JUNE
EVENTS IN THE RIVER PARK
Sundays, June
4, 11, 18, 25
10:30 am - 3:30 pm
North San Diego Certified Farmers Market - Rain or Shine!
Sikes Adobe Historic Farmstead:
Thursday, June 1
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Julian Chamber Mixer
Meet at VMF's Volcan Mountain Nature Center:
Hosted by Volcan Mountain Foundation
Saturday, June 3
8:30 am
Lake Hodges Guided Hike
6 miles, easy
Hosted by San Marcos Park Rangers
Saturday, June 4
9:00 am
Falcons and Hawks! The Art of Falconry
Co-hosted by San Diego County Parks and Recreation and Master Falconer Cisco Cibourne
Sunday, June 4
7:30 am - 12:00 pm
San Dieguito Monthly Bird Count
Hosted by San Dieguito Monthly Bird Count Leader Jayne Lesley
Saturday, June 10
8:00 am - 10:30 am
Hidden Trails of the West Preserve
6 miles, strenuous
Hosted by San Diego County Park Ranger Doug
Saturday, June 10
8:30 am
Canyoneers Hike at San Dieguito Lagoon
6 miles, easy
Hosted by San Diego Natural History Museum Volunteers
Sunday, June 11
8:00 am - 11:00 am
Volunteer Trail Maintenance
Hosted by San Dieguito River Park Ranger David Hekel
Sundays, June 11 and 18
8:00 am - 12:00 pm
Nature Touch Table
Hosted by San Diego County Park Ranger
Sunday, June 11
12:00 pm - 4:30 pm
18th Annual Scripps Ranch Community Fair
Alliant International University:
Hosted by Scripps Ranch Civic Association
Come visit the San Dieguito River Park booth!
Saturday, June 17
8:30 am - 11:00 am
Volunteer Habitat Restoration
Hosted by San Dieguito River Park Rangers JJ Paetow and Hilary Mills
Saturday, June 17
8:30 am - 10:30 am
San Dieguito Lagoon Bird Walk
Hosted by Buena Vista Audubon Society Member John Haddock
Saturday, June 17
9:00 am
Lake Hodges Family Adventure - Kayak & Hike
Directions available upon registration
Co-hosted by SDRVC and Outdoor Outreach
Cost: $15/person
Limited to 32 participants
Sunday, June 18
9:00 am
Falcons and Hawks! The Art of Falconry
Co-hosted by County of San Diego Parks and Recreation and Master Falconer Cisco Cibourne
Sunday, June 18
10:00 am
Yoga at the Birdwing
Co-hosted by SDRVC and Yoga Instructor Susan McCrea
Saturday, June 24
9:00 am
Hodges & Horses!
Directions available upon registration
Co-hosted by SDRVC and Freedom Song Ranch
Limited to 30 participants
All events are free unless otherwise noted.
For hikes, all mileages are approximate.
Join the Conservancy's
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:
For more information, please visit these websites:
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The River Park JPA and Conservancy held their Annual Volunteer Appreciation party on May 13th at the Surf Cup Sports Park (formerly Polo Fields).
JPA Board Members Dave Grosch (Chairman, Poway), Supervisor Kristin Gaspar (Vice-Chair, County) and Council Member Barbara Bry (City of San Diego), and Conservancy President Brad Bartlett recognized our volunteers. Each cited the importance of volunteerism to continue our efforts to protect natural resources, maintain trails and educate residents about the River Park.
Volunteers honored this year for their exceptional service include Robert Byrnes, Arne Johanson, Tom Brown, Victor and Cindy Uyeji, Ginni Kitchen, Rich Weier, Antonella Pak, Shane Heppner, Diane Hillman, and Bill McKinney.
In 2016, volunteers provided over 11,000 hours of service in the River Park, a huge accomplishment that equates to $220,000 worth of staff time!
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From left to right: Robert Byrnes, Tom Brown, Kristin Gaspar, Victor Uyeji, Shane Heppner, Cindy Uyeji, Ginni Kitchen, Rich Weier, Bill McKinney
Photo by Peter Shapiro
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Guests were treated to a delicious buffet lunch catered by Da Kine Hawaiian and kept cool with chilled beverages. They were able to stroll to the San Dieguito River and see the future alignment of a segment of the Coast to Crest Trail, staked and newly surveyed.
Special thanks to Jacqueline Winterer and Surf Cup Sports for their generous donations and to the Rangers and JPA staff who organized the event.
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| Support the Conservancy at KAABOO! |
Big news this month! You may have seen our announcement on Facebook -- but we're thrilled to partner with KAABOO this year! They will donate 20% of the proceeds from tickets purchased through this link to the Conservancy.
KAABOO is a three-day music festival that takes place at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in September. The events and lineup have been curated to appeal to all senses, with world-class music, hilarious comedy, inspiring contemporary art, gourmet cuisine, craft libations, and personal indulgences. Just about everyone will find an act to get excited about in their 2017 lineup.
Get your passes today
and please share our link with your music-loving friends!
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| SDRVC Executive Director Honored with Suncatcher Award |
Trish Boaz, Executive Director of the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy, received the San Diego EarthWorks' Sun Catcher award at the organization's annual dinner on May 24th.
Every year, EarthWorks recognizes businesses, clubs, organizations and/or individuals that deserve special recognition for their work on behalf of a clean, healthy environment.
