Tag: wildlife

Sea life mosaics installed at Chula Vista trolley station!

Gorgeous glass mosaics depicting sea life were recently installed at the E Street trolley station in Chula Vista. The artwork was created by Rainforest Art Project (@rainforestartproject). The mosaics are meant to inspire people traveling through San Diego’s South Bay. Eyes are encouraged to look out at the world with a sense of wonder.

The mosaics are part of the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) Color the Corridor project. You might recall that a long mural has been painted on a wall just north of the same trolley station. See my blog post concerning that by clicking here.

A short video concerning these new sea life mosaics can be viewed here.

Many of the glass mosaics aren’t readily visible to passengers waiting for a trolley on the E Street station platform. As you can see from my next photograph, most of the fish, whales, birds and turtles overlook Interstate 5 below.

Hopefully drivers whizzing down the busy freeway or heading up the nearby off-ramp observe this incredible public art!

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Walking through Swan Canyon in City Heights.

For a small adventure, hike down into Swan Canyon from the streets of City Heights.

The long, narrow canyon is one of several in this San Diego neighborhood. Like other nearby canyons, it features trails for nature walks in a mostly urban environment.

I enjoyed a short, easy hike last weekend in Swan Canyon. My aim was to photograph a newly painted mural on an old concrete foundation down in the canyon. If you’d like to see those photographs, click here.

There are several ways to enter the canyon. The trailhead I used is at the intersection of Olive Street and Highland Avenue, a couple blocks east of Fairmount Avenue. I headed east down the Olive Street Trail to the bottom of the canyon. You can see several trails on Google Maps if you perform a search.

At the bottom of the canyon, there’s a sign showing where the Olive Street Trail and Quince Street Trail cross. From the Olive Street Trail, I turned left and headed north up the Quince Street trail.

After a short distance of upward climbing, I noticed a definite but unmarked trail to the left. It led to the mural.

It’s hard to get lost in the narrow canyon. Just keep looking around.

Once I reached the mural, I easily retraced my steps. You could venture down another trail or in a different direction if you’d like to conduct your own voyage of discovery!

The trails I walked down were fairly well maintained, but wear good shoes and bring water on a warm day. You can see a few hollows in the shrubbery where homeless people might live, and graffiti in places, particularly near the mural–so be aware of that.

The above sign stands at the trailhead.

The sign contains information about wildlife and plants in our city’s canyons, and is provided by the organization San Diego Canyonlands. See their website here. You’ll find loads of useful information!

Did I come across any wildlife during my walk? The canyon did smell fresh and wild. I observed no coyotes, raccoons or red-tailed hawks, but I did spot a squirrel, and a few small birds in some trees.

Looking down from the trailhead…

Here we go! Watch your step…

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

The new City Heights mural in Swan Canyon!

In September, this amazing new mural was painted on a long wall in San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood, down in Swan Canyon.

Local muralist Shayne M. Oseguera (with the help of other artists and community volunteers, San Diego Parks and Recreation, and San Diego Canyonlands) created colorful scenes of nature in a place that is often beset by graffiti.

I hiked along trails through Swan Canyon to get close up photographs this afternoon. I’ll soon be posting a blog about my hike, with directions on how to get to the mural.

In the next two photographs, you can see the long mural from across the canyon. You can also see how concrete surfaces beneath and beside the mural have been tagged with graffiti.

Now, after my short hike, I’m standing right next to the artwork. The sun was very low, making photography a bit challenging, so most of my shots are at an angle.

Enjoy these beautifully painted images of native plants, birds and other life in Swan Canyon!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

San Diego Bird Alliance celebrates 75 years!

A great event was held today at Liberty Station in San Diego. The San Diego Bird Alliance (formerly the San Diego Audubon Society) celebrated their 75th Anniversary! For 75 years they’ve been working to educate the public, protect birds and restore natural habitat!

The event brought in many community organizations that have worked with the San Diego Bird Alliance to make a brighter and birdier future!

The program began with Kumeyaay traditional Bird Songs performed by youth from the Barona Band of Mission Indians. Their songs were of birds and journeying, and respect for all Creation.

A presentation was then made by San Diego City Council President Pro Tem Joe LaCava.

Young kids in the audience would then became excited as they took center stage. Ms. Smarty Plants had them excitedly learning about the critically endangered California condor, protecting our environment, and singing!

A little later the Accipiter Dance Company performed. I posted photos of their beautiful dance here.

I left before the program was completed, so I missed more dancing and what promised to be a colorful Parade of the Species. But I did walk around, checking out the many participating organizations and learning more about this precious world we all live in.

Enjoy some random photos!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Birds, Stars, Our Lands represented in La Jolla.

A large, very beautiful mural in La Jolla shows three birds–a Black-throated Sparrow, a Rock Wren, and a Cactus Wren–in their native habitat. It’s titled Mukikmalim, Su’ulim, Chem-tema-ki’ay, which is in the Kupa language. It translates as Birds, Stars, Our Lands.

