October 9, 2011 (Rancho San Diego)—The Water Conservation Garden’s Executive Director, Marty Eberhardt, has announced her retirement, effective February 1, 2012, after over seven years of service to the non-profit organization. Eberhardt has been the Executive Director of The Garden since August 2004.  

 Come get your hands dirty and show off your green thumb

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October 2, 2011 (Rancho San Diego)—The Water Conservation Garden, in partnership with the San Diego County Watershed Protection Program, has opened a new exhibit that highlights storm water pollution prevention.  The  public is invited to view the new exhibit any time during its normal operating hours—9am-4pm, 7 days a week.  The new exhibit features a permeable pavement installation, complete with re-circulating fountain, situated alongside a straw bale house with a green, living roof.  Funding for the exhibit comes from a generous grant from the County of San Diego’s Watershed Protection Program.

September 24, 2011 (La Mesa) -- Do you have E-Waste?  Are obsolete computers, monitors, laptops, TVs, printers, cell phones, faxes, VCR & DVD players, stereos, cameras, etc. (working or not) cluttering your closets?  Are they taking your car’s rightful place in the garage?  

By Anne Tolch, Vice Chairperson, Sustainability Alliance of Southern California

Fall Home & Garden Festival, Backyard Flock, Build a Scarecrow, Tamale Making 101, From Laundry to Landscape, Small Space Garden, and Gardening on a Rooftop

September 3, 2011 (Rancho San Diego)--The Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College invites the public to enjoy its 2011 fall and winter events.  Gardening classes help residents save water and money by focusing on water-smart landscaping techniques and plants.  Classes are taught by professionals , with offerings for both adults and children. 

Scroll down for details on new classes sprouting up this season.

Can chickens provide early warnings of wind turbine health dangers?

By Miriam Raftery
August 21, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Like those proverbial canaries in the coal mine, chickens near wind farms may provide early clues to potential harm to health of humans and animals. That’s the contention of Hamish Cumming, a farmer battling proposed wind turbines near his home in Australia.

He has written a letter to East County Magazine seeking help from people living near wind farms locally (and in other locations) to document cases of shell-less eggs, dead chickens, or other animals that suffer internal hemmorrhaging.

August 11, 2011 (San Diego's East County) -- Join Mission Trails Regional Park's trail guide and resident birder, Jeanne Raimond, for a special evening guided walk in search of resident owls on August 12 and August 19.

Meet at 7:30 p.m. in the dirt parking lot on the corner of Bushy Hill Drive and Father Junipero Serra Trail, across from the Kumeyaay Lake Campground entrance.

Looking for a new plant for your garden or architectural endeavor?

By Matt Kopjak

August 4, 2011 (San Diego's East County)--Choosing the right plant for your garden can be a daunting task, but with Plants-Pedia you can sift through 48,000 plants from the USDA plants database and narrow down your choices, complete with charts and images. You can filter your options by growth period, soil texture, lifespan, shade tolerance, temperature, toxicity, fire tolerance, drought tolerance and more, depending on your needs. This tool is simple enough for the average gardener and has enough advanced options to be useful for even the most experienced botanist.

July 31, 2011 (Sacramento) -- The Federal and State Renewable Energy Action Team (REAT) launched a joint environmental review for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP or Plan) that seeks to streamline permitting of renewable energy facilities for seven counties in the California desert, including San Diego and Imperial Counties.

Public meetings are set for August 16 and 24, with written comments encouraged for those who cannot attend.