The San Diego River Park Foundation will celebrate the third annual San Diego River Day with 20 events throughout the county on Saturday, May 20. The idea is to celebrate a valuable natural resource, engage the community in awareness activities and promote the foundation’s goal of a park along the river, from its headwaters in Julian to its ocean outlet at Dog Beach.
The various activities are divided into five general regions: the coastal river mouth and estuary, Mission Valley, Mission Trails Regional Park, Lakeside and Barona, and El Capitan Gorge and the upper San Diego River Gorge.
The Kick-off
The kick-off festivities begin at Dog Beach at 8:30 a.m. with a bike ride sponsored by the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition. Participants can cruise to the Mission Valley library for a casual trip, or continue on to Mission Trails Regional Park for a longer ride. The first 50 riders will receive free T-shirts. For more information, call (858) 487-6063.
The Cleanup
A two-hour beach cleanup sponsored by Friends of Dog Beach will follow at 9 a.m. near the concrete paw prints adjacent to the parking lot at the end of Voltaire Street. All necessary equipment “” as well as doggie treats and toys “” will be provided to volunteers and their four-legged friends.
Call Dog Beach Dog Wash at (619) 523-1700 for more information.
The San Diego Audubon Society will host an estuary cleanup from 9 a.m. to noon to tackle the stretch of river along the south edge of Mission Bay Park between the river mouth and Interstate 5 West.
Volunteers should meet at the kiosk on the north side of the river, which can be reached by taking Sea World Drive to South Shores, turning toward the river and then right at the river.
For more information, call the Audubon Society at (619) 682-7200.
The Tours
The San Diego Audubon Society will also sponsor a birding event within the estuary, or diverse habitat created by fresh water merging with ocean water. A guided bird walk from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. will tour popular birding locations with viewing scopes. Participants should also meet at the aforementioned kiosk and contact the Audubon Society for details.
Aquatic Adventures will join Friends of the San Diego River Mouth for a tour of the wetland habitat. As volunteers comb the dunes, they will help survey and count fish, collect data on recently planted vegetation, and remove non-native species and trash. The river mouth activities will run from 9 a.m. to noon. For more information on the wetlands tour, call (858) 488-3849.
The Walk
Finally, a nature walk hosted by the Friends of Famosa Slough will explore the various salt marsh bird and plant species that call Famosa Slough home. The walk begins at 1 p.m. and ends at 3 p.m. south of the intersection at Famosa and West Point Loma boulevards. Binoculars are encouraged. For details, call (619) 224-4591 or visit www.famosaslough.org.
Maps and Info
Maps of all the various meeting spots and additional activities are available online at www.sandiegoriver.org. For more information on San Diego River Day, email [email protected] or call (619) 297-7380. n