According to this article, it’s the first public display of the Kupa language. The artist, Gail Werner, who descends from three of the county’s native peoples, Kupa (or Cupeño), Luiseño and Kumeyaay, received her inspiration for the mural from her hikes in the Anza-Borrego desert, beyond the mountains east of San Diego.

The public art debuted in downtown La Jolla in 2023, and is part of the ongoing Murals of La Jolla project. I saw the artwork last weekend on Herschel Avenue as I approached the bus stop on Silverado Street.

According to the Murals of La Jolla website: The bird imagery is inspired by traditional Southern California Native American songs, called Bird Songs, and the accompanying dance, the Bird Dance. These songs and dance weave a story of how the people came to be where they are and the accompanying journey that brought them to this land, which is said to parallel the migration of the birds.

In my own opinion, Mukikmalim, Su’ulim, Chem-tema-ki’ay is one of the most beautiful murals I’ve ever encountered in La Jolla

The imagery transports me to wilder places around San Diego . . . to hikes I’ve enjoyed.

With all its buildings, streets and parking lots, it’s hard to imagine how La Jolla (or any San Diego neighborhood) might have appeared before the first Europeans and settlers transformed the natural world they found.

And now for my photographs–of unspoiled nature represented on a building, taken from across an asphalt parking lot…

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

White-tailed Kite sculpture in Normal Heights!

It’s easy to miss this very beautiful sculpture by a sidewalk in Normal Heights. The figure of a White-tailed Kite in flight stands in front of Art FORM–Found Objects Recycled Materials at 3316 Adams Avenue.

According to a nearby plaque, the mosaic sculpture was created by Endangered Concepts in collaboration with Art FORM with the helping hands of Normal Heights Elementary 1st Grade classes of 2017-18.

It also explains: The White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucarus) is a raptor found in western North America and parts of Central and South America. By the 1930s it was nearbly driven to extinction, but with the help of wildlife conservation efforts its population has increased… This mosaic sculpture is a tribute to conservation efforts, reminding us that together we can beat the odds.

Enjoy these photos…

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Garden Fair at San Diego Natural History Museum!

A very fun and informative Garden Fair was held today outside the San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park. The event coincides with the recent opening of the nature trail that now encircles the museum.

The interpretive nature trail, which leads visitors past a wide variety of native Southern California plants, is a cornerstone of the San Diego Natural History Museum’s 150 year anniversary celebration!

All sorts of booths were set up on both the south and north sides of the museum. Organizations who care about protecting our natural environment provided information for curious passersby. I took these photographs…

Smiles from Forever Balboa Park. They are working to revitalize Balboa Park’s Botanical Building and gardens.

The California Native Plant Society was educating the public about conserving our local flora.

Activity at the Master Gardener table.

Poster provides suggestions for native plants in your garden.

Lots of sunshine and smiles today in Balboa Park!

Table features seeds for native plants.

Kids learn about bees and other pollinators.

Balboa Park Alive! has a cool app in the beta stage, developed by smiling folks from the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination at UC San Diego.

The augmented reality mobile app transforms Balboa Park into an interactive biodiversity adventure. On your smartphone, you can plant virtual flora, release butterflies, and simulate pollinator behavior. I was told that so far you can explore Balboa Park’s Zoro Garden and the Natural History Museum’s new nature trail. Very cool!

Learn more about Balboa Park Alive! by clicking here.

Technology helps bring nature in Balboa Park to life.

More booths for the Garden Fair, along the new nature trail on the north side of the San Diego Natural History Museum.

Member of the NAT Garden Corps tells me various facts concerning the cactus wren and prickly pear. While she spoke a hummingbird came by.

How cool! Moth Week 2024 has a night party outside the museum on Friday, July 26, after 8 pm. A naturalist will attract moths near the Moreton Bay Fig for photography.

San Diego Canyonlands focuses on the canyons in City Heights around Azalea Park. They support youth education and environmental job training in underserved communities. They also have an urban hike-a-thon event.

Smiles from some San Diego Natural History Museum Canyoneers. They offer free guided hikes throughout the county. Enjoy nature and become a citizen scientist!

The San Diego Habitat Conservancy currently manages 33 open space preserves in Southern California.

The Climate Science Alliance mission is to safeguard natural and human communities in the face of a changing climate.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Preview of new River Center in Mission Valley!

This weekend the public has the opportunity to enjoy a tour of the incredible River Center that’s currently being built in Mission Valley!

The annual San Diego River Days event of the San Diego River Park Foundation includes community tours of the River Center at Grant Park, which is located east of Qualcomm Way along Camino del Rio North.

Rob Hutsel, President and CEO of the San Diego River Park Foundation, provided a guided walking tour this morning that I and several others thoroughly enjoyed. He explained how in the next 6 to 8 weeks the River Center will really be taking shape, with many of its features finally completed.

