By Neal Wong

Casey Fritz’s husband talked her into it. By late this morning, the Sunset resident was picking up litter outside the Ortega Branch Library.

She was one of thousands of volunteers who signed up for “One City Day.” Fritz said she wanted to do something for the City after constantly seeing negative news about San Francisco.

“The last couple of years, I feel like we’ve gotten a little beat down on,” Fritz said. “So I just love when there’s positive stuff going on in our City. This is like the San Francisco I know and love.”

Organized by San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and his wife Becca Prowda, One City Day was designed as an opportunity for residents to connect and improve their neighborhoods. Volunteers fanned out for 170 projects, including cleanups, tree planting, graffiti removal, mural painting and habitat restoration.

“In the wake of the pandemic, and in a time when so much of our connection happens online, many of us have felt more isolated from one another than we’d like to admit,” Prowda said in a statement. “Service is the antidote. It brings us back together – on our streets, in our neighborhoods, and alongside others who care about this City as much as we do,”

Michael Lambert, a Sunset resident, spent the morning picking up litter and chatting with Fritz.

“Today is a day to be in community with my neighbors and get civically engaged and just really uplift our community, uplift our city and make it better,” said Lambert, who also oversees the entire San Francisco Public Library system.

Phillip Roliz, co-owner of Sunset Roasters, attended a Neighborhood Emergency Response Team training in his role as a firefighter.

“I met a lot of new neighbors as I was helping volunteer in the community,” Roliz said. “When we’re here to volunteer and make it more beautiful and more functional – it’s a great way to meet your neighbors.”

In Golden Gate Park, different kinds of projects were underway. Volunteers and California Academy of Sciences staff spent the morning photographing plants and insects, logging the park’s living things into iNaturalist, an app used by researchers worldwide.

“Bioblitzes are an opportunity for residents in San Francisco to participate in community science,” said Emily Abraham, the Academy’s director of government affairs. “We use an app called iNaturalist and we take photos of any living organism – plant, animal, bug – in the park here today, and that information goes on to help community scientists understand biodiversity in the area.”

Kathryn Stefanski, a Richmond resident, heard about the citywide event from her friends and neighbors. She and her family did some gardening at the John McLaren Memorial Rhododendron Dell, where District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi made appearances

“We love doing stuff with the City, and like, get our hands dirty – a way to feel like we’re making a difference,” Stefanski said. “It’s a way to feel connected to your neighborhood, but also the City as a whole, knowing that neighborhoods across the City are doing the same thing.”

After the projects, volunteers were invited to celebrations in each supervisorial district. Lurie attended one at Underdogs Too on Taraval Street, where he mingled with volunteers.

Earlier in the day, Lurie served food at St. Anthony’s in the Tenderloin before attending neighborhood cleanup and tree planting events.

“I stopped by seven or eight different projects. My wife stopped at seven or eight on the other side of town,” Lurie said.

He said Prowda had the idea for One City Day about a year ago.

“She’s been working tirelessly alongside a lot of volunteers – a lot of people that want to see our City come together, work together and contribute together,” Lurie said. “I’m really proud of her efforts and the thousands and thousands of people that came out today.”