March
2015

 
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO SAVE THE BOARDWALK!

Thank you to those who have already signed our SAVE THE BOARDWALK petition and e-mailed Charles Lester and Alex Llerandi with the Coastal Commission. 

If you haven't signed the petition yet, please do so! If you have, the next step is to share the petition with your friends!

The Coastal Commission will be meeting on Wednesday, March 11th, at 9:00am to decide the fate of the Boardwalk. We need as many Boardwalk supporters as possible to attend this meeting! It will be held at the Chula Vista Council Chambers:
276 Fourth St.
Chula Vista, CA  91910

All the meeting details are available here.



What's happening:

Coastal Commission staff is recommending the San Dieguito Lagoon Boardwalk be removed. They will make a decision on the staff's recommendation at their March meeting.

The Boardwalk is a valuable asset that promotes environmental education and appreciation of our unique lagoon wetland environment. It was built to protect the wetlands while also allowing people to enjoy and study nature. Learn more here

How you can help:

Sign the petition letting the Coastal Commission know you want the Boardwalk to stay!

Email Charles Lester, Coastal Commission Executive Director, and Alex Llerandi, Coastal Commission Staff Member. Be sure to reference Permit #6-04-088-A12.

Share this with your friends! 

Attend the meeting if you can on Wednesday, March 11th at 9:00am at the Chula Vista Council Chambers.

Thank you for your continued support of the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy and the San Dieguito Lagoon Boardwalk Trail!



MARCH EVENTS IN THE RIVER PARK 

 

Sundays, March

1, 8, 15, 22, 29

10:30 am - 3:30 pm

North San Diego Certified

Farmers Market

Rain or Shine!

Sikes Adobe

Historic Farmstead:

12655 Sunset Dr., Escondido

 

Saturday, March 7

7:30 - 9:30 am

Lake Cuyamaca Bird Walk

Meet at Chambers Park:

15027 Highway 79, Julian

Hosted by Volcan Mountain Foundation Board Member and Naturalist Sharyl Massey

Parking fee: $5

 

Saturday, March 7

9:00 am - 12:00 pm 

Canyoneers Walk at 

Santa Fe Valley

Meet at the Santa Fe Valley Staging Area

4 miles, easy

Hosted by San Diego Museum of Natural History volunteers

 

Sunday, March 8

8:00 - 11:00 am

 Volunteer Trail Maintenance

Meet at the

Bernardo Bay Natural Area

Hosted by San Dieguito

River Park Ranger David Hekel 

 

Saturday, March 14

9:00 - 10:30 am

Wilderness Summit Hike

Meet at the Hubbell Gateway, Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve

5 miles, strenuous 

Call (760) 765-4098 for more info

Hosted by San Diego County Parks

 

Saturday, March 14

9:00 - 10:30 am

Second Saturday Ranger-Led

Walk at San Dieguito Lagoon

Meet at the Crest Canyon North Interpretive Kiosk

2 miles, easy

Hosted by San Dieguito River Park Ranger Bryan Ward

 

Saturday, March 14

10:00 am

What's the Buzz? Insect Talk

Meet at VMF's Volcan Mountain Nature Center:

22850 Volcan Rd., Julian

Co-hosted by Volcan Mountain Foundation and San Diego Natural History Museum's Dr. Michael Wall

RSVP: [email protected]

 

Sunday, March 15

8:30 - 10:30 am

Coastal Walk and

Yoga on the Beach

Meet at the San Andres Dr. Interpretive Kiosk

4 miles, easy

Co-hosted by SDRVC and Yoga Instructor Susan McCrea

 

Sunday, March 15

10:00 am - 1:00 pm

Kanaka Loop Trail Hike

Meet at the Farmer Rd. Staging Area, Santa Ysabel Open Space Preserve East 

7 miles, moderate

Hosted by San Diego County Parks Staff

 

Saturday, March 21

8:00 - 11:00 am

Volunteer Habitat Restoration

Meet at the Ysabel Creek Rd. Staging Area

Hosted by San Dieguito

River Park Ranger Jake Gibbs 

 

Saturday, March 21

8:30 - 10:30 am

 San Dieguito Lagoon Bird Walk

Meet at the Crest Canyon North Interpretive Kiosk

1 mile, easy

Co-hosted by Buena Vista Audubon Society Member John Haddock and San Dieguito River Park Rangers

 

Saturday, March 21

6:00 - 9:00 pm

Legacy of the Land

Plein Air Art Sale & Exhibition

Opening Gala

California Center for the Arts

340 North Escondido Blvd.

Hosted by Art in Nature Alliance

Tickets: $100 each, 35% of sales benefits SDRVC

Purchase tickets here 

Art Exhibition runs from March 22 - May 3

 

Saturday, March 28

8:30 - 11:30 am

Lake Hodges Bird Walk

Meet at Del Dios Community Park

Moderate

Hosted by Palomar Audubon Society Member Jeff Ebright

 

Saturday, March 28

10:00 - 11:00 am 

The History of the Cuyamacas and What's Happening to the Oaks

Meet at the Farmer Rd. Staging Area, Santa Ysabel Open Space Preserve East 

Hosted by San Diego 

County Parks

 

Sunday, March 29

10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Volunteer Trail Service Projects at Santa Ysabel and Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve

Call (760) 765-4098 for locations

Hosted by San Diego  

County Parks

 

For hikes, all mileages are approximate.

