We had a very fun day at the San Diego Bay on April 6th when we brought 35 East County residents out on the water. EDI rented kayaks and paddleboards from our amazing partner, Chula Vista Water Sports, who provided tutorials to gently ease first-timers into the water. It's always so inspiring to hear from participants who said they arrived feeling a little nervous, but left excited to come back and do it again on their own. According to our survey, 100% of the attendees said they learned something new and they plan to come back! Getting people to feel comfortable in nature is a huge part of what we do. Mission accomplished!

This program was funded by the Coastal Conservancy's Explore the Coast grant.

We had the pleasure of participating in South Bay Earth Day earlier this month! It was a breezy day by the water and we had a great time chatting with the waves of people that came to celebrate and highlight our beautiful planet!

We hosted a blooming great hike along the Par 4 trail within the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge. With many native blooms showing off throughout the hike, we had so much fun learning about the native species together while soaking in a stunning day!

Photo credit to EDI volunteer, member, and wonderful part of our community, Charles Sanders!

We participated in another Earth Day event at Point Loma Nazarene University, recruiting new volunteers at an on-campus Earth Fair, organized by the Sustainability Department. Volunteers are the lifeblood of non-profits like ours, and we couldn't do everything we do without the dedicated individuals who selflessly donate their time and energy to our cause in the name of nature and community. If you'd like to volunteer, whether it's a one-off event, or something weekly or monthly, we have a variety of opportunities, from restoration projects to recreation and education field trips!

Learn more and become a volunteer hero by visiting: https://earthdiscovery.org/volunteer

We hosted an exciting BioBlitz event at El Monte Ecological Preserve for this year’s City Nature Challenge! We recorded many species including the Coast Horned Lizard, Bell’s Vireo, and Mexican Tiger Moth. It was an incredible morning contributing to science and soaking in the beauty of El Monte together!

We had all kinds of fun hiking at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve Extension Trail this past Saturday, April 27th. East County families (49 people total!) joined us for a guided jaunt through fragrant sage scrub habitat, enjoying scenic coastal views, birding with EDI-provided binoculars, and checking off a bevy of flora and fauna from their handy dandy field guides along the way. During the trip, one of the children asked with unmistakable excitement, "Is that the ocean? I've never seen it in real life before!" The first of many encounters, if we have anything to say about it! "Discovery" is our middle name, after all!

This program is part of our Education through Recreation program, funded by the Outdoor Equity Grants Program, created through AB 209 and administered by California State Parks, Office of Grants and Local Services.

A huge thank you to Sigma Kappa UCSD for coming out to our cactus scrub restoration site and putting in WORK! Together we planted around 400 cactus pads and had a great time. We were so lucky to have such a clear and beautiful day to soak in, and so happy to have another Earth WEEK celebration in the books!

Celebrating 4 years with Sarah Maisonneuve, EDI’s Executive Director! Since 2020, Sarah has led EDI toward achieving our mission and vision, propelling us to heights we once only dreamed of. Her unwavering commitment, visionary leadership, and ability to inspire the EDI family have been the driving forces behind our constant growth. Here’s to many more impactful years ahead!