Meet Some of Our Volunteers

Lakeside's River Park depends on our volunteers. Join us!

We invite you to learn more about our vounteers and to learn more about the personal benefits of volunteering.

Charlie Cattell is a true Renaissance man who (among countless things) has owned and operated a dairy farm in Oregon, kept bees, enlisted in the Navy, and is a retired software engineer. He is a man with valuable life experience and has volunteered with Lakeside’s River Park Conservancy for over a year now. Charlie works every Thursday morning with a crew of other dedicated volunteers in our Herbicide Application Team, more affectionaly called the “weed warriors.” This team is eradicating the River Park of unwanted weeds that crowd out the native plants. 100 acres is a lot of territory to cover and Charlie is credited with coming up with the idea to use tow-behind trailers to make the job easier. “It is very hard work but also satisfying to know you is doing this for a great project,” he says..

Born and raised in San Diego, Charlie and his wife built their home in Blossom Valley in 1977. They wanted land and back then they were out in the wilderness, which was great for riding horses and bikes. He learned of the River Park by reading an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune a few years back. This sparked his interest because he recalled how, back in the 1960’s, he would drive past the San Diego River, where he saw just a large sand pit. “I wondered about the river’s future and now my life has come full circle because I live in East County and I volunteer to help restore the river,” says Cattell.

Pete and Sally Nelson are founding volunteers at the River Park. Sally started volunteering for Lakeside's River Park in 2002 signing people up for eScrip and entering new participants into the system. Today we have 2,000 eScrip ers and Sally was there through all that data entry. "Sally has been one of our best supporters. No matter what the job, she makes everything she does fun, fun for staff, fun for other volunteers. Her energy and joy rub off on everyone. " said Robin Rierdan, Executive Director. Pete has done water quality testing, going out in all kinds of weather to take samples, and is also an avid photographer. Currently he is working on sculpting some Eucalyptus root balls into benches for the trail. Both have volunteered at virutally every event the Park has every hosted.

Sallyand Pete have lived in Lakeside since 1967 and have two children and three grandchildren. They are avid hikers and years ago they used to walk along the San Diego River in Lakeside. During the last 15 years access to the river had become difficult, but that is all changing now. "I am excited about the River Park's vision of restoring riverside trails for our children and grandchildren to walk and ride." said Sally. They dream that someday their grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be able to walk the entire 51 miles of the River from Julian through Lakeside and all the way to the Pacific Ocean!