opening the outdoors
Mentoring Urban Corps youth through habitat restoration
San Diego Canyonlands received the Opening the Outdoors grant from San Diego Foundation to mentor youth through habitat restoration. Through this grant, we worked with youth from Urban Corps of San Diego to restore land in Olivia Canyon and create a native plant garden. With the support of City Farmers, a local business situated on the canyon edge, Moosa Creek Nursery, Urban Corps of San Diego, and San Diego Foundation, we planted 250 native plants for the community to enjoy.
In 2021, San Diego Canyonlands petitioned the City of San Diego to name this garden and the adjacent trail after late community hero Bill Tall. Bill Tall was the founder of City Farmers in City Heights and passed in January 2021. The garden is now named Farmer Bill’s Habitat Garden and the trail is named The Tall Trail to honor the legacy of Mr. Tall.
Before
The landscape was fraught with overgrown invasive species hindering any sort of native plant life.
During
The Urban Corps crew helped remove hundreds of pounds of trash and invasive plants from the site, prepped for planting, and controlled potential erosion.
After
With the help of Urban Corps, we planted over 250 native plants for the community to enjoy and learn about the local ecology. The garden is now officially named Farmer Bill’s Habitat Garden after late community hero Bill Tall of City Farmers.