By Jeff Clemetson | Editor

Watershed program brings students to outdoors from mountains to sea

On May 18 at Mission Trails Regional Park, various local conservancy organizations and County Supervisor Dianne Jacobs celebrated the purchase of a 15-passenger van that is the final piece to a program that will expand access to educational programs along the San Dieguito River watershed.

The Watershed Explorers Project is a partnership of the San Dieguito River Park Joint Powers Authority and nonprofits in the watershed. The San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy leads the group of organizations that includes the San Dieguito River Park, San Diego Canyonlands, the Volcan Mountain Foundation and the San Diego Archeology Center.

The focus of the program is to provide nature-deprived kids and families an opportunity to experience the watershed from the mountains to the ocean follow the water through many ecosystems, learn and become environmental stewards.
“We’ve built thousands of trails along the San Diego River and the San Dieguito River,” said Jacobs to the conservancy representatives and a group of students from Monroe Clark Middle School in City Heights at the van christening event. “We keep doing more and acquiring open space and I thought this is the next step to get you young people out to enjoy nature, to learn about nature, to appreciate it.”

Although Jacobs, along with The San Diego Foundation Opening the Outdoors Initiative, was instrumental in securing county funds for the new van, the idea for the Watershed Explorers began with former San Diego River Park Executive Director Dianne Coombs, who brought the various groups together and helped coordinate the necessary funding sources.

“Dianne’s passion for this project is just amazing,” said Leana Bulay, manager of interpretation and outreach for San Dieguito River Park. “She got us all together, got us excited and said, ‘here you go.’ This was her baby, her brainchild, she made it happen.”

What Coombs made happen is a comprehensive program where students learn about the watershed from top to bottom — mountain to ocean.

At Volcan Mountain, students experience the river headwaters where they examine the forests, plants and animals from a point where on a clear day they can see along the watershed all the way to the ocean.

The next stop is Lake Sutherland which is a bit lower in elevation and a different habitat type. “There they’ll do animal tracking and learn about the reptiles and learn about that ecosystem,” Bulay said.

Moving west, the program teaches about another environment shaped by the cultural history of the San Pasqual Valley, with visits to the San Diego Archeology Center and the Sikes Adobe Historic Farm House.

The next stop focuses on water at Lake Hodges Reservoir as well as the beginnings of the interface with urban development and its environmental impacts. The final stop, at the end of the watershed, is at the Birdwing Open Air Classroom overlooking the eastern portion of the restored San Dieguito Lagoon.

“We take all the samples of the water testing they’ve done throughout the watershed and we compare them to see how water changes,” Bulay said.

The lagoon trip also teaches how restoration projects work.

“Southern California Edison came in and spent about $86 million restoring this lagoon and now it has just turned into a paradise with the bird species, the reptiles, the mammals — they’ve all come back — so now humans can help what’s once been damaged.”

So far, there have only been a few schools and groups that have participated in the program.

In February, students from High Tech High School and the students from Monroe Clark were the pilot programs. Since then, students from Spring Valley Academy in La Mesa and Boys & Girls Club of Solana Beach have joined the program.

“During the summer, we’ll work more with Boys & Girls Clubs, Girl Scouts and once the school year starts, we hope to be reaching out to other schools,” Bulay said.

“The main impediment to opening the outdoors to many students is the cost of transportation,” said Trish Boaz, executive director of San Diego River Valley Conservancy in a press release. “Most schools cannot afford transportation costs, especially for a program that travels a whole watershed.”

Now that the Watershed Explorers have two vans that can transport 28 children, Bulay expects the program to grow, which brings its own challenges.

“There has been lots of interest in the program, so now the problem is staffing,” she said. “We are looking for volunteers and grants to help with that.”

At the May 18 van christening event, Supervisor Jacobs hinted at future programs that may even need more grant money.

“We’re going to build the first ever nature preserve where the San Dieguito River and the San Diego River comes together,” she said, adding that the county has 86 acres in Julian set aside for the project.

“San Diego’s outdoor environment and active community is the lifeblood of our city,” said Emily Young of the San Diego Foundation in a statement. “It’s important that we continue to invest in projects that advance community-driven efforts to engage youth in environmental programs and develop an interconnected network of natural areas, gathering places and trails across the county so that the outdoors is easily accessible from any San Diegan’s doorstep.”

For more information about the Watershed Explorers, visit the San Diego River Valley Conservancy page at bit.ly/1tp8Ny5.

—Reach Jeff Clemetson at [email protected].