By JENNIFER MORRISSEY
First, we at the Mission Trails Regional Park (MTRP) Foundation are pleased to announce that community members like you helped us to reach our $30,000 matching campaign goal. In the last two months, more than 400 generous individuals and families gave to the MTRP Foundation, which will allow us to help preserve and protect the park and support the many projects on the horizon. Thank you!
We’re optimistic about this year, and we are starting it with a bang, presenting our first art exhibition at the Visitor Center in nearly two years, and staging at two-day native plant sale outdoors at the Visitor Center with the California Native Plant Society San Diego (CNPSSD).
Everyone is invited to shop, browse, and learn at a free California Native Plant Sale on Saturday, Jan. 22 and Sunday, Jan. 23 from 9 a.m. -3 p.m. on the terrace of the MTRP Visitor Center. Veteran gardeners and newcomers can select from 140 species of California native plants, CNPS’ local and state-sourced seeds and bulbs, as well as books and posters, botanical items, and other merchandise. In addition, native plant experts will be on hand to help with plant selection, and carts will be available for easy shopping. We anticipate that parking will be impacted in the Visitor Center lot, so we will offer free, open-air trolley service to near the Jackson Drive parking lot. Should you have more plants than you can carry to your car, we will have a plant holding area, and students from Patrick Henry High School’s Garden and AP Environmental Science clubs can help you load the plants into your vehicle. Plant stock will be replenished throughout the sale, and afternoon shopping is encouraged. Proceeds from the sale will benefit both nonprofit organizations’ missions to educate, restore, and appreciate the native habitats of our region. This family-friendly event has been sponsored by San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo (D-7); more information is available on the MTRP website: www.mtrp.org
With the full reopening of the Visitor Center and Gift Shop came the return of on-site programs and events. On Jan. 2, the MTRP Foundation hosted an opening reception for its first art exhibition in nearly two years, Nature’s Abundance. The exhibition features five award-winning artists including Ray Khalife, Wendy Kwasny, Ken Roberts, Tara Sood, and Amy Schindler, an MTRP volunteer and Del Cerro resident. These artists’ media range from oil and acrylic painting to mixed media and ceramics with stone. Nature’s Abundance will be on view through Feb. 11, 2022, from 9 a.m. -5 p.m. daily. The artworks will be available for sale with a percentage of the purchase benefiting the park through the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation.
— Jennifer Morrissey is executive director of the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation.
