FEATURE
San Onofre Parks Foundation To Educate, Protect and Preserve
by Jamie Brinkman photos by Bram Norman
T
he San Onofre Parks Foundation is a non-profit, charitable foundation cre- ated to protect and preserve the beaches
along our coastline known as San Onofre, San Clemente State Beach and the San Mateo Campground. While endeavoring to create the best park experience for the millions of visitors each year, the foundation also strives to educate the public about the rich culture and natural history of the area. Created by Steve Long (father to big wave
surfer Greg Long), it is now run by a board made up entirely of volunteers. Barry Berg, for- mer creative director for Surfing Magazine, is now the president of the foundation and says that his efforts are led by “passion” and that this is his way “ to give back” to his home town that has given him so much. The San Onofre Parks Foundation ensures
two things: one, that there is a group responsi- ble for looking out for the health and safety of our beaches and two, that there are programs in place to help educate people about how to protect and preserve our beaches. The founda- tion does this through improvement projects and educational programs, which include beach clean ups, summer lecture series, camp outs, butterfly habitat stewardship, scholarship programs and cultural events. Because of the unique cobblestone reef that
lies at the bottom of the water at Trestles, it is one of the best year-round surf breaks in the world, and in turn draws over two million peo-
6 SAN CLEMENTE JOURNAL
Standing left to right; Barry Berg - President, Jacque Nunez - tribal descendant of the Acjachemen nation, Steve Long - Founder. Rebecca Robles - Secretary, Kathleen Cobb -Director, Justin McCarty - Treasurer, Susan Goggins - Business Manager, Kris Ethington - Board Advi- sor, Steve Netherby - Past President. Kneeling: Dave Ethington -Vice President, Cryssie Moreno -State Parks Interpreter.
ple each year. So to help engage the public and transform traditional park users into park stew- ards, the San Onofre Parks Foundation pro- vides many lecture series that take place at the Historic Cottage located at the San Clemente Beach Campground. The Historic Cottage serves as both a museum of the natural history for the area as well as a center for the lecture se- ries. Distinctive and renowned speakers have lectured on a variety of subjects ranging from surf science and coastal presence, to the endan- germent of specific indigenous species such as the great white shark and the Pacific Pocket Mouse. This summer the lecture series will in- clude education about a local research study on mountain lions in southern California, given by UC Davis veterinarian Winston Vickers, and a lecture on riding big waves, by San Clemente’s own big wave rider, Greg Long. Because the state is unable to fully fund
and support the protection of the coastlines, the doggie bags you find along park trails for picking up after your dog are provided by the San Onofre Parks Foundation. Each year, thou- sands of dollars go towards supplying these waste bags for dog owners visiting our state parks. To help cover the cost, the foundation created a fundraising event called Woofstock. Each year, this event combines fun activities such as a dog and human costume contest and a dog parade to raise funds and awareness about the impact of dogs on the environment. In ad- dition to this event, the foundation also hosts cultural events such as the Panhe Celebration,
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76