Activism

In the Race to Save the Planet, Are We Killing Her Instead? by Karin Zirk

Join bird lovers, ocean water enthusiasts, climate change activists, scientists, and many more as we celebrate the salt marshes at the northern end of San Diego’s Mission Bay Park. Join the Friends of Rose Creek as we lead Bird Watching Bingo groups along the Rose Creek Salt Marsh for fun and prizes.  Sign up for a muddy salt marsh walk in Kendall-Frost Marsh — this is the only day of the year when the public is invited into the marsh. Learn about how wetlands and marshes provide billions of dollars of services to the humans who live in this area and how they can protect the built environment from sea level rise.

There will be lots of hands on activities for children and the kid in all of us.  Learn more on the Friends of Rose Creek website.

Richard Louv is a former San Diegan best known for his identification of Nature Deficit Disorder in children and I would add in adults.  As Louv writes,

The future will belong to the nature-smart—those individuals, families, businesses, and political leaders who develop a deeper understanding of the transformative power of the natural world and who balance the virtual with the real. The more high-tech we become, the more nature we need.

I would add that having wild places in every neighborhood is important. I’m lucky enough to live near a salt marsh and estuary where Osprey fly overhead and Great Blue Herons swallow fish and small birds in one gulp.

Also known as glasswort or Salicornia pacifica, this amazing plant grows in salt marshes of California and elsewhere. It can survive being submerged by salt water, being exposed, or being submerged by fresh water. The lower portion of Rose Creek near my home is a salt marsh.  Enjoy these photos of the submerged pickleweed.

Leading up to a City Council hearing on August 1st to dedicate Rose Creek a a park, many media outlets covered the issue. I was heart broken that San Diego City Council, despite multiple opportunities, declined to include park dedication for Rose Creek as part of the Balboa Avenue Station Area Specific Plan approval. For fifteen years, our small group of volunteers has been the only people caring for an urban creek and salt marsh. We want to the City of San Diego to be our partners in this by providing park rangers, regular trash pickup, and working with us on obtaining grant opportunities for improvements in the area.

Various members of the Friends of Rose Creek and our supporters were interviewed by KPBS News, Channel 8 News, Fox 5 News, Beach & Bay Press, and KUSI news. Check out this great summary of the issues by ReWild Mission Bay.

To learn more about the issues, visit the Friends of Rose Creek website.

Rose Creek Salt Marsh at Sunset

In my spare time, I’m the executive director for the Friends of Rose Creek, a community group in San Diego focused on protecting, restoring, and enhancing lower Rose Creek. Currently, we are advocating for the City of San Diego to dedicate as a park, the portion of Rose Creek downstream of Mission Bay Drive to where it flows into Mission Bay Park.  I could share with you all the reasons why this matters, but ReWild Mission Bay has written an excellent article about why it matters and how you can help!  Please take the time to participate.

Photo of Kendall-Frost Marsh in Mission Bay Park

San Diego Audubon has undertaken a feasibility study to look at restoring wetlands at the mouth of Rose Creek in Mission Bay and reconnecting Rose Creek to the Kendall-Frost Marsh. The Friends of Rose Creek, a community group located in Pacific Beach and Clairemont, support Audubon’s ReWild Mission Bay scientifically based planning efforts.

Learn more at ReWildMissionBay.org

#MissionBayPark4All

Every year, the Friends of Rose Creek partners with I Love A Clean San Diego to get trash out of the creek. We’ve been doing this for fifteen years now and have averaged four tons of trash per year. Now some years it was more and some it was less.

U-Haul truck full of trash. One of many loads.

I’m the founder and Executive Director of the Friends of Rose Creek and I’m tired of the City of San Diego failing to help us out. Volunteers are essential but we want to partner with the City to protect and enhance Rose Creek. For the last two weeks, I’ve been making the rounds to all the City Council offices asking them to make the Pacific Beach portion of Rose Creek a park. This is the easy stretch. It has funding for habitat restoration, is designated as a linear park in the Pacific Beach portion of the Community Plan, and is the middle of my neighborhood. Residents in my community deserve a park and park services.
I’m not sure if I’ve been wasting my time trying to save an urban creek or if something will finally change. It’s hard to maintain hope. Emily Dickenson said it better than I can:

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all

As an FYI, I am the Executive Director of the Friends of Rose Creek, a community group in San Diego working to protect and enhance our local creek. On Sunday, February 10 we will be teaming up with the University of California, San Diego Natural Reserve System, and San Diego Audubon to present Love Your Wetlands Day, the only day of the year when you can take a guided walk of the Kendall-Frost Marsh. There will be activities at there locations including Rose Creek where we will be playing Bird Watching Bingo.

For more details, visit the Friends of Rose Creek website.