Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Crappy Earth Day, Ocean Beach

Native plant garden vandalized

“We haven’t heard any reports from anyone who may have seen something.”
“We haven’t heard any reports from anyone who may have seen something.”

On Earth Day (April 22), Joel Kalmonson was checking on the Ocean Beach Native Plant Garden when he found all 24 of the plant identification markers knocked over. Kalmonson is a lead volunteer who regularly visits to check on the health, maintenance issues, and overall state of the garden.

The garden is located near Dog Beach, at the end of Voltaire Street behind the Ocean Villa Hotel. Sarah Hutmacher is the associate director of the San Diego River Park Foundation and is responsible for coordinating more than 6000 volunteers.

“We haven’t heard any reports from anyone who may have seen something,” Hutmacher said when asked if she had any idea of who might have knocked the markers down. “Luckily, this time the signs were just knocked over and not stolen or damaged beyond repair….

Sponsored
Sponsored

“The foundation works to maintain and restore many sites along the San Diego River from Ocean Beach all the way up to Julian,” Hutmacher continued, “and vandalism is a frequent issue. Sometimes, like this time, we get lucky and our volunteers are able to make repairs and get everything good as new. Other times, when repairs or replacement are more expensive, the public spaces suffer because we need to identify funding to fix the issue, which can sometimes take months or longer.”

Hutmacher said the native plant “demonstration garden” signage was made possible through the support of a grant from the Ocean Beach Town Council in 2015.

“The river mouth [where the river meets the Pacific Ocean in O.B.] is home to thousands of native plants and dozens of different species,” said Hutmacher. “One of the rarest plants [found on the dunes] is the salt marsh bird’s beak [an endangered plant]. The demonstration area which features the plant identification signs is home to San Diego’s sunflower, cliff spurge, sea dahlia, bladder pod, sages, and more.”

While the San Diego River is 52 miles long, Hutmacher said the river mouth in Ocean Beach is by far the most visited section.

“Many scientists estimate that only 5 percent of the coastal wetland ecosystems that used to dominate the Southern California coastline remain today,” said Hutmacher, “which puts incredible pressure on the remaining habitats to support important functions like providing for wildlife. Protecting these areas and engaging the community in caring for them is central to the foundation’s mission.“

The foundation is always in need of more volunteers.

“People can help by volunteering, by learning about these special resources or by reporting any suspicious activity or damaged signage or amenities,” said Hutmacher. “We have regular work parties at the O.B. Native Plant Garden. However, we have an extra special interactive educational event for kids and families on May 14.

(revised 4/27, 10:25 a.m.)

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego car vandals – getting bolder?

Tesla Cybertruck throws down the gauntlet
“We haven’t heard any reports from anyone who may have seen something.”
“We haven’t heard any reports from anyone who may have seen something.”

On Earth Day (April 22), Joel Kalmonson was checking on the Ocean Beach Native Plant Garden when he found all 24 of the plant identification markers knocked over. Kalmonson is a lead volunteer who regularly visits to check on the health, maintenance issues, and overall state of the garden.

The garden is located near Dog Beach, at the end of Voltaire Street behind the Ocean Villa Hotel. Sarah Hutmacher is the associate director of the San Diego River Park Foundation and is responsible for coordinating more than 6000 volunteers.

“We haven’t heard any reports from anyone who may have seen something,” Hutmacher said when asked if she had any idea of who might have knocked the markers down. “Luckily, this time the signs were just knocked over and not stolen or damaged beyond repair….

Sponsored
Sponsored

“The foundation works to maintain and restore many sites along the San Diego River from Ocean Beach all the way up to Julian,” Hutmacher continued, “and vandalism is a frequent issue. Sometimes, like this time, we get lucky and our volunteers are able to make repairs and get everything good as new. Other times, when repairs or replacement are more expensive, the public spaces suffer because we need to identify funding to fix the issue, which can sometimes take months or longer.”

Hutmacher said the native plant “demonstration garden” signage was made possible through the support of a grant from the Ocean Beach Town Council in 2015.

“The river mouth [where the river meets the Pacific Ocean in O.B.] is home to thousands of native plants and dozens of different species,” said Hutmacher. “One of the rarest plants [found on the dunes] is the salt marsh bird’s beak [an endangered plant]. The demonstration area which features the plant identification signs is home to San Diego’s sunflower, cliff spurge, sea dahlia, bladder pod, sages, and more.”

While the San Diego River is 52 miles long, Hutmacher said the river mouth in Ocean Beach is by far the most visited section.

“Many scientists estimate that only 5 percent of the coastal wetland ecosystems that used to dominate the Southern California coastline remain today,” said Hutmacher, “which puts incredible pressure on the remaining habitats to support important functions like providing for wildlife. Protecting these areas and engaging the community in caring for them is central to the foundation’s mission.“

The foundation is always in need of more volunteers.

“People can help by volunteering, by learning about these special resources or by reporting any suspicious activity or damaged signage or amenities,” said Hutmacher. “We have regular work parties at the O.B. Native Plant Garden. However, we have an extra special interactive educational event for kids and families on May 14.

(revised 4/27, 10:25 a.m.)

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego car vandals – getting bolder?

Tesla Cybertruck throws down the gauntlet
Next Article

Starvin Marvins, a sandwich party pad in Pacific Beach

Hand-made furniture and overloaded sandwiches close to the surf
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader