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Meet the “Rain Guardians” who Adopted this Mission Green Infrastructure

Mission residents Green Mann, Rebecca Kaufman, and Nick O’Neill are co-adopters of the SFPUC rain garden at Duncan St. and Tiffany Ave. | Image: Will Callan/SFPUC
  • Will Callan

The rain garden at the corner of Duncan St. and Tiffany Ave. has one name: The Dumpy Bird Memorial Swale (more on that later). But ask a resident what the neighborhood is called, and answers may vary. 

“‘The Tiffany neighborhood’ works. Or ‘Tiffany Triangle,’” said Green Mann, a longtime resident. “I’ve heard ‘the Transmission,’” added neighbor Rebecca Kaufman. “There’s ‘La Lengua,’ which is ‘the tongue’ of the Mission.” The list goes on. But these differences of opinion are superficial. When it comes to stewardship of nearby green infrastructure, locals in this corner of the Mission are united.

Mann, Kaufman, and Kaufman’s husband Nick O’Neill co-adopted the Tiffany/Duncan rain garden as part of the SFPUC’s Rain Guardians program, which started in 2019. By visiting rainguardians.org, volunteers can claim one of the City’s rain gardens and commit to keeping it clean and in working order. 

Another nearby rain garden, also part of the Mission Valencia Green Gateway project. | Image: Will Callan/SFPUC

Rain gardens are a type of green infrastructure, which the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) has built around the City to help manage stormwater, while beautifying streets. Green infrastructure uses plants and soil to absorb stormwater, relieving pressure on San Francisco's combined sewer system during heavy rainstorms, and filtering pollutants from stormwater to protect waterways. 

Under the trio’s care, this piece of green infrastructure at Tiffany and Duncan is healthy and trash-free. “We walk by here a lot – a lot,” said Kaufman. “So, it's kind of just a casual, okay, grab that nasty piece of paper, or whatever, as we're walking by.”

Mann knew there were a bunch of rain gardens in the area (11, as part of the Mission Valencia Green Gateway project), but they were all spoken for, and she saw no way to formally join the maintenance effort. So, she emailed the SFPUC about “co-adopting” them through the Rain Guardians website. “My interest was helping out the community and honoring all the work that’s already happened to make it work and beautify the neighborhood,” she said.  

Now, anyone can co-adopt a rain garden in the City – there are dozens to choose from. According to Mann, the co-adoption feature broadens local accountability, allowing more residents to care for the City’s public green spaces. “It heightens my noticing,” she said – of trash, debris, and blocked curb cuts. Like all the City’s Rain Guardians, Mann is equipped with an SFPUC-supplied gear box: safety vest, gardening gloves, and lightweight aluminum trash picker. 

Kaufman and O’Neill’s rain guardianship goes back several years. They learned about the program at a tabling event manned by the SFPUC’s Kelly Teter, who sold them on the virtues of maintaining a piece of urban greenery that both beautifies the neighborhood and helps San Francisco manage stormwater. 

“Then we emailed the [neighborhood] list saying, 'hey everyone go grab a rain garden'”, said Kaufman. The suggestion seems to have worked – all 11 rain gardens in the Mission Valencia Green Gateway project have been adopted. It helps Kaufman and O’Neill stay motivated to know that the rain gardens are meeting their stormwater management goals. “When we’ve had really big rains, you can see the swales are doing their job,” said Kaufman. 

SFPUC monitoring found that during the 2017-18 rainy season, the Mission Valencia Green Gateway project reduced the amount of stormwater entering the sewer system from the project area by 1.5 million gallons, or 86%. Mann, who works at the Flowercraft Garden Center on Bayshore Blvd., has also seen the gardens in action. “I'm so grateful for the program,” she said. “It feels like the City's really doing something practical that is science-based.”

As for the Tiffany/Duncan rain garden’s name, Kaufman’s husband O’Neill explained that it’s in honor of a one-eyed finch that used to grace their backyard. They called him “dumpy bird.” “Then the cat got him,” he said. He lives on in the Dumpy Bird Memorial Swale.

Folks wanting to adopt or co-adopt a City-owned rain garden can do so at rainguardians.org. Once you make an account, you’ll receive occasional email announcements, including details about upcoming Rain Guardians volunteer events, where you can get involved and learn more about the program.