San Diego River Park Foundation Kicks-Off Its Stewardship of the San Diego River Mouth

On March 28th the San Diego River Park Foundation kicked-off its stewardship of the San Diego River Mouth with its first clean-up event. The San Diego River Park Foundation and the Friends of the San Diego River Mouth were joined by over 40 volunteers on the beautiful spring morning. The event was a huge success with the hard work of the volunteers resulting in nearly 70 trash bags full of weeds, non-native invasive plants, trash, and debris being removed.


The great effort of the volunteers certainly helped to restore and preserve the natural beauty of the river mouth. Volunteers worked to maintain the trails crisscrossing through the sand dunes and marsh area. The bulk of the trash bags were filled with weeds and non-native invasive species that were removed from the dunes and the native plant demonstration garden. Volunteers also helped to remove the trash and debris that was left by the many visitors to the area.


One aspect of the San Diego River Mouth that makes it a unique location along the river is its accessibility. This proves to be both a blessing and bane for restoration and preservation efforts at the river mouth.

The accessibility allows people to witness what Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, and Pacific Beach looked like over a hundred years ago. It gives them access to the last natural dune habitat in San Diego and protected habitat for endangered birds. The river mouth’s location also means that it is vulnerable the nearby beachgoers and bike-trail users.

While the volunteers on the 28th made a significant contribution to the restoration and protection of the San Diego River Mouth, there is still much work to be done. Only through continued, ongoing, efforts will we ensure that the natural beauty of this unique area is preserved.
If you would like to lend a hand or learn more about the San Diego River Mouth, please contact Richard@sandigoriver.org, or call 619.297.7380. You can also learn more about the San Diego River and the work being done by the San Diego River Park Foundation by visiting http://www.sandiegoriver.org/.