Volunteer in San Diego

The Friends of the Point Loma Garden wish to let you know about a new website for those of you looking for volunteer opportunities in San Diego:

www.volunteerinsandiego.org

The Friends are a chapter of the San Diego River Park Foundation and support the River Park Foundation in promoting volunteerism for a better future for the San Diego River and the communities along the river. The River Park Foundation just turned 10 years old and has made a huge and positive impact for our region's namesake river. If you wish to get involved and make a difference for the river and for San Diego, please visit the new website where you will find a variety of fun and meaningful volunteer opportunities including helping us at the Point Loma Native Plant Garden.
The Friend group meets for regular gardening parties on the 1st Saturday and 3rd Sunday of each month from 9am-Noon. All tools and supplies are provided and community service hours can be verified for those that need them.
call 619.297.7380 for more in or email us at volunteer@sandiegoriver.org

Summer Rolls in at the Garden

As San Diegans prepare for the onset of summer, the plants at the Native Plant Garden go through their preparations as well. While they may lose some of their beautiful blooming flowers, their water-saving skills kick in as the plants brace themselves for the hot, dry summer.

We've had a lot of good help in the garden so far this summer. On Sunday, June 20th, a group of about 20 volunteers came out to have fun and get some work done, and work they sure did. They helped to create a new picnic area by clearing out invasive plants, spreading out mulch, and positioning a picnic table just right so our visitors can enjoy a picnic lunch in the beautiful garden.

We have another work party planned for tomorrow, July 3rd, and invite community members of all ages to come out and celebrate this holiday weekend by giving back to their community and country. Work tools and drinking water will be provided.

Another exciting project underway at the garden is the continual growth of our native plant nursery. What once consisted of tiny plant sprouts now boasts of tall shoots of some of our most cherished native plants, like buckwheat, lavaterra, walnut trees, and sages. These plants will be planted both in the garden and along the river to help restore San Diego's native habitat for people and wildlife alike. Some will even be on sale to the public, so keep posted for any upcoming plant sales.

If you're interested in helping out with the nursery or the garden, please contact the San Diego River Park Office at 619-297-7380 and/or join us at one of our work parties held on the first Saturday and third Sunday of every month.

Last, but not least, a special welcome to all of our summer interns- Damian Roman, Dana Jennings, and Luke English. It's through the hard work and dedication of the interns and all of our other volunteers that the Native Plant Garden continues to thrive.

Group Events at Point Loma Native PLant Garden

The Friends of the Point Loma Garden have been fortunate over the last few months to have very wonderful and hardworking groups come to help us out.
On February 21st, over 75 people, adults and children came from the Solana Beach Presbyterian church to help us ready the garden for Spring. During the event we loaded a large dumpster (Provided by Debris Box) full of invasive weeds, we cleared trails and just had fun in the sun. All in all everyone had a great time, kids were finding all manner of lizards and insects. Truly a Chamber of Commerce day!
On March 24th we had a group of students from Northern Arizona Academy in town for their "alternative Spring Break" program of visiting another city and state to perform volunteer work. What a great bunch! I don't believe we've seen a group of High School kids ever work so hard and with such great focus.
If you are seeking a group volunteer opportunity for your club, church or company give us a call at 619.297.7380 to discuss some ideas.

Spring has Sprung!

This is the prime time of year to visit the Point Loma Garden if you've never visited before or been there during this time of year. It's so amazing the transformation that occurs. From a dry and brownish (yet still lovely) collection of sleeping native plants into an explosion of color, life and wonderful scents! It's such a pleasure to walk through the garden, visiting old friends that were dormant and now awake with vibrancy. To watch the scrub Jays as they play in the oaks and the tree mallow, to come across large Alligator Lizards as they hunt for the bounty of insects and other tasty morsels known only to themselves. This is the time of year I truly look forward to.
However, and there is always going to be a however, our abundant rain these passed few months have also awakened all manner of weeds and other nonnative plants and grasses. In my almost three years of working in the Point Loma Garden I am seeing weeds I've never seen before let alone had the pleasure to remove. Looks like another Summer the Friends of the Point Loma Garden will spend catching up with the weeds.

Join us on the 1st Saturday and 3rd Sunday from 9am-noon for some garden fun! We provide all tools and supplies or just swing by to say hello!