He explained how the center will be an active outdoor classroom for thousands of San Diego school children–particularly Title 1 schools within a 15 minute drive, serving urban, less affluent communities.

The River Center is designed to welcome city kids who might have no real experience out in nature. They will be eased into the experience from the moment school buses arrive, enjoying presentations in a 100-seat amphitheater by the entry courtyard. I learned there will be animal encounters hosted by Joan Embery!

Kids will then walk past a waterfall, separate into smaller groups, and walk down nature trails, where they will learn about the environment and the San Diego River: its geology, history, flora and fauna.

If you’d like to go on one of these preview tours, you have the chance tomorrow–Sunday, May 19–between 9:30 am and 11:30 am. Check out the San Diego River Days website for more information here!

In September there will be a big Grand Opening celebration! Stay tuned!

Construction gate at the future entrance to the River Center at Grant Park in Mission Valley. The area beyond used to be an abandoned sand mining site.

Early visitors have arrived for the first tour that would preview the new River Center.

The public can support the project by buying personalized pavers at the River Center’s entrance.

Kids stepping off school buses will encounter wild animal tracks in a concrete walkway.

Almost time to start our early Saturday morning tour!

A rendering of the entry courtyard, showing The Den pavilion structure with restrooms and a sheltered sitting area that faces a stage and river trees. Famous animal educator Joan Embery is partnering with the River Center and will provide animal presentations (perhaps a hawk) for young students!

This is where the 100-seat outdoor amphitheater with stage will be built.

Much of the dirt area in the 17-acre River Center will soon be transformed into a beautiful park space. A gateway garden and expanse of grass (Grant Park) will be open to the public! Just beyond Rob will be an artificial waterfall!

A walkway will wind toward the south side of the San Diego River. There will be lighting along the path. The environmentally friendly River Center will be powered mostly by solar.

Where the walkway turns there will be a beautiful arbor–an acoustic shade structure.

Just beyond the arbor, a dirt trail will lead into nature. Kids in small groups will be led by trained educators into the native river environment.

Here we go! The irrigation pipes you see will eventually be removed.

Kids can learn about how buckwheat seeds spread, and learn about plants and trees like prickly pear and lemonade berry, and willows and oaks.

Gazing down toward the San Diego River in mid-May, when water levels are low. That’s Interstate 805 in the distance. I saw birds flitting about in the lush greenery.

Now we’re back on the curving concrete walkway, looking at the visionary River Center at Grant Park project. Some big boulders were donated, adding beauty to the park space.

Rendering shows families enjoying the grass of Grant Park when it’s finally completed.

Master gardeners will be adding their expertise to the public park. The California Garden Clubs will also be contributing. The River Center and park will be alive with birds. As our tour concluded, a swallow flew overhead.

Join the effort to open the River Center at Grant Park! Donations for this amazing (but expensive) project are appreciated!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Bay to Park Paseo: Before There Were Borders.

Art was recently installed on windows near the main entrance of San Diego’s Central Library. Before There Were Borders depicts native wildlife and the languages of indigenous peoples who lived in our region north and south of the present-day U.S./Mexican border, long before the arrival of Europeans.

Animals such as roadrunners, whales, deer, mountain lions, pelicans, rabbits, butterflies, coyotes and bears are matched with their names in four languages: Kumeyaay/Kumiai, Kuupangaxwichem/Cupeño, Payòmkawichum/Luiseño, and Cahuilla.

But there’s much more to the installation. As this explains, a “digital art piece will be accessible within the arcade of the Central Library. Rob Quigley, designer of the Central Library, envisions it to be one of ‘stage’ and ‘performance.’ As participants move though the arcade, images will appear to entice further exploration using a simple scan of a QR code with a smartphone. The installation will include video holograms, viewing cultural objects through augmented reality, and immersive reality language experiences.”

Before There Were Borders is part of a 1.7 mile artistic walking experience along the Bay To Park Paseo, a project inspired by the selection of San Diego/Tijuana as World Design Capital 2024.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Wetland restored at Cottonwood Creek in Encinitas.

Cottonwood Creek Park in Encinitas is a place to play, picnic, relax and enjoy nature. A beautiful walkway crosses over Cottonwood Creek and leads to leafy overlooks.

At one overlook, a sign lures inquisitive eyes. It describes how the nearby wetland was re-created, where for many years the water had been piped underground directly to the portion of the creek that lies west of the Pacific Coast Highway. The park and its restored wetland lie immediately east of Vulcan Avenue (a short distance east of Coast Highway 101).

The benefit of water filtration by plants (such as bulrushes and sedges) and plant litter (decomposing vegetation) is explained. Water that eventually flows into the ocean at Moonlight Beach is naturally cleaned of contaminants like heavy metals, nitrates and phosphorus.

The reclaimed riparian habitat also supports many native species. Trees, frogs and butterflies that benefit are depicted on a second sign.

To read more, enlarge the two sign images.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!