Craib battling Algerian ivy. Photo by Murray Schneider 
- Richard Craib cutting Cape Ivy. Photo by Murray Schneider
High above the canyon floor, Jan. 12, 2011
In the shadows of School of the Arts, along a trail pockmarked with wet and soggy ruts made by park hikers, Richard Craib wrestles with armloads of Cape Ivy. Craib and five other Friends of Glen Park volunteers untangledthe invasive vine from impenetrable thickets of willow branches.
Not content to single out inimical Cape ivy, Craib slugged it out with equally invasive Algerian ivy that makes a habit of serpentining around willow trunks. He is seen here combating a forest of the intrusive ivy along with the other volunteers, in their roles as adjunct stewards to San Francisco Parks and Recreation Natural Areas Program.
Craib and his corp of volunteers work each Wednesday and Saturday for three hours to keep our Canyon in shape. If anyone is interested in joining his work parties, he can be reached at richcraib@gmail.com.
By Murray Schneider