Ocean Beach and Mission Bay residents have a rare coastal dune and intertidal wetlands habitat in their backyard. On Saturday, July 25, environmental enthusiasts will get the chance to help clean it up and preserve it. The San Diego River Park Foundation (SDRPF) is holding its bimonthly Friends of the River Mouth event at the habitat site, located near Dog Beach, from 9 a.m. to noon. The project will feature a work party to help preserve and restore the nearly 20-acre area. “This is the jewel at the end of the trail,” said SDRPF program manager Richard Dhu, “because we have the beach, the dog-friendly area, and it’s a park.” The site is among the remaining percent of California’s coastal dune, wetlands and intertidal zones. Among the many native species of plants and animals that inhabit the site, the federally endangered California least tern makes its nest there. “The least tern can only reproduce in these dune habitat areas,” Dhu said. “Because of the shrinking of these areas, there’s less of an opportunity for these birds to reproduce.” For the nature-nostalgic, the site also provides a bit of a throwback. Small, rolling dunes begin about 700 feet from the ocean and transition into a marshy wetlands that feeds into the intertidal zone at the mouth of the river. “This is how all of Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach and Mission Beach used to look,” Dhu said. “It’s a historic look of how the area would look before houses were built.” According to SDRPF officials, the dunes provide homes for a number of species, maintain the water quality of the coast, protect the wetlands, control erosion, act as a flood buffer and circulate waste and nutrients into the ocean as part of the water system. The habitat is also a stop for birds along the Pacific Flyway as they migrate from Mexico to Alaska. It is also home to a number of unique native plants. “Some of the plants you find here you really don’t find anywhere else because they’re only accustomed to a coastal area like this,” Dhu said. Native plants include coastal sage scrub, bladderpod, California sunflower, salvia, beach ambrosia, beach primrose, datura and sea lavender. A large part of Saturday’s effort will go toward the removal on non-native invasive plants such as iceplant and crown daisies, which offer no environmental benefit and which have taken over the habitat. “Going through and really keeping the invasives at bay is a big project here to allow the natives to flourish and not be overtaken by invasive plants,” Dhu said. Dhu said he expects about 50 volunteers for the event. Volunteers will remove invasive plants, clean interpretive signage set up in the area, remove trash and make sure the trails in the area are clearly lined. Volunteers will also learn about the habitat during the project. “We’ll do educational tours and talk about the importance of dune habitats and our wetlands and make it a meaningful experience by allowing people to see why we are here and why we are doing this,” Dhu said. SDRPF is a nonprofit organization founded in 2001. It holds six to seven events per month — ranging from water testing to mural proj-ects — as part of the SDRPF’s overall vision to create a system of connected parks along the 52 miles of the San Diego River from the ocean to the mountains near Julian. “It’s about connecting people to the river, using the river as a focus rather than something to turn your back on,” Dhu said. “It also allows for outdoor recreation and critical wildlife habitat linkages. It’s kind of an urban interface with the wild,” he said. Gloves, tools and snacks will be provided by the SDRPF during Saturday’s restoration event. For more information, call (619) 297-7380 or e-mail [email protected]. Information on other volunteer events can be found at www.sandiegoriver.org.