MTRP again participating in California Clean Air Day

thumbnail planting trees still mtc sept. 8

For the third consecutive year, the Mission Trails Regional Park (MTRP) Foundation is participating in California Clean Air Day, an annual statewide initiative to recognize the importance of clean air in our communities.

This year, the Foundation is partnering with Davey Resource Group and SDG&E to present an educational discussion about native trees and distribute native trees and shrubs to the event’s attendees. While Clean Air Day is officially Wednesday, October 4, our events will take place the week before.

Rooting for Clean Air–on Thursday, Sept. 28–will feature presentations by Nathan Davila, Utility Consulting Forester for Davey Resource Group, and Mark Berninger, Natural Resource Manager for the City of San Diego’s Open Space Division.

To register for the evening event at the MTRP Visitor Center, visit the MTRP website at: mtrp.org. When registering, you will have the option to complete a form to specify a native tree or shrub you would like to plant in your own yard (MTRP Ranger Heidi Gutknecht is pictured above doing her own planting). Among the native plant choices are Toyon, Blue Elderberry, Coast Live Oak, Engelmann Oak, and Scrub Oak. All of the plants and seedlings are provided through SDG&E’s free tree program.

In addition to the Rooting for Clean Air event, the MTRP Foundation will engage local youth in Clean Air Day through programming, including the teens in the park’s Eco Ambassadors program. Themes relating to air quality will be the focus of the Sept. 24-25 Trail Tykes sessions for toddlers. Families can register for the free Trail Tykes sessions—which take place every second and fourth Sunday and Monday morning at the MTRP Visitor Center—through mtrp.org.

All of us can help improve air quality by taking the Clean Air Pledge. Ways that community members can make a difference include carpooling, taking public transportation, buying local produce, and planting trees. Together, our small actions can create a big impact.

Find a link to the Clean Air Pledge at: mtrp.org.