Our Passions Are Reasons To Volunteer

By Reneé Hendon

I moved to San Diego from the Marshall Islands in January 1998, during the El Nino rains. I think it rained nearly every day for a month. Having never lived in California before, I wondered why I had so often heard of this part of the state referred to as a desert. Imagine my surprise to discover this county to be a lush green wonderland with all of its waterways bursting at their banks. One of the first things that drew me to east county was its lushness that wet winter. I remember driving through Lakeside for the first time, amazed at all of the green land and happy horses.

I settled in Santee, near the Magnolia bridge. The River quickly became my backyard & playground with its numerous trails and habitats to explore, and for the bird watching it invited. I explored trails on foot at first, and then on a bicycle. But each year I became more annoyed by the encroaching development, particularly in the area viewed from the Padre District water tank up off the end of Mast Blvd. That hill provides an excellent viewpoint to the east of the land along the River as it flows from Lakeside and parallels the 67 before sliding into Santee and through Mission Trails Regional Park; its last gasp of purity before trickling into Mission Valley. That lofty view has allowed me to witness the impact that development, both residential and industrial, makes upon a waterway. Where water once flowed freely over rocks, it flowed no more. As the water receded, invasive weeds moved in. Wild life split for better options. I encountered more and more bulldozer tracks during my treks.

So when I read Peter Lowe's article in the Tribune about Lakeside Conservancy's 80-acre CalMat purchase in support of a county-wide river park, my world opened up. The article mentioned the need for volunteers. I could meet other people who shared my love and concerns for the River!

 When I got involved in February, the Conservancy had just closed escrow on 80 acres of undeveloped riverfront property - the Cal Mat purchase. Their next step was to plan and execute an Opening Ceremony in which to publicly celebrate the purchase. To invite Conservancy members and Lakeside neighbors to come trod upon the beautiful chunk of real estate on the River, and to listen to & chat with many of San Diego & community leaders who support our efforts. My first volunteer challenge was to involve the Boy Scouts in the clean-up and trail-blazing.

Troop #64 was more than willing to help us out with the task. One week before the Ceremony, 15 members of Troop 64, led by Steve Saxon, showed up early with gloves on, ready to go to work. They totally rose to the occasion and collected a dumpster-full of trash, to include tires, 2x4s and metal debris. But that was just one tiny piece of the endeavor. The tireless staff and volunteers of the Conservancy organized the hundreds of other details necessary, including trails complete with interpretive signs and expert naturalist guides. It was an impressive collaborative effort - teamwork at its best.

 I had volunteered for organizations before, but I have never been so quickly embraced and so readily appreciated as I have with the staff and fellow volunteers of the Lakeside Conservancy. We all have one major thing in common - a passion for wild life. Each person also has a different pool of knowledge. Birds, plants, reptiles, horses, geography,  ecology, photography, cartography, real estate, finance, civil engineering, journalism, marketing, web site design, fashion, Harleys, the law, erecting canopies…take your pick, at least one of us knows about it. Brought together under the skillful leadership of Deborah Jones and Michael Beck, there is nothing that we can't accomplish!

 There are lots of reasons to volunteer, and we each have our passions. One of my passions is birds. I once witnessed hundreds of cormoronts in the River, about a quarter mile east of the Santee drive in. Yes, hundreds. An endless stretch of curvy black necks sticking out of the water, acting all wary in unison upon spotting me. They had flown in numerous small flocks from the coast for some special occasion. I watched flock after flock arrive, low to the water, practically falling into it, flying in that way that only cormoronts fly - long necks outstretched, wings beating fast with that desperate look about them. I want cormoronts to always visit the River in Santee for...whatever it is they gather here for. So I volunteer for the birds. I figure that they deserve the choicest real estate options because they give many of us so much pleasure, and they require so little space for their homes.