fuzzy caterpillar munching on a thistle leaf. It is likely some kind of tiger moth.

A fuzzy brown and yellow caterpillar on a green leaf.

May 12

A few black fuzzy caterpillars with blue and white markings and orange heads eat a green plant.

A common buckeye caterpillar (Junonia coenia).

A cluster of light purple flowers in a green field.

Cute purple blooms of the California aster (Symphyotrichum chilense).

A grassy hillside sprinkled with pink and purple flowers and a neighborhood in the background.

Pink farewell-to-spring clarkia and purple Ithuriel's spear blooms pop up across Sign Hill's slopes.

May 13

A back and white stripey woodpecker with red red perched on a redwood tree trunk.

Nuttall's woodpecker on a redwood tree trunk, photographed by Joe Batom.

May 21

A tiny plant with purple flowers growing in some rocky soil.

It is said that a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet, but what about this skunkweed (Navarretia squarrosa)? This aptly named California native has a very distinct odor reminiscent of a skunk. This adaptation may help to deter herbivores from munching on it.

June 2

South San Francisco shows it's patriotism by painting the Hillside Sign in red, white, and blue with volunteers from Genentech.

A grassy hill with 3 rows of letters reading; "SOUTH", "SAN FRANCISCO", "THE INDUSTRIAL CITY" painted in red, blue, and white consecutively.

June 16

A person in a yellow jacket lies on a trail looking closely at a plant.

SSF Parks staff go to great lengths to count mission blue eggs during monitoring surveys. Here, Joe is fully laid out on the trail.

Close up of a finger pointing at some lupine leaves with brown spots and a tiny translucent caterpillar molt.

What an exciting find! Look carefully and you see the molt from the first instar of a mission blue caterpillar.

A black cicada on a blade of grass with dry grasses in the background.

A noisy cicada (Okanagana canescens).

A plant with small pink flowers and a lupine in a field of brown grasses.

Theses charming pink blooms are simple campion (Silene scouleri ssp. scouleri). This plant has a California Rare Plant Rank of 2B.2, making it the rarest in the park.

A grassy slope that is mostly brown with some scattered tufts of green grass throughout. There are some concrete letters visible and a cityscape below under a blue sky.

Within just a couple of weeks of mowing around the letters, the purple needle grass has sprung back vigorously. This native grass has been largely outcompeted by the taller, invasive, wild oats across the state. Here you can observe it's strategy of investing it's energy into deep root systems, which can reach down over 15 feet into the soil! It is adapted to herds of grazing animals passing through and eating it down to the crown. While we no longer have herds of grazing animals passing through the park, these native grasses can greatly benefit from mowing to break up the thick light-blocking thatch.

Join Sign Hill Stewards!

Four people stand on a trail with three green hampers full of pulled weeds with a flagpole and blue sky in the background.

Volunteer information:

When: Every other Saturday from 9am-12pm. NEW! Early Birds Workday Every other Friday from 7:30-9:30am.

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 16 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.

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