Trish's long-time friend, former City Councilwoman, Donna Frye, presented her with the award. Over the last 20-some years, Trish and Donna have worked together on environmental causes.
Congratulations Trish!
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Lake Hodges Family Adventure:
Kayak & Hike
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June 17th
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Join the Conservancy for a day of family adventure!
Discover the natural resources and beauty of the Lake Hodges area from land and water.
The Conservancy will take you on a fun one-mile round-trip hike and Outdoor Outreach will lead an hour kayak session on Lake Hodges.
Sorry, we love our furry friends, but no dogs allowed at this event.
When: Saturday, June 17th at 9:00 am
Where: Directions will be provided upon registration
Cost: $15/person
Limited to 32 participants
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Hodges & Horses
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June 24th
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The San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy invites you and your family to a fun 1-mile round-trip hike at Lake Hodges leading to the home of Julia Erickson and Tom McGrath, owners of Freedom Song Ranch in Escondido.
Meet and feed their beautiful horses, and one very special pony, Princess. We'll also get to meet two new foals, delivered just before our visit, and explore a nature trail on the property.
Sorry, we love our furry friends, but no dogs allowed on this hike. There are dogs to enjoy at the ranch. A couple are very rare! Come meet them!
Register here
When: Saturday, June 24th at 9:00 am
Where: Directions will be provided upon registration
Cost: Free; donations gratefully accepted
Limited to 30 participants
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| Rotarians at Work Day 2017 |
Over 40 members of Rotary Club of Del Mar, Boy Scout Troop 713, and Vent
ure Crew joined Park
Rangers at the San Dieguito Lagoon on Saturday, May 13
th
for Rotarians at Work Day. Volunteers
weeded a 1.72-acre habitat restoration site and spread mulch around almost 500
plants that were
planted this past winter. The Rotary Club of Del Mar also presented the San D
ieguito River Park with a
$750 donation, which was used to purchase the mulch.
We greatly app
reciate everyone
'
s help and the
donation to make the park a better place for our wildlife!
photos from Del Mar Rotary
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San Dieguito Lagoon Day,
hosted by the
Del Mar San Dieguito Lagoon Committee; San Dieguito River Park JPA;
San Dieguito River Valley
Conservancy; the Marine Science Institute of the University of California,
Santa Barbara; and Wild
Wonders, was held at the Birdwing Open Air Classroom on M
ay 20
th.
The day started early with a bird walk, followed by a presentation of native
birds, mammals and reptiles
by Wild Wonders. Participants enjoyed family-friendly events and fun for all
ages, including using
binoculars to find and learn about bi
rds
found in the Lagoon and creating artwork out of plant and other
materials found in the area. Attendees also made seed balls out of native seeds an
d soil to be distributed within
the River Park to increase native habitat. Parents and children learned about th
e role of aquatic animals
by looking at live specimens found at the lagoon and presented by biol
ogists that monitor species at the
wetland restoration project.
We enjoyed sharing the Lagoon with the public and thank our voluntee
rs for joining us for a great day!
photo by Len Filomeo
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Citizen Science Field Day with High Tech Elementary
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Last month, we welcomed our newest Citizen Scientist recruits from
High Tech
Elementary North County. These young scientists are part of
our continuing partnership
with the school to review photos from our wildlife cameras
and record data on species
occurrences in the River Park.
As part of their training, students joined
Conservancy and River Park
JPA staff at the Lake Hodges Boat Launching Area to learn about our local environment and plant biodiversity. Students took part in three group activities including animal tracking, plant surveys using GPS, and using iPads to record species observations to iNaturalist, an online citizen science project.
Next month they will be presenting thei
r wildlife camera research results at a school exhibition
--
we
'
ll be sure to share their findings with you!
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Take it Outside California! 2017
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On May 6
th
, 24 hikers (and 1 dog) joined the Conservancy and Rincon
Consultants for
a
hike through Del Dios Gorge as part of the 2
nd
annual
Take it Outside California!
initiative
.
Started by the California Council of Land Trusts in 2016,
this statewide
initiative encourages nonprofits and public agencies to hos
t free outdoor events every
year on the first weekend of May as a way to connect Californi
ans to great outdoor
places and experiences
.
Despite being overcast and drizzly, it was a perfect day to
explore and learn about the wildlife and geology in the San Dieg
uito River Park
.
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Deer Canyon Elementary Visits Sikes Adobe
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Each year, Deer Canyon Elementary sends their entire 4
th g
rade class to visit Sikes Adobe Historic
Farmstead for a field trip that complements their Social St
udies and History
curriculum.
The students engage in activities the Sikes family and early San Diego Coun
ty pioneer
farmers would have taken part in on a daily basis. Students learned how to work in
the field, specifically
farming and tending kitchen gardens.
Mounds were dug so that the students could plant corn, climbing
beans, and squash. The beans grow up the corn like a beanpole and the squash keeps
some of the
pests away. This method of growing vegetables is called the Three Sisters Method
and was developed
by Native Americans.
Students alse learned to wash laundry by hand, churned bu
tter, and toured the house
while learning about artifacts in the collection and how to interpret t
hem.
Most of the instructors for
this field trip are volunteer docents. They are a committed group that
develops and implements these
programs and it is not possible to welcome school groups of this siz
e to Sikes Adobe without their hard
work and dedication. If you are interested in being a volunteer instruc
tor or docent for these types of
programs, contact Ranger David Vidal at
dvidal@sdrp.org
.
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