Garden Update 2010

Ahhhhh, Winter along the coast, upper 60's, bright sunshine (until 5pm or so that is)and the occasional rain storm. With our little bit of rain in December the Point Loma Native Plant Garden is waking up for the season. The Sunflowers are on the way as are the Salvias, Bladderpods and more. Of course all of their nonnative bedfellows are starting to wake up too. We spent the Summer and Fall keeping the natives safe from the nonnatives, applied thick layers of mulch to the planting beds and crossed our fingers. Hopefully this will work to lessen the amount of nonnative grasses and weeds we will have to deal with later in the year. But what would gardening be without weeds? Too easy and probably a bit boring.
Some great news, our native plant nursery has been completed. Thanks to the Boy Scots and the Point Loma Garden Club for their hard work and funding. At present our interns Gordon and Shingo are collecting seeds and working to get the nursery up and running so we can have a plant sale this Spring.
Consider joining us for our regularly scheduled work parties on the 1st Saturday and 3rd Sunday of each month from 9am-Noon. We provide all supplies and tools.
For more info call 619.297.7380 or email volunteer@sandiegoriver.org

Garden Update Nov. December

Hello Again from the friends of the Point Loma Native Plant Garden! Well it seems as though fall has finally kicked in, with our bit of rain last Saturday the long dormant California Sunflowers are finally waking up as are other plants at the garden. Of course we all know what else rain brings.....WEEDS! The PL Gardeners have been working all Summer spreading thick layers of donated mulch in hopes that we can lessen the amount of weeding we end up doing every year. Cross your fingers and pass the mulch!

In other news, during our first work party in December (12/5/09) we will be working at tree trimming, additional mulching and, now here's the exciting part: Helping Eagle Scout candidate William Ross finish up creating our very own native plant nursery. This is very exciting and a long awaited addition to our garden. Soon we will be able to replenish our garden with plants whose seeds were taken and grown there. We will also be able to hold plant sales in hopes giving people another option when they go to landscape their own homes and gardens. We also hope to raise a little money to help support garden operations. Thanks to William Ross for all of his great work.




If you've been to the garden lately you will also notice that we have had installed 5 more seating benches that are strategically placed in different sections of the garden affording wonderful views of the landscape and our plant collection. Thanks to William Croke from BSA troop 500 for yet another great project benefiting garden visitors.



As always volunteers are welcomed and encouraged to join us for our regularly scheduled garden events on the 1st Saturday and 3rd Sunday of each month from 9am-Noon. Community service can be verified for those that need them.
For more info call the San Diego River Park Foundation at 619.297.7380

Garden Update October 09

Well, it's been another long and dry Summer but our native plant collection is still looking great! With the recent cooling I've noticed that our bladderpods, sages and sunflowers are starting to show new leaves! The Garden awakes, get the coffee ready!

Some exciting new developments----
We wish to welcome our two new interns from UCSD, Shingo Minato and Gordon Tong. These gents will be tasked with leading our twice monthly work parties and getting the nursery started and maintained, which leads me to another development........William Ross, an Eagle Scout candidate from Del Mar Troop 713, has been working diligently all Summer toward outfitting the nursery with a gravel floor, drainage system, irrigation and work benches. This is a large and exciting project. Soon we will be able to grow our own plants for replenishing the garden and be able to hold plant sales to support our garden operations. We hope people will realize the beauty and benefits of native plants and decide to buy them from us for use in their own landscaping. This helps to save precious water while supporting our native birds and insects and besides, native flora just looks so wonderful.

As always we are always looking for new friends to join us during our twice monthly gardening parties. These happen the 1st Saturday and 3rd Sunday of each month from 9am-noon. We provide all tools and supplies. If you can't join us for some light gardening activities please consider supporting the garden with your Von's or Albertson's grocery club card. Every time you shop a portion of your spending is donated to our organization to help us keep the garden healthy. Paste this link into your browser window to sign up:
http://www.sandiegoriver.org/escrip.php

or, keep up to date on garden happenings and river related news by signing up for our free monthly email newsletter:
http://www.sandiegoriver.org/enews.php

Of course annual donors are always needed and appreciated. For just $35 year you can help assure that the PL Garden remains a place for the community to gather and enjoy:
http://www.sandiegoriver.org/membership.php
If you need more info please call the River Park/Point Loma Garden office at 619.297.7380