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From the Desk of Jeff Swenerton
By Jeff Swenerton Small, focused organizations can be remarkably effective. As I reflect back on my experience as a board member of The Escondido Creek Conservancy, I am honored to be a part of an organization that has accomp...
2022-01-21 -
Education Director Simon Breen Awarded Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s 2021 Educator of the Year.
The Escondido Creek Conservancy Education Director, Simon Breen, awarded Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s 2021 Educator of the Year. ________________________________________ Escondido, CA—01/16/2021 The Escondido Cre...
2022-01-19 -
Looking for Interns.
Looking for nature-loving interns to start in early 2022. Send resumes. Cover letters set you apart. Work remotely. Contact Rita at [email protected]
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Troussel Donation Key to Pickup Purchase
The big job of managing habitat in the Escondido Creek watershed was made easier this month with the purchase of a new pickup truck made possible, in part, by a large donation from the Troussel Family Foundation. The Escondid...
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For birds’ sake, trim trees in fall and winter
Do your trees need trimming? It’s best to plan tree work for the fall and winter months, says our friend Penny Hernandez, president of Palomar Audubon Society. In her “A Bird’s Eye View” column, Hernandez notes that...
2021-04-13 -
Buy a brick to leave a legacy of conservation
The Escondido Creek Conservancy has launched a buy-a-brick campaign to replenish its land acquisition fund. For as little as $100, donors can memorialize their commitment to the environment and leave their mark on the grounds...
2021-03-31 -
Help Wanted: Environmental Education Facilitator
The Escondido Creek Conservancy is seeking a part-time, seasonal Environmental Education Facilitator to develop and implement an outdoor summer day camp program to immerse underserved youth in nature and scientific learning. ...
2021-03-24 -
For Olga Diaz, a new assignment
Olga. During 12 years on the Escondido City Council and in numerous roles as a community volunteer, her first name hasn’t really needed to be followed by the second. People know who she is. Olga Diaz, a champion of the Esco...
2021-03-19 -
Longtime collaborator, environmental educator joins Conservancy board
Little Christina’s work in the Escondido Creek watershed started at age 10. Her research associate was a scruffy, brown terrier, Duncan. The coastal sage scrub and wetlands near their Solana Beach home had a magnetic pull f...
2021-03-12 -
New board member is educational architect
One of the Escondido Creek Conservancy’s newest board members is a career educator and architect of Escondido Union School District’s Protecting Our Watershed: Inquiry to Action Program. Krystle Miller created the framewo...
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All About the Oaks
Jim Crouch, a retired school teacher, is partnering with The Escondido Creek Conservancy to grow seedlings to help restore oak woodland habitat along the Escondido Creek watershed. Passionate about the environment and inspire...
2021-02-09 -
With spectacular surfing, reminders on how pollution and sand reach the ocean
At the western terminus of the Escondido Creek, spectacular surfing at Cardiff State Beach in January reminded us how a clean and natural watershed makes for a clean ocean, and why the work of The Escondido Creek Conservancy ...
2021-02-06 -
Help Us Name our Furry Friend!
Our adorable, preserved coyote pup needs a name. What should we call her? Last year, Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve rangers alerted us to the just-deceased animal, which appeared to have been struck and killed by a car. We...
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American Redstart Returns to Reidy Creek
The sweet little American redstart made a repeat appearance in October at our restoration site on Reidy Creek. We saw this mesmerizing bird at the same location in 2019. We can’t confirm it was the same individual as the on...
2021-01-15 -
New Board Member Wears Many Hats
Lisa Ruder, a sustainability champion and community volunteer in Escondido, is settling in as the newest member of The Escondido Creek Conservancy’s Board of Directors. An Escondido resident who, during the lockdown, has en...
2021-01-07 -
Who can help nature? Anyone and everyone!
People often wonder how they can help nature but just aren’t sure how to get started, or what they have to offer. It’s been our experience that everyone has skills or talents that can provide essential assistance to nonpr...
2021-01-07 -
Escondido Creek Conservancy to receive $500,000 donation
The Escondido Creek Conservancy will receive a $500,000 donation to support its work to protect and restore the Escondido Creek watershed. The donors, who wish to remain anonymous, want to inspire others to take advantage of ...
2020-12-17 -
Our Creative Get-Together
Of all the creative ways to get together this year, we bet you weren’t imagining working with your neighbors on a project to remove invasive plants from the Escondido Creek. But an Elfin Forest neighborhood project is d...
2020-12-10 -
Busy Hands at Quarry Preserve
The Quarry Preserve, once heavily disturbed by granite mining operations, continues to improve in habitat value thanks to coordinated restoration efforts. The 11-acre site is located along a stretch of Escondido Creek at Harm...
