San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy receives grants

The San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy recently received two grants to expand its nature education program, Watershed Explorers.

The conservancy received both a $10,000 “Environmental Champions” award from SDG&E and a $25,000 grant from The San Diego Foundation to support the outdoor-education program, which focuses on different aspects of the watershed and enables students to visit different areas in the San Dieguito River Park, see wildlife, learn about diverse habitat types from forests to wetlands, and learn about the importance of the cultural and natural resources of the watershed.

The Watershed Explorers Program launched in February 2016 in partnership with the San Dieguito River Park, San Diego Archaeological Center and Volcan Mountain Foundation.

Since its official kick-off, the Watershed Explorers Program has reached more than 80 youth, including students from Monroe Clark Middle School in City Heights, who are members of the Cesar Chavez Club; students from Springall Academy in La Mesa, a school that serves children with special needs; and the Solana Beach Boys and Girls Club through a grant from the city of Solana Beach.

Last year the conservancy received the SDG&E grant award for $6,000. In 2015, the conservancy also received a $53,500 grant from The San Diego Foundation to acquire a 12–15 passenger van that is being used in the Watershed Explorers Program. County Supervisor Dianne Jacob sponsored a $61,000 additional grant through the County of San Diego to acquire another van for the program.

“This enables us to expand our individual nature education programs throughout the entire San Dieguito watershed and to other areas of San Diego,” said SDRVC Executive Director Trish Boaz.