Wildlife Neighbors at the Living Coast Discovery Center
Playing host to thousands of schoolchildren for field trips, science classes, scouting events and other kid-friendly opportunities, the Chula Vista Nature Center – soon to become the Living Coast Discovery Center – is dedicated to providing environmental education on local wetlands and estuaries, the importance of keeping plastics and other pollutants out of our oceans and waterways, native plants and wildlife, and instilling a respect for nature and wildlife in people of all ages.
Radical Plans Threaten Balboa Park’s Historic Integrity
A proposal to build a freeway-style off ramp from the Cabrillo Bridge at San Diego’s Balboa Park is raising more than a few eyebrows among preservationists and park advocates. Even the National Park Service is voicing its concern, stating the development threatens Balboa Park’s status as a National Historic Site. Bruce Coons of the Save Our Heritage Organisation talks about the proposed redesign’s threats to the integrity of one of the nation’s great urban spaces.
California State Parks Foundation Legacy Award Winners Video
We’re pleased to present a video co-produced and directed by Treehuggers International founder and host Tommy Hough, in tandem with his Primary Focus production partner Gary Meade, for the California State Parks Foundation. Created for this year’s Parks Advocacy Day, an annual state parks lobbying event in Sacramento, the clip is a collection of the foundation’s Legacy Award winners, i.e. legislators who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in protecting California’s state park system.
San Bernardino National Forest Association
Ohio native Sarah Miggins did a summer internship in Lake Tahoe, and on a whim visited the San Bernardino Mountains on her way home. They stopped her in her tracks. Today, Sarah is the Executive Director of the San Bernardino National Forest Association, one of the leading forest associations in the nation. She talks about her work with the Big Bear Discovery Center and the Children’s Forest, as well as hiking the high country of the San Bernardino range and making the mountains her home.
Peg Reiter and the Legacy of Jerry Schad
A special conversation with Peg Reiter, Jerry Schad’s widow, about their hikes, explorations, and all too brief time together, along with Peg’s involvement with Jerry’s final book, 50 Best Short Hikes San Diego. Peg Reiter came to play an instrumental role in the completion of the book, and after consulting with the team at Wilderness Press, Treehuggers International producer and host Tommy Hough felt the best way to feature the book and Jerry’s lasting legacy, was to welcome Peg onto the program.
Carbon Nation Director Peter Byck
The importance isn’t whether you believe global warming, says Carbon Nation director Peter Byck, but what kind of solutions everyone can agree upon and move forward with to make the planet a cleaner and more energy efficient place. Taking an honest, often humorous look at global warming and the long-term effects of fossil fuel use, Carbon Nation features success stories of private citizens, communities and organizations moving forward with alternative energy applications.
Restoring Gettysburg Battlefield
The Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863 was the turning point in the Civil War, but the battle’s legacy extends beyond military history, as Gettysburg National Military Park today preserves 4,000 acres of the battlefield and adjoining areas. Preservation of the Gettysburg battlefield began shortly after the battle ended, with a portion of East Cemetery Hill developed by the War Department into Gettysburg National Cemetery, where President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address four months after the battle at the cemetery’s dedication.
Jerry Schad’s Afoot and Afield Legacy
Before long, I was driving up fire roads on the Los Coyotes reservation near Warner Springs to the forests at the base of Hot Springs Mountain, only to be sideswiped by a view of the Salton Sea I will never forget, appearing like a giant mirage through the trees. I visited the oak groves of Oakoasis in Lakeside and was pleased to find such heavy tree wisdom so close to civilization, cared for as a county park. I walked along the headwaters of the wild Santa Margarita River on the backside of Camp Pendleton, and was calmed by its stillness and quiet.