2020-12-10 -
Farewell, John Dummer!
Twelve years ago, there was a lot of talk about development near Harmony Grove. The chatter led Jon Dummer to the board room of The Escondido Creek Conservancy. “I was looking for a place where I could help preserve the nat...
2020-12-08 -
Farewell, Brent Alspach!
The year was 1999. Brett Alspach – 20-something, new to California, and fresh out of Cornell University with a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering – was milling about an environmental fair near his ho...
2020-12-08 -
Hauling in the Awards
Olivenhain Municipal Water District recognized The Escondido Creek Conservancy as Nonprofit of the Year during an online ceremony Nov. 18. The water district also honored one of the Conservancy’s founders, Leonard Wittwer, ...
2020-12-08 -
Our Case for Community Gardens
We are pleased to join the City of Escondido in talks to plan the Escondido Creek Trail Expansion and Renovation Project. The project has great potential to provide residents with natural park space to soften the existing, co...
2020-11-24 -
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Chainsaw Training Has Eucalyptus Stumped
In our never-ending battle against invasive species, chainsaws are a most important tool. But the safety of our staff and volunteers always takes precedent. So last month, Conservancy staff, volunteers, and some of our conser...
2020-11-17 -
Farewell, Dare and Nathan!
This fall, the Conservancy says goodbye to two very important people: Dare Delano and Nathan Serrato. For more than a decade, real estate attorney Dare has been a key part of the Conservancy team — a steady, calming inf...
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Our Hilltop Fixer-upper
When the Conservancy acquired the 700-acre Mountain Meadow property in Hidden Meadows, it came with an old duplex overlooking Daley Ranch and points beyond. An inspection of the structures quickly revealed deferred maintenan...
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Revving Up Restoration
The number of preserved acres in our watershed continues to grow and we don’t anticipate this stopping anytime soon! With more land spread throughout the watershed, we were faced with the need and opportunity to hire more s...
2020-08-24 -
Home To The Gray Fox… It’s Official
Gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) are known to be quiet, stealthy creatures… but we were starting to wonder if any gray fox lived in the Escondido Creek watershed. The occasional trail tails, unidentifiable scat, and pecu...
2020-08-24 -
5 Ways to Cool Your Climate
It’s summertime and the heat is on. As I write this, the temperature in Escondido is 98°F and San Diego County is experiencing a major heat wave that is spurring planned power outages. While our temperatures may fluctu...
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Introducing The Keithley Preserve
If you live in the Elfin Forest area, you may have noticed some sign changes to the former Los Cielos Preserve. After much thoughtfulness and consideration, we have decided to rename the Preserve after one of our dedicated bo...
2020-08-24 -
Brochures Coming In Spanish!
In an effort to our story more accessible to others, we’ve partnered with Translation Services to translate some of our marketing materials into Spanish. Thank you so much! ...
2020-08-18 -
Why Are Oak Trees Wearing Pink Ribbons?
by Rose Wilkinson & Lissa Schroeder If you’ve been hiking near Elfin Forest, you may have noticed our oak trees have some pink ribbon around them. No, they aren’t streamers leftover from Isabella the deer’s birthday...
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Our Conservation Team Gets Bigger
Like little acorns growing into mighty oaks, The Escondido Creek Conservancy is coming into its own with a growing land care team! This summer, we welcomed Conservation Land Assistant Jamison Lauria and Shirley Innecken joine...
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Wear Wild Face Masks
Get a Wild Face Mask and Support Nature Education Stay safe and show off your wild side. For a limited time, we’re offering wildlife face masks (while supplies last) when you donate in support of the Conservancy. O...
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Are rabbits in for their own pandemic?
While many of us are focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, a different outbreak is sweeping the local animal world—Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV). RHDV2, the strain of the disease that is currently spreading across the...
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A Message From The Escondido Creek Conservancy:
We’re grieving along with the rest of the country for all the black lives we keep losing to systemic racism. As Dr. King recognized, “all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mu...
2020-06-04 -
Fun Facts: Barn Owls
Barn Owls do not hoot like other owls—they screech. Barn Owls have super sensitive hearing—they can hear better than most people! Barn Owl’s feathers help them fly silently through the sky. Barn Owls are carnivorous bir...
2020-05-26 -
Charitable Gift Annuities
Your fixed income stream. Your land legacy. You want to give… and want to make sure you’re financially stable throughout your retirement years. Many people accomplsih this through Charitable Gift Annuities. Your sizea...
2020-05-20 -
Restoration Horizons
One of the greatest threats to California’s unique native landscapes is infestation from non-native invasive plants, often referred to as weeds. These weeds, such as highly flammable non-native grass-es, put our neighborhoo...
