June
2014
Greetings!
 
We are very excited to announce that together, the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy with River Park have been selected as one of 8 finalists for the 2014 EARTH 8 ecoambassadors People's Choice Awards. Your vote will help us win a major grant for our education programs. Read more in the article below.
 
The Sikes Adobe Creamery Grand Opening and Dedication Ceremony is Wednesday, June 4th. Please join County Supervisor Dave Roberts for the celebration which includes a tour of the Creamery. 
 
Don't miss out on all the exciting FREE programs offered at the new Birdwing Open Air Classroom this month.  Click here for descriptions of the many programs offered. 

 

EVENTS IN THE RIVER PARK  

 

 

North San Diego

Certified Farmers Market

Sundays - Rain or Shine 

June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29

10:30 am - 3:30 pm

Sikes Adobe Historic Farmstead

 

 

Spring Hike

Sundays, June 1, 15, 29

10:00 am - 1:00 pm

Farmer Road Staging Area, Santa Ysabel Preserve East

 

 

Sikes Adobe Creamery
Opening & Dedication
Wednesday, June 4
4:00 pm

 

Trail Runners Bootcamp
Saturday, June 7
8:30 am
Hosted by the San Diego Running Club
 
 

Canyoneers Walk at Volcan Mountain 

Saturday, June 7

9:00 - 11:30 am

Strenuous 3 Miles

hosted by Natural History Museum Volunteers

Hubbell Gateway off 

Farmer Road

 

 

Sky Hunters Birds of Prey

Saturday, June 7

1:00 pm

Hosted by Nancy Conney, 

Dir. Sky Hunters

Birdwing Open Air Classroom 

 

 

Volunteer Trail Maintenance

Sunday, June 8

8:00 am - 11:00 am

 Sunset Drive Staging Area

 

  

Hike Across Santa Ysabel Preserve East

Sunday, June 8

10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Strenuous 8 Miles

Hwy. 79 Interpretive Kiosk

 

 

Full Moon Night Hike

Friday, June 13

9:00 pm - 10:00 pm

3 Miles 

 

  

Canyoneers Walk on Piedras Pintadas Ridge
Saturday, June 14
8:00 am - 10:00 am
Easy 4 Miles
San Diego Natural History Museum Volunteers


Attracting Butterflies & 
Hummingbirds to Your Garden
Saturday, June 14
10:00 am
Presented by Marcia Vanloy, UCCE Master Gardener


Exploring Pond Habitats
Saturday, June 14
1:00 pm
presented by High Tech High Elementary


Second Saturday Ranger-Led Walk at the Lagoon
Saturday, June 14
9:00 am - 10:30 am
Easy 2 Miles


Birdwatching & Walk
Saturday, June 21
8:00 am
Led by John Haddock, Buena Vista Audubon Society


The Living Coast
Saturday, June 21
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Presented by the Living Coast Discover Center


15th Annual Enviro Fair 
Saturday, June 21
12:00 pm  - 5:30 pm


Coastal Hike and Yoga on the Beach
Sunday, June 22
8:30 am - 11:00 am


Yoga at the Lagoon
Saturday, June 28
9:00 am - 10:00 am
Led by Dr. James Danoff-Burg


Introduction to Wildlife Tracking
Saturday, June 28
11:00 am
Hosted by San Diego Tracking Team


Miss Smarty Plants Grows 
Earth Heros
Saturday, June 28
2:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Hosted by the 
Water Conservation Garden

 

SEE THE COMPLETE LIST OF EVENTS

 


Connect with the Conservancy

 

 

Connect with the 

River Park

 

   

 

  

Your membership helps us to fulfill our mission to protect  the San Dieguito Watershed for generations to come.

 

SUPPORT NATURE SUPPORT THE RIVER PARK

 

 

For more information, please visit these websites:

 

www.sdrp.org

 

www.sdrvc.org

 

 www.sdparks.org











 

EARTH 8 
ecoambassadors 
Finalist!
June 10 - July 3
The EARTH 8 ecoambassadors program is a project of CBS 8, The Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, SDG&E, and the San Diego River Park Foundation. Its mission is to promote a healthy, sustainable earth through education, outreach and stewardship and to inspire the next generation of San Diegans to continue to preserve our planet. 
 
Together, the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy and the River Park were selected from many candidates to be one of 8 finalists for this prestigious recognition and to receive a grant of up to $25,000. We were selected for our environmental education programs which include:

 

Connecting People with Nature Program which combines classroom curriculum that meets new state standards with hands-on programs in the living laboratory that is the San Dieguito Lagoon.  It is being rolled out to two schools this year with more to come in the future.  

