TRABUCO CANYON : Music Festival Aims at Saving Wildlife

High school students interested in saving a 2,000-acre wildlife corridor in Trabuco Canyon from development are staging a music festival here Saturday to unveil a plan calling for the county to purchase the private property and annex it to O’Neil Regional Park.

The music festival will feature Robby Krieger, former lead guitarist for The Doors, and the bands Psyche Out, Western Front and Lipless Fish. The event will be held at the Trabuco Elementary School between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The school is located near O’Neil Regional Park off Live Oak Canyon Road in Trabuco Canyon.

The student group sponsoring the event, SAFE (Student Action for Future Environment), is an outgrowth of an honors class at Trabuco Hills High School. The students said they hope that the county buys the property to help preserve the wildlife habitat, provide public recreation trails, prevent added traffic congestion and preserve Live Oak Canyon Road and its natural tree tunnel.

SAFE, the students said, has the support of the Sierra Club and the Rural Canyon Conservation Fund, a local group that has fought to protect Trabuco Canyon against development.

“It will be a chance to raise community awareness,” said Sheila Hillinger, the teacher of the honors class. “For 11 of the students in the class, preserving the foothill area is their commitment. They have gone far beyond what was required of them in the classroom.”

Student Jennifer Shaw said invitations were sent to the five members of the Orange County Board of Supervisors and members of the County Planning Commission.

“I hope to accomplish a greater awareness of the Trabuco Canyon and the disappearing natural environment in Orange County,” Shaw said when asked what she had learned in organizing the event with the other students.

Beside Shaw, SAFE also includes students Julia Moreton, Rob Fracisco, Suzi Yoon, Andy Walker, Chris Webb, Amy Shah, Joe Alanes, Shala Davis, Natasha Corich and Gina Nguyen.

The students said the event could attract as many as 1,500 people.