2020-05-20 -
Farewell Nancy
“Although I have worked as a volunteer for other organizations in the San Diego area, this has been by far my favorite,” said Nancy Samp, an Interpretive Center Docent for the Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve. Since the ...
2020-05-20 -
Escape The Classroom
Now, more than ever, we can all appreciate the importance of an escape. We frequently encounter students who struggle to learn in a traditional classroom setting, but thrive in the unique setting of an outdoor classroom. And ...
2020-05-20 -
CalSOL: California Statewide Outdoor Learning
Students who participate in outdoor education perform better in school and on standardized tests in math, English, science, and social studies. Some states have begun recognizing this: in 2016 Oregon passed Measure 99 to fund...
2020-05-19 -
Nature: Where Art Meets Science
The ceanothus were putting on a show of vibrant purple hues, creativity was flowing from school children, and no one was worried about standing fewer than 6 feet apart. March 5th was one of our last field trips—and it was o...
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Fire Prevention Project Awarded Funding
One of the greatest threats to California’s unique native landscapes is infestation from non-native invasive plants, often referred to as weeds. These weeds, such as highly flammable non-native grasses, put our neighborhood...
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At-Home Education Resources
With schools closed due to the current health crisis, we know lots of parents are looking for educational activities for their children. We’re here to help! Please take advantage of these free, standards-aligned activ...
2020-04-13 -
Urban Forest Bathing
After the shelter-in-place order first went into effect, it was encouraged to get outside and walk as long as people kept social distancing measures of more than 6 feet. Since everything else was closed, huge crowds flooded l...
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Adaptations
We talk a lot about adaptations in our education programs. From adaptations in feathers to adaptations of our drought-tolerant plants. Like most of you, we are now the ones adapting to changes in our environment by working re...
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Community Support
Special Store Hours for Elderly and Disabled Many local grocery stores have announced priority shopping hours for seniors 65 and older, while others are including pregnant women and people with disabilities. Please check stor...
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March Mythbusters
MYTH: Killing coyotes helps reduce their population. Incorrect. In reality, coyotes are able to offset population loss through a variety of adaptations. When someone kills one or both members of an alpha pair (which ar...
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No Trout Left Behind
Rainbow trout that Escondido students have raised in their classroom through a hands-on program supported by the Escondido Creek Conservancy (Conservancy) were released this month—though not all were released according to p...
2020-03-18 -
Mapping Carbon Storage
Last month, GIS interns Diana and Anton from Palomar College began learning how to take direct action to improve habitats while minimizing climate impacts. The duo began producing maps to help the Conservancy track and monito...
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Conservancy to Host Benefit for Local Wildlife
You are invited to support local wildlife at The Escondido Creek Conservancy’s benefit, “Corridors”. The event will be held on the George Sardina, MD Preserve in Escondido on May 30th, 2020 from 3:00 pm-7:00 pm. Early...
2020-02-19 -
Why Are We Cutting Down Trees?
Timbeeerrrr!!! After acquiring the George Sardina, MD Preserve last fall, trees are coming down. So why is a Conservation organization cutting down trees? We should specify we’re only cutting down one category of tree: non-...
2020-02-19 -
A Successful Night Under The Stars
Last month, we opened the gates to Mountain Meadow Preserve (MMP) for our first-ever Stargazing Fundraiser event. MMP is owned by the Conservancy and San Diego County Parks and Recreation and is normally closed to the public....
2020-02-19 -
Unusual Bird Sighting At Reidy Creek
Although we’re called “The Escondido Creek Conservancy,” our conservation focus is the entire Escondido Creek watershed, which contains additional tributaries (drainages), including Reidy Creek. Escondido residents may ...
2020-02-19 -
The Escondido Creek Conservancy is Seeking Accreditation by the National Land Trust Alliance!
The land trust accreditation program recognizes land conservation organizations that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. The Escondido Creek Conservancy (Conserva...
2020-02-19 -
Fungal Finds For Research
Mushrooms are more than just tasty food for humans! Mushrooms and their mycorrhizal horizons—the underground relationship between a fungus and a plant’s root system—are extremely important to conservation work and local...
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Watershed Hero Awards
Donors of the Year Gail and Frank Twohy are the pioneers of our sustaining donorship. The two became donors in 2007 and in 2013 Gail’s handwritten checks to the Conservancy started coming monthly!! Thank you, Twohy’s! You...
2020-01-16 -
Leave Urban Sprawl to Voter Approval
Measure A will help efforts to permanently protect wildlife corridors in North San Diego County by allowing the public to weigh in on developments inconsistent with the approved County General Plan. The County General Plan wa...
