IT'S NO LONGER SANTEE, BUT MORE LIKE SANTREE

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By Karla Moran

(Karla Moran)

March 14, 2009 (Santee) —The working power of a city makes a difference--as evidenced at the 8th annual SanTree Fest and Earth Day Celebration. Sponsored by the City of Santee, this year's event had its best turn out yet. The community worked together to improve the environment and create a cleaner tomorrow. Parents and children shared time together hiking a riverside trail, planting trees, and potting flowers at Mast Park in Santee, where live bluegrass music and free food welcomed volunteers and visitors. Guests even took home free trees as souvenirs! For videos and photos of this eventful day, be sure to check our slideshow at www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EfQpcpS1IU.

"Today is the day, we will all get muddy for a good cause," explained Silvia Torres, who had extra pairs of socks ready for her family in her tote bag. (Indeed, one event organizer confided, kids love this event because they can all get dirty!)

"This year we had at least 110 volunteers," Sue Richardson, recreation services manager for the City
of Santee explained. "This is probably the biggest event we've had." Boy and Girl Scout troops participated, along with the West Hills gymnastics team and other community groups, she added.

(Karla Moran)

Organizations such as Waste Management, Rubio's, Lowe's, San Diego Regional Urban Forest Council, the Department of Environmental Health, and many more all contributed by supplying free plants, free trees, free food, free smoothies, and many more gifts that made this festival a pleasant morning.

Bluegrass music by Virtual Strangers added rhythm and excitement to the crowd, as families cheerfully approached different booths and got a better understanding of plants, trees, and information on how to recycle. For example, I was surprised to learn that Best Buy accepts electronic devices, ink-cartriges, and other products and recycles them for you. The company is even willing to assist you by picking up refrigerators or any heavy products from your home, to save their customers the hassle of driving to the store.

Lillianne Stepp plants a tree (Leon Thompson)

Trees used in the tree - planting were provided through a state grant to the City of Santee under the Tree City USA program. It was a very unique experience for most families. Children were so involved and enthusiastic that many parents were enjoying their smoothies as their children dug and planted trees.

"They will not let me borrow the shovel or let us assist them," Mr. and Mrs. Schultz claimed as their daughter Christine, 7, and Alex 6 planted their second consecutive tree. Children of all ages enjoyed planting.

The day began with an early morning nature walk along the San Diego River.

"The hike was nice and the kids had fun," said Martin Larsen, who enjoyed the walk with his sons Brendan, 8, and Ronnie, 2. Brendan carried a hiking stick. "I want a snake to crawl up on it!" he exclaimed later, holding a rosy boa snake nurtured by an environmental group. Kids had the chance to pet the snake and a tarantula as they took a break from all the digging.

(Miriam Raftery)

Richard Dhu, San Diego River Park Foundation, noted that important components of Santee and Mast Park include "testing the water and pulling out non-native plants"”anything we can do to get people involved with the river." He praised Mast Park, adding, “You can ride a horse through here."

The Foundation and other groups are working to create an inter-connected chain of parks and greenbelts along the entire length of the San Diego River. "Our vision is to someday be able to walk or ride a bike all the way from Julian to the Pacific Ocean," Dhu observed.

This Earth Day Celebration made a difference in the city of Santee. If you missed this event, be sure to check our calendar to learn more about upcoming "Green" events and other family festivities in East County -- such as Cuyamaca College's Spring Festival and more.

Karla Moran is a public relations major at San Diego State University and an intern at East County Magazine.


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