LAKESIDE'S RIVER PARK CONSERVANCY
Our mission is to preserve and restore the biological integrity and beauty of the San Diego River while integrating recreational, educational, and cultural opportunities for youth, seniors, and families.
New Pocket Park
The High Trail in Lakeside is immensely popular. Prior to COVID, the trail served over 30,000 people a year. When we purchased the land in 2003, we purchased a little stub at the base of the old Palm Row Right of Way. We always knew it had the potential to be something special.
After years of considering the highest and best use for the site, we developed the idea of creating a small pocket park, with funding from our great partners: The San Diego River Conservancy, Marathon Construction Corporation, Lakeside Land Company, and Hamann Companies.
This quarter-acre parcel overlooks the river and the trail. It will have 4 cement picnic tables with canopies for shade. It will be the location where folks from Eucalyptus Hills can access the trail via Palm Row. It will be a place where trail users from Santee or from Channel Road can find a shady rest stop. It is also designed to blend into the landscaping of Marathon's River Run East 2, a new employment center that will be constructed around it. It will give their employees a place to have lunch and a way to access the trail for walks. We consider it a win for everyone. It will be open to the public shortly. It can only be reached by walking in. Come on down and see what this collaboration has created.
The Field Station!!!
In 2019, we obtained a $250,000 grant from Proposition 68 (thank you voters) from the San Diego River Conservancy. We give a BIG thank you to the Conservancy and its board for its faith in this project. This aerial shows the portable classrooms. They will be placed on a foundation, connected to utilities and hopefully open for business next year. Below is an image of the plan for how they will be arranged on the site.
Who are the partners with this project?
We are working with Lakeside School District, Cajon Valley School District and Santee School District.
Why?
Because each of these school districts has a deep commitment to science and to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and each understands the best way to teach science is in a child's own 'backyard' that is filled with water, mud, bugs, and bunnies. This has been a recipe for inspiring curiosity, deep questions about how the natural world works, and the creation of hypotheses since children have been exploring the natural world.
