About Help McLaren Park

History

Help McLaren Park (HMP) is a volunteer community organization, fiscally sponsored by the San Francisco Parks Alliance. HMP began in 2005 when a group of neighbors began working together to bring improvements to this regional park. Because Help McLaren Park believes users make the park a welcoming and safe place, HMP

Advocates for McLaren Park funding
Collaborates with San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department
Hosts bi-monthly volunteer workdays

Park Beautification

In addition to its advocacy for park improvements including signage, information kiosks, playground renovations, trail upgrades, and restroom improvements, Help McLaren's work includes beautification project such as the tiled bollards at the Gambier entrance, a mural at the Peru Street playground, tiled planter boxes at Louis Sutter playground, and a tiled San Francisco garter snake mural along the retaining wall at McNab Lake.

To date, HMP's accomplishments include:

Yosemite March reclamation
Gambier Plaza renovation (2010)
Peru Street Playground renovation and porta potty placement (2012-2013)
Secured bond funding for Park Rangers
Garter snake mosaic tile mural at McNab Lake (2015)
Installation of five information kiosks (2012-2022)
New public restroom and renovation of McLaren Group Picnic Area and playground (2020)
Dredging of McNab Lake (periodic)

Are there fish in the pond?

When artist Hudson Lanier proposed a donation of 350 ceramic fish, the first thing that popped into Help McLaren's president Chuck Farrugia's head was creating a fishbowl out of the Louis Sutter Roundhouse.

Newcomers to Louis Sutter Playground often ask about the local wildlife and Farrugia thought the Fish Tile Mural would highlight that yes, there are fish in McNab Lake. Oldtimers will remember the pebbled stone surface of the Louis Sutter Roundhouse, now covered over with beige paint. Over the course of a year, Help McLaren went through public processes to secure permission from San Francisco's Recreation and Parks Department and a grant from San Francisco Community Challenge Grant to fund the Fish Tile Mural installation.