Join us May 15th for a special event at the Strawberry Stand Wetland Learning Center at the San Dieguito Lagoon to celebrate Watershed Awareness Month. Bring the kids for hands-on encounters with Kruisin Kritters' live reptiles and snakes. Sky Hunters will be there to show us their hawks and owls.

Read more below about Wetland Education Opportunities at the Strawberry Stand Wetland Learning Center.

Every month the River Park hosts workparties that benefit people and wildlife by removing potential pollutants from the watershed, removing trash and debris from wildlife areas, removing non-native invasive plants like arundo and tamarisk and planting native plants like willow and mulefat. Workparties also reconstruct damaged portions of the Coast to Crest Trail. We really need YOUR help! We provide the tools, training, water and snacks.
Shown here are Vista High School students clearing out invasive plants in San Pasqual Valley.
Next Trail Maintenance Workday: Sunday May 8th. (Next one is June 12th) Trail work may consist of trimming vegetation with loppers, using hand tools such as shovels and rakes; installing fence or sign posts; compacting and shaping soil; and trash cleanup.
Next Habitat Restoration Workday: Saturday May 21st. Habitat work consists of the following: planting mule fat trimmings in containers or ground; cutting invasive arundo using loppers; watering plants and weeding; using wheelbarrows, shovels, rakes; trash cleanup.
Call 858 674-2275 x 5 to reserve a space.

Is there an elusive sea creature in Lake Hodges? Would you believe that in 1932 Scripps scientists sent divers and equipment to the bottom of Lake Hodges to see. It's true! Did an ancient earthquake fault lead to unexplained phenomena? Barbara Baker, in her newest "Many Trails to Travel, Many Tales to Tell" column talks about these and other nuggets as she takes you along the trail with her.

The San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy is continuing their fundraising drive to purchase the 353-acre Lake Sutherland East property, a landscape of oak woodland, oak-studded savannah, and coastal sage scrub. They are seeking individuals willing to host a small party for their neighbors at their home to help get the word out and raise money for this significant land purchase. Recently, members of the Ramona Trails Association held a party in one member's home and raised $5,000, which was then matched by the Ramona Trails Association. If you think you would be interested in hosting a party, please call Craig Adams, Executive Director of the Conservancy, at 858 755-6956.

In the top article above you see that the Strawberry Stand Wetland Learning Center provides the forum for learning about watersheds at special events. But it also has provided a location and materials for ongoing wetland education programs. We are developing a field education program that we plan to make available to teachers in the Fall, and we hope they will be able to make extensive use of the facility. However, because the existing interpretive signage at the Wetland Learning Center already offers self- guided educational opportunities, we want to make it accessible to interested visitors. Here's how you can help! We would like to open the Center to the public every Saturday afternoon. To accomplish this, we need the help of volunteers who are willing to commit to come one Saturday a month to open the gate and be present while the Center is open. This is an important activity that will introduce Park visitors to the site and its educational features, and, as the restoration project begins later this summer, a place for people to check on its progress. If you are interested in helping us open the Wetland Learning Center to the public, please give Barbara Baker a call at 858 674- 2275 x 14.

Another piece of news is that the recent conversion of the old strawberry stand on Via de la Valle into a soaring architectural conversation piece is the subject of a new interpretive panel to be installed at the Strawberry Stand Wetland Learning Center next week. The funding for the interpretive panel came from a William Turnbull Jr. FAIA Environmental Education grant that focused on adaptive reuse and recycling of a structure to meet evolving community needs. Click here for a view of the new panel.

90 Acres North of Julian Acquired
The River Park closed escrow in early March on 90 acres of beautiful back country property adjacent to Farmer Road, north of Julian. This acquisition was facilitated by The Trust for Public Land, and funded by the State Wildlife Conservation Board, with $1,360,000 in funds from Proposition 13, the Clean Water Bond act approved by the voters of California in 2000. Click here to see pictures and maps of the new River Park properties!

What's Growing On in the Field?
Despite the rains, winter is the best time to implement many of the Park's habitat restoration projects. Trails and Resource Manager Jason Lopez writes about Field Management in his regular column, " What's Growing On".

Many River Park supporters may not know that the River Park has converted from a print-based news distribution to an e-mail based distribution only. Therefore, please forward this e-mail to anyone you think would be interested. Then they can sign up for themselves if they wish to continue receiving the San Dieguito River Park's RiverScape newsletter. Thank you!