 

Please visit our website for more details and full events calendar.  

 

Join our Meetup group to learn more about upcoming hikes and events in 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.fsdrv.org 

 

 www.sdparks.org







Save These Dates:
Plein Air Art Gala
March 21st
Plein Air Art Exhibit
March 22nd
- May 3rd
We're looking forward to this year's "Legacy of the Land" art sale and exhibition with the Plein-Air Painters of America!

from Plein-Air Painters of America website

Twenty Plein-Air painters will spend several days painting throughout the San Dieguito River Valley and watershed. From March 22nd through May 3rd, over 120 paintings documenting urban, rural, and ocean landscapes will be on display and for sale at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido. There will also be an exhibit of Plein-Air paintings by master artists from private collections and museums.

Don't miss your first chance to see and purchase these works of art at the
Opening Gala on Saturday, March 21st. Jean Stern, author and director of the Irvine Museum, will give a talk on art collecting, followed by complimentary hors d'oeuvres, dinner buffet, wine, and champagne.

Jean Stern's speech will begin at 5:00pm and doors to the main event open at 6:00pm.

Gala tickets are $100 each and can be purchased here.
A portion of the ticket and painting sales will benefit the Conservancy.

The exhibition will be open from noon on March 22nd through May 3rd. 

Volunteers needed for the Gala! Be the first to see this historical art show and plein air paintings of scenes from the San Dieguito River Valley. Contact Christy Hendrickson for more details at (858) 755-7967.



 

COMING SOON
New Conservancy Website!
We're getting ready to launch our new San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy website! It's looking great and we're busy with the final touches -- stay tuned!

Del Mar River Path Update

The City of Del Mar has completed its draft River Path plan for public review. You can view the February 13, 2015 draft plan here.

Find out more about the project here. We are also accepting donations to match the $150,000 grant the Conservancy was awarded by the County. If you would like to donate, please click here
Volunteers Contribute in 
Crest Canyon
by Jess Norton, Conservation Manager

A hardworking volunteer crew from Solana Beach Presbyterian Church, Sierra Club North County Chapter, and Cuyamaca College Ornamental Horticulture Department planted 250 native coastal sage scrub plants in the Crest Canyon Open Space Preserve in Del Mar! 

Volunteers at the site

This project, funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Coastal Program, is working to complete restoration within the canyon in partnership with the City of San Diego. 

Hard at work

For several years, the Conservancy has hosted volunteer work events to remove invasive, non-native plants and built a native demonstration garden to display and highlight native plants for park users and surrounding residents. The current re-vegetation project will restore previously disturbed areas and support the native plant garden. But that doesn't mean we're done! 

 

Freshly planted native species


We are looking for volunteers to help maintain the restoration area and native garden to ensure their long-term success. If you love Crest Canyon like we do, and would like to volunteer to help protect this area, please contact Conservation Manager, Jess Norton, at [email protected].  


 

Great work, team!


St. Paul's Lutheran School
Partners to Restore Pond
by Jess Norton, Conservation Manager



40 middle school students, teachers and parents from St. Paul's Lutheran School came out to the San Dieguito Lagoon Pond restoration site for a clean up event on Friday, February 6th. 



In just two hours, these hardworking volunteers removed invasive plants such as castor bean and tumbleweed, picked up debris, and filled a 40-yard green waste dumpster to the top! They had so much fun, they offered to come back and help us plant 160 native species on the site this month. We look forward to partnering with this great group again soon. Special thanks to SDRP Ranger Bryan Ward and City of San Diego Ranger Carey Goldstein for helping with the event.


Check our Facebook page for more photos from this event!


REI 5K Run at Mission Bay
REI, one of our regular corporate partners, is hosting a 5K run on Sunday, March 15, at De Anza Cove Park in Mission Bay. Packet pick-up will take place from 7:45 - 8:15 that morning, and the race starts 8:30am! The run is part of REI's 2015 Run Series. Learn more and sign up here!

California 10/20 Recap
Team SDRVC ran and rocked at the California 10/20 race on February 15th! We're grateful to California 10/20 for their $1500 contribution for the Del Mar River Path Extension.

Our Executive Director Trish at the 10K mark (over halfway done!)

Local photographer Andrea Naylor captured some great photos of the race!
A Bike Ride Down the 
Coast to Crest Trail

 

River Park Ranger Dave Hekel is an avid mountain biker and recently completed a bike ride through the entire River Park from Crest to Coast! Read about his ride here.



Thank You Business Partners!

We were pleased and excited to receive $500 each from Bikes and Beers and Del Mar Farmers Market! Thank you! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get Your Tickets for the 
San Diego International Wine Show!

We're proud to partner with the San Diego International Wine Show for the 3rd straight year. The two-day event is held on April 25-26 at Del Mar Fairgrounds and will feature California's best wine from Napa Valley, Sonoma, and Paso Robles, as well as amazing wines from Italy, France, Spain, South America, Baja California, and more. A portion of all ticket sales will benefit the Conservancy.

Tickets are on sale now!
Executive Director Update
We are pleased to announce our new Advisory Board member, Susan Carter, former Deputy Director of the San Dieguito River Park Joint Powers Authority. Welcome Susan to our team -- you will be a valuable source of energy and information!