help us restore the streambed + expand critical habitat
Impacts from climate change-driven storm intensity increases and utility maintenance access threaten the integrity of canyon streambeds throughout San Diego. Massive erosion zones that reduce habitat and threaten private property as well as City infrastructure are now common in our local canyons.
The Mission Hills Canyon Streambed and Habitat Enhancement Project will repair the damaged streambed in Mission Hills Canyon with low-impact check dam structures allowing the establishment of natural trees and shrubs that will expand habitat, reduce erosion, improve water infiltration, and protect the sewer and stormwater infrastructure in that location. Low-impact streambed repair is a resiliency & "nature-based" solution encouraging the re-establishment of native species that can hold the stream together over time with minimal human intervention. While these techniques are well understood and in practice around the world, streambed reengineering is not a standard practice for the City of San Diego.
The Mission Hills Canyon project will act as a pilot for the City to study the procedure so that it can be applied throughout San Diego. This project will support San Diego Canyonlands' workforce development programs including the Environmental Careers Opportunities (ECO) Initiative that provides job training to at-risk populations seeking to re-enter the job market.
WE HAVE REACHED OUR GOAL! Thank you to everyone who donated to this project!