 

Lagoon Days where over 600 third graders from Del Mar Unified School District visit the lagoon to learn about about ecosystems, wetland restoration and the importance of protecting our natural resources.
 

Citizen Science Monitoring Program which enables volunteers to collect field data on mammals, birds and vegetation within defined areas of the River Park. 

 

Free Educational Programs at the Birdwing Open Air Classroom and the many other education programs provided to schools and the community throughout the year.

  

Your votes will determine the outcome! 

The voting period is OPEN from 9 am on Tuesday, June 10, 2014 through noon on Wednesday, July 2, 2014.  

 

Bookmark this link to vote daily.

This link will go live when the 

voting begins on June 10th.

cbs8.com/ecoambassadors  

 

One valid vote per device (for example: mobile smartphone, desktop computer, tablet) allowed every 24-hours during the voting period.

Any attempts to vote more than once per 24-hour period with the same device may result in disqualification of the submitted finalist and removal of votes.

 

Sikes Adobe Creamery Opening
June 4
CELEBRATE WITH US!
Sikes Adobe Creamery Opening and Dedication
Wednesday, June 4 at 4:00 pm

 

Dave Roberts, District 3 County Supervisor and Chairman of the San Dieguito River Park JPA, will cut the ribbon to welcome the community to the newly restored Sikes Adobe Creamery. Please join us for refreshments and samples of freshly churned butter!

 

The Creamery has been an on-going community project, completed with the help of many volunteers including: the Bricklayers of San Diego & Imperial Counties Apprenticeship Trust and the New Haven Youth Build Program. 

 

The building dates to 1885-1890 and was once used as a dairy house. Like the farmhouse, the Creamery depicts what life was like for San Diego's pioneering families and will be open for public tours.

 

 see the map

 

We look forward to seeing you at the Creamery

on Wednesday, June 4 at 4:00 pm!

New Conservation Manager
June 16, 2014
The San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy Welcomes Jessica Norton as Conservation Manager
Jess worked over 4 years at the County Department of Parks and Recreation preparing resource management plans and conducting field surveys.  

 

Jess is currently working at the Tetra Tech, Inc. at the Camp Pendleton Office of Environmental Security updating and revising the Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan. Jess is also enrolled in SDSU's Professional Certificate Program for Water Management and Landscape Sustainability.

 

We welcome Jess and are confident the she has the experience, knowledge and skills to help fulfill the Conservancy's (and River Park's) missions including leading the Citizen Science Monitoring Program, hosting interpretive hikes, restoring local habitats and protecting species, monitoring and managing open space and writing grants. Jess will be coming on board Monday, June 16, 2014.  Read more about Jess in the next Conservancy newsletter.


Boudin Benefit
June 25

DINE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE


Dine at Boudin in Encinitas on June 25th! 
20% of all sales generated (excluding tax and alcohol) from Dine-In and To-Go purchases between 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm will go directly to the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy in support of the conservation, education and recreation programs in the River Park.




Thursday, June 25
3:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Boudin SF Encintas
296 N. El Camino Real
Encintas, CA 92024 

 

24 Hour BioBlitz at Lake Hodges

 

April 24-25

 

More than 200 people participated in a 24-hour BioBlitz at Lake Hodges



 

 

Led by Conservancy Board Member, Dr. James Danoff-Burg and the Conservation Education Division of the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, in conjunction with 14 partner agencies, the group successfully staged its first BioBlitz in the San Dieguito River Park on April 24-25.  This intensive 24-hour effort records species in a given area - in this case, the north shore of Lake Hodges in the San Pasqual Valley. The purpose of the BioBlitz is to engage the community in conservation by collecting data on the biodiversity of a single area at one time of the year.

 

232 people participated in the BioBlitz, including 110 students from six different organizations within Southern California, ranging from kindergarten to college level. In addition, representatives from 14 organizations participated in supporting this all-volunteer event.

 

What did we find?  The group recorded over 676 species in only 24 hours from around Lake Hodges! A total of 389 non-insect species were identified including 262 plants, 4 fungi, 77 birds, 15 reptiles, 2 amphibians, 17 terrestrial mammals, and 5 bats. At least 287 additional insect and other arthropod species were captured and are being identified to species by experts.  Interestingly, of the 255 plants that were identified and classified during the BioBlitz by native status (another 7 were not classified), an impressive 70% were native and only 10% of the total were invasive exotic species. Similarly, 82% of the 16 mammal species were native. 

 

 

See more photos of the BioBlitz


 

SAVE THE DATE
River Valley Fest
October 12, 2014
 River Valley Fest
 October 12, 2014

Mark your calendars for the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy's biggest fundraiser of the year. Once again,the Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa will host the event. As always, there will be delicious food, great music and enticing auction items! This will be an event you will not want to miss!