by Alice Martinez
an Diego City Council members Valerie Stallings
and Byron Wear helped kick off a new effort to restore Rose Creek in Pacific
Beach. The project, which began on June 26, is being funded with $40,000
in Community Development Block Grant monies allocated by Stallings and Wear.
The Nature School, a non-profit organization
that focuses on urban creek restoration and watershed education opportunities
for kids, applied for the grant money and is overseeing the project. Nature
School staff have utilized volunteers from the National Civilian Community
Corps, Girl and Boy Scouts, neighborhood children and community activists
to help with the project.
Creek Restoration and Ecology Education for
Kids©, promotes ecological enhancement and environmental stewardship
through interaction with nature, exploration of real life environmental
issues and in-class hatchery of salmon family fishes.
CREEK is interdisciplinary, using multimedia
presentation and artful expression to challenge students' creative ability
in conceiving solutions for environmental protection. Beyond traditional
education, Project CREEK offers guest visits, field study, demonstrations,
school assemblies, on-site workshops and town hall meetings to engage K12
and college students, parents, educators, community leaders and policy makers
as participants in real-life learning as shareholders in managing community
resources.
There are currently two opportunities to restore
urban wetlands. The first is on Mission Bay, America's largest aquatic park,
which is jeopardized by urban run-off via its major tributary, Rose Creek.
The second is the San Diego River, west of the trolley overpass. By cleaning
up the coastal portion of Rose Creek and the San Diego River and restoring
their habitats, open spaces will be preserved for numerous community benefits.
Project CREEK invites the community to take
pride of ownership of these areas with a demonstration of service by the
AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps. AmeriCorps is a national service
organization patterned after the Civilian Conservation Corps of the depression
era, with the military ideals of leadership and teamwork. Teams of 10-14
Corps Members work in communities across the country to "get things
done" in the environment, education, human needs, and public safety.
At the Rose Creek site, an eleven member team
has begun Phase One: cleaning the trash from the area, removing non-native
vegetation, and trail building.
"It has been an incredible effort,"
Stallings said. "In just 10 days, they've removed 40 tons of garbage
and non-native vegetation that has been choking out the fish, wildlife,
and native plants that the creek needs to thrive."
"This has truly been a collaborative effort,"
added Wear. "The Nature School staff has done a great job securing
assistance from a wide variety of groups, and they've helped make our CDBG
dollars go a long way."
In the second phase of the project, children
from area schools will be able to use the area as an outdoor classroom.
The kids will actually help restore native fish and plant species, and monitor
the quality of creek water.
"It's wonderful to see the kids out here,"
Stallings said. "That is probably the best part about this project
the community gets a healthier creek, and in the process the kids receive
a superb outdoor education and a real-life ecological experience."
Please call the Nature School at (619) 224-2003
and let them know how you can help make urban creeks a place of enjoyment
and education for families, community spirit and environmental stewardship
in action.
