By TR Robertson
Hundreds of visitors to Alta Vista Botanical Garden enjoyed the sunny Saturday as they wandered the grounds and visited with numerous vendors enjoying free Earth Day festivities. Alta Vista is celebrating their 16th Earth Day celebration. This popular event featured activities for all ages. Two of the sponsors for this event included Progressive Growers Inc. and EDCO Disposal. Each of the vendors at the booths shared information about their products or the organization they represented. As you entered the entrance to the Gardens the Vista Irrigation District booth had numerous handouts about being “water wise” and how to turn your yards into a “water wise” yard. They also had handouts on entering the Water-Efficient Yard contest where residents can win valuable prizes.
The deadline for entering is May 9th and you can go to www.landscapecontest.com for more information. Going up the walkway, The Farm Fresh to You booth employees explained their sustainable agriculture program which supplies Family Farm grown products to people who have signed up. There were a number of booths with jewelry, candles, children’s clothing, pottery, wood working and more. Liz Francisca, incoming President of the Vista Woman’s Club, and member Barbara MacPherson were at the Vista Woman’s Club table providing information about becoming a member and activities, like the May 14th Donation Day at Alta Vista Botanical Gardens to raise funds for scholarships. The club had just finished their Autism Walk 2024 as one activity. Go to www.thewomansclubofvista.org for more information. Other organizations that support a number of scholarship programs and activities for the community were present. The Vista Silver Star Foundation has a booth as did the Vista Garden Club.
The Garden Club was also selling a number of plants and promoting their 89th Flower Show that will be held at the Jim Porter Recreation Center in Brengle Terrace Park on May 3rd and 4th. Times are 2-5 pm on May 3rd and 10am-4pm on May 4th.
The North San Diego Chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers was a popular stop for many as they had a number of different plants you might want to grow at your home. Across from them was a large tent with a number of Alta Vista Botanical Garden volunteers, helping anyone who needed help, to purchase a variety of plants for their homes. Garden advice was also available from GrowGetters. Moving on down the walkway you could meet with a member of SANDAG who had handouts on the Bike Anywhere Day that will be held on Thursday, May 15th, beginning at the Escondido Transit Center for a 5-mile bike ride. Next to the tent was the EDCO tent that had a plethora of handouts on the various recycling programs they support and that are offered. Behind these booths was the Alta Vista Garden Shop selling crafts, snacks and turtle food. The turtles were in the nearby pond. The Clean Energy Alliance tent and the City of Vista tent were not far from these tents. Each booth offered information about their programs and how they support being energy efficient. At the City of Vista tent, a handout was available about the new North County Transit district program that will offer on-demand service for short local trips to work, school of the store and connecting NCTD buses and trains. The program launches May 19th in Vista and will cost $3.00 for the first passenger and a one way trip and $1.50 for each additional passenger. Youth under 18 rides for free. Go to www.GoNCYD.com for more information.
Walking toward the Ceremonial Garden the Golden Coast Dough booth offered freshly baked rolls like Gorgonzola and Olive or Italian Herb and Sea Salt or Jalapeno Cheddar. Baker Amani Finesse also offers locally baked Focaccia and other selections all prepared homemade in Vista. Go to www.goldencoastdough@gmail.com for more information. Oli’s Cookies booth offered great tasting cookies for sale, baked in their Vista bakery. The Snickerdoodles were awesome, and this group gives a portion of their proceeds to support Autism Awareness. The Surfrider Foundation booth had eye opening examples of the damage of plastic to our oceans. They showed plastic picked up along the beaches of North County. These plastics were molded into artwork pieces. They also showed what has been found in the 5 large garbage patches floating in the oceans of the world, the largest in the North Pacific. They spoke about the danger of microplastics in the oceanwater and had examples of how plastic has affected sea birds, sea turtles and seals. One handout was on the Unite for Climate rally on Saturday March 3rd from 11am-2pm at Waterfront Park at 1600 Pacific Highway in San Diego.
The smells coming from the Amigos de Vista Lions Club cookout was much too good to pass-up. We enjoyed deliciously cooked cheeseburgers with all the trimmings for a great price. John Davis was cooking when we stopped by. Amigos de Vista member Don Kidder had a pleasant surprise as his daughter Meghan Kidder was visiting all the way from Costa Rica with her son James and had stopped by the BBQ to enjoy burgers. There was also a snow cone booth not too far away that was a popular place to grab something cold. After lunch we wandered to the Herb Garden and to the Labyrinth that was in full bloom. After this our journey took us on back trails, walking by the Springs Charter Schools tent, a TK-8 school in Vista also offering high school online. Continuing on trails our journey took us to the Children’s Garden.
The Bugs, Birds & Butterflies Children’s Garden on Earth Day is probably the most popular stopping point for families with children. The children’s activities offered, assisted by a number of volunteers, included Bubble Baskets, Stuck on Earth magnet, Dig It! Worms, Planting Sunflowers, Happy Earth trash sorting, necklace making, Earth Day Rocks and Peter Kuchinsky, the Origami Man, helping the kids and adults make an origami ladybug. Families were sitting at the tables with everyone participating in the projects. Close by was Vic Moraga in Tailspin Kite Plaza playing guitar and singing a variety of songs for the public. In the Ceremonial Garden at 1:30 pm the Raffle and Door prize winners were announced.
Earth Day at Alta Vista Botanical Garden is a low key, free event with lots of activities for families and anyone who likes to get out and enjoy one of the most popular places to visit in Vista. Go to www.avbg.org to find out all of the upcoming activities at The Garden and when you get a chance, put Alta Vista Botanical Garden on your list of places to visit in Vista.
