By TR Robertson
Earth Day 2023 at Alta Vista Botanical Gardens was a beautiful sunny day that brought people to the Gardens to enjoy a variety of activities and visits with different businesses and organizations. Their motto of “Bringing Together People, Nature & Art” was on full display especially in the Children’s Garden where numerous families were enjoying many different creative activities, such as painting rocks, making a macaroni necklace, making a leather bracelet, learning about Bees & Pollination, making a nature collage, and playing with earthworms. Some of the vendors sold a selection of plants and the Amigos de Vista Lions Club members were busy cooking up different food items to offer the public. Ron Holloway, President of Alta Vista Botanical Gardens and a member of the Amigos de Vista Lions Club and John Davis, President of Amigos De Vista Lions were busy cooking up some delicious smelling bell peppers and onions. People could also sign up for a Walk for Earth Day and take part in a Nature Scavenger Hunt.
The California Rare Fruit Growers both sold and spoke with people about the propagation and growing of common and rare edible plants. They meet the 4th Tuesday of every month at 2006 East Vista Way at 7 p.m., located behind Prohibition Brewery. For more information go to www.growrarefruit.org or www.crfg.org. Carolyn Anderson and Sheila Grasso worked at a table speaking with the public about the Vista Garden Club. Their 87th Standard Flower Show will be May 6 from 2-7 p.m. and May 7 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Jim Porter Recreation Center in Brengle Terrace. For more information contact carolynvgc@gmail.com.
Tenaya Becker and Liz Franous from The Woman’s Club of Vista were promoting the Clubs Pennies for Change program which will be used on Arbor Day to plant trees in Vista. Go to www.womansclubofvista.org for information on how to get involved. The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency was handing out numerous pamphlets on topics about the Rising Fentanyl Crisis, Mental Health Topics, and other issues important for families. Clean Earth 4Kids had a tent where Yesenik Hernandez showed how children can become involved in activities to protect Clean Air, Water, Parks, and Land. They are in Oceanside and more information can be found at www.cleanearth4kids.org.
A number of the tent booths sold a variety of products people could purchase. Etha Natural Botanicals sold products to alleviate normal stress and temporary discomfort – www.ethanaturals.com. Coleman Advanced Dentistry showed a program that offered a community drop-off point for dental hygiene used products that are sent to TerraCycle where they are turned into items like playground flooring for parks and schools. 110 Civic Center Drive is the drop-off point. On popular tent was sponsored by Michelle Klein, owner of Cultivating the Curious, featuring numerous children’s books full of hands-on activities – www.cultivatingthecurious.com .
Some of the other tents we visited included Deb’s $5 Jewelry run by Deb Hernandez, Face’s by Renee with beautiful pottery featuring faces, Cards & Crafts by Bernadette Carvalho offering one-of-a-kind handcrafted greeting cards and crafts, and Sugar Bees with beeswax inspired beauty products. We also visited with Rusti Dixon, General Manager of Alta Vista Botanical Gardens and Ann Little, Board Member of Alta Vista Gardens about the Earth Day events at the Garden. Near the Children’s Garden many people were stopping by to listen to the sounds of Guitarist/singer/songwriter Vic Moraga – www.vicmoraga.com. Outside the Alta Vista Gift Shop a table of raffle prizes was on display for people to purchase raffle tickets to try and win the gift baskets.
It was a comfortable, relaxing Earth Day event at Alta Vista Botanical Gardens, full of numerous activities for those that wanted to take part. A Children’s Discovery Trail Guide was available in the Children’s Garden. Many others simply explored the trails throughout the Gardens or relaxed by watching the turtles in the several ponds close to the trails. If you have never been to the Vista hidden gem, plan to stop by some day. Go to www.cultivatingthecurious.com to check out all of the activities and events the Garden sponsors and to find out more about what you can do when you visit.
