Looking north up the creek from Mission Bay. (All photos by Mic Porte)
Editor: A celebration of Rose Creek was held just recently, organized by Friends of Rose Creek and San Diego Earthworks. Rose Creek is one of the actual, live creeks that pours into east Mission Bay. Rose Creek runs down Rose Canyon, the canyon that I-5 travels, and enters the bay in its northeast quadrant, flowing right by Mission Bay High School.
The celebration was called “Love Your Wetlands Day and Rose Creek Festival: It’s Our Nature”, and was hosted by Campland by the Bay on Saturday, February 9, 2013. It was :
a celebration get-together of dedicated environmental groups in a children and family oriented festival of fun and nature discovery in honor of Rose Creek Watershed and Mission Bay Park, one of the largest sea water aquatic parks in the world.
The new Mike Gotch bike bridge.
Here is the rest of the report by Mic Porte of the event organized by Kelley Makley of Friends of Rose Creek, and Carolyn Chase of San Diego Earthworks:
Love Your Wetlands Day and Rose Creek Festival: It’s Our Nature
By Mic Porte
Councilman Kevin Faucolnner introduced the event with encouragements to the children to be guardians of the future of our beautiful and sensitive environment, and a determined promise that the surrounding “designated” open spaces around Rose Creek and its watershed and canyonlands would become “dedicated” permanent open spaces, natural reserves and parks. Designated parks can be voted out of existence by the city council, but dedicated parks are protected from the sways of urban development.
Tom Guerra paints his mural.
Environmentalists, nature lovers and friends, delighted to see real live snakes and owls, from the Raptor Institute and the Tecolote Canyon, Park Rangers, helped paint a multi-panel mural , designed and orchestrated by Tom Guerra, soon to decorate the creek path on back of the Mission Bay High School handball courts, learned about natural water flow from an inter-active scale model, took a tramp through the Kendall-Frost wetlands preserve to pick up trash and remove invasive plant species, (mangrove,etc.) and viewed birds in the marsh and bay with scopes and binoculars provided by the Audubon Society.
Billy Paul of Friends of Rose Creek, explains some of the future improvements in bike paths, public transit and park expansions destined for the area, and dreams of establishing a homage to the native peoples who lived here first, with the help of the Sycuan nation, in the form of a Native Peoples Center.
Billy Paul of Friends of Rose Creek, explains some of the future improvements of the project. Billy Paul went to Point Loma HS, Class of 1966
(As far as I’m concerned, a REAL homage to the native peoples would be to LEAVE THE LAND ALONE and STOP BUILDING STUFF…)
Marion Bear Park Committee, represented by her grandson and wife, Deron and Toni Bear, continue in the footsteps of their pioneer grandmother, who staved off developers from running Highway 52 down in the bottom of Rose Canyon, and encouraged them to grade the hillside for the highway and leave the canyon watershed runoff zone intact. Thanks to resistant environmentalists of the past, many of San Diego’s canyonlands are still natural and healthy interface zones providing beautiful habitats for wildlife and natural water flow.
Toni and Deron Bear – Marion Bear’s grandson and wife, continue in the footsteps of his pioneer grandmother, who staved off developers from running Highway 52 down in the bottom of Rose Canyon.
Scott Chipman of the “Gateway Project” explains the ideas to Councilman Faulconner on a mock-up.
Mission Bay Park future projects include recuperating the existing Campland , at the mouth of Rose Creek to return it to coastal wetlands and bird sanctuary. Campland will move to the vacating DeAnza park, just across the creek. New bike paths and parkland will be added to Mission Bay Park, one of our cities’ most renowned recreation destinations, both for locals and tourists alike. Scott Chipman, activist for the “Gateway Project” explains the ideas to Councilman Faulconner on a mock-up of the plans, still in the earliest developmental stages.
Mission Bay High School biology teacher, Mr. Walters, teaming up with the Junior Lifeguard Association to offer a summer program of marine biology and lifeguard training at Santa Clara Point, is seconded by international baccalaureate students, Cassie Dunn and Emily Newell.
Mr. Walters with students Cassie Dunn and Emily Newell.
Accompanied by the sounds of The Preservationists, Mission Bay High School’s notable New Orleans style jazz ensemble, children and grown-ups alike enjoyed the friendly ambiance of Campland by the Bay, our bay for all, beautiful Mission Bay.
Organized by Kelley Makley of Friends of Rose Creek, and Carolyn Chase of San Diego Earthworks, thank you all for your efforts on behalf of the environment in composing this fun and educational day on the bay.
The Preservationists
The following groups are Community Partners and had exhibits:
- Project Wildlife
- Birch Aquarium at Scripps
- Rose Creek Watershed Alliance
- California Native Plant Society-San Diego
- San Diego Audubon Society
- Friends of Mission Bay Marshes
- San Diego County Bicycle Coalition
- Friends of Rose Canyon
- San Diego EarthWorks
- Friends of Rose Creek
- San Diego Junior Lifeguard Science Program
- Marian Bear Natural Park Recreation
- Think Blue San Diego
- Mission Bay Gateway Project
- Mission Bay Park Rangers
- Raptor Tri-Canyon Rangers/Tecolote Nature Center Institute
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- Screech Owl
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- Painting the mural
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- The Preservationists
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- A bush tit nest.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Just found out that actually Mic Porte wrote the article on the event; the other two organized the event. Great photos, Mic.
I know that stretch of Rose Creek very well as I’ve biked it many, many times over the years. I also have followed the creek up to the mouth of Rose Canyon – where 52 runs – and into Marion Bear Park, a totally under-used park very near Mission Bay. It has some good bike and walking paths.
Mic, Billy Paul and I (and his brother) all graduated from PLHS the same year. Have you contacted him about this article?
totally cool… thought Billy was a great guy and interesting and well informed, thank you, Billy for all your work!
don’t have his email, but he is with ‘Friends of Rose Creek” YOU should join! go ahead and forward it to him/them
busy with my next article; “dying for free” the story of san diego pioneers (my mom and dad) who don’t use a cent of insurance$ or medicare$ to die for free at their own house without a lot of bother,… just like the old days… gods bless them…
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