Peridot Sweat Bee (Augochlorella pomoniella)🐝💚 The Peridot Sweat Bee is one of the most visually striking insects in western North America, its metallic emerald green body catching the light as it zips from flower to flower, earning its reputation as a living jewel of the insect world. Far from a pest, this bee is a hardworking and valuable native pollinator, supporting wild habitats and backyard gardens alike. What makes it particularly fascinating is its flexible social b

Volunteer Appreciation Day! As always, we are endlessly grateful for the volunteer heroes who show up for EDI week after week. As a small token of our appreciation, we hosted an appreciation day equipped with tasty treats and coffee beneath the Oak Grove at Crestridge Ecological Reserve. We had a wonderful time spending the morning with them without getting our hands dirty! Each volunteer also received a Monarch Butterfly tote with illustrations from our very own Ashley Ersep

Healing Through Nature Nate and Ida attended the Healing Through Nature kick-off meeting at The San Diego Natural History Museum! Healing Through Nature is a countywide initiative focused on expanding equitable access to the health and well-being benefits of the natural world. We felt lucky to be among a diverse group of organizations and agencies working across conservation, health care, Indigenous communities, social justice, and other sectors throughout San Diego County! W

Outstanding Oak Workshop We had a spectacular time this past weekend at our native Oak workshop led by one of our wonderful California Climate Action Fellows, Becca! Every attendee was engaged, contributing to the conversation and sharing their knowledge about these native trees that do so much for our wild spaces. We gave away 4 Oak trees to eager homeowners ready to support an entire ecosystem in their yards by planting an Oak sapling! Stay tuned for more Oak workshops on

First-ever EDI Monarch Butterfly Festival! This month, EDI hosted our inaugural Monarch Butterfly Festival, and we were blown away by the incredible community support and turnout! It was a wonderful day celebrating these iconic butterflies while bringing our community together to learn about pollinator conservation. Festival attendees enjoyed a variety of interactive activities, including face painting, creating butterfly wings and bracelets, the monarch butterfly life cycle

Milkweed Farm Meander To celebrate San Diego's first-ever Pollinator Week, EDI welcomed visitors to our Native Milkweed Farm! Organized by the San Diego Pollinator Alliance, the week featured a series of county-wide events honoring our local pollinators. Thirteen community members joined us to learn how we cultivate native milkweed, monitor monarch larvae, and grow plants for our Monarch Waystation Project and public plant sales. We were thrilled to share the vital role nativ

Cactus Conservation! This last month, we hosted an incredible cactus planting event, led by our amazing CCAC fellow, Becca! Our volunteers, alongside a group from the San Diego Air Pollution Control District, planted 200 cactus pads, expanding cactus scrub habitat at El Monte. We were also able to take a brief tour to spot the Coastal Cactus Wrens, and show how these efforts will help create suitable nesting habitat! Special shoutout to Priscilla, one of our regular volunteer

On the Open Ocean We took 76 east county community members on a private Whale Watching tour with San Diego Whale Watch this month! One of our favorite parts of these open ocean adventures is that a certified marine biologist joins in on the fun, providing us with loads of fun facts about San Diego's incredible ocean ecosystems, and of course that includes lots of information about whales! While we didn't actually see any whales on this excursion, we still enjoyed a beautiful,

Composting 101 with Asilia We recently hosted a hands-on workshop about hot composting and vermicomposting at Centro Cultural de la Raza, led by Asilia Diaz Vasquez (they/she/he), one of our California Climate Action Fellows. Participants of all experience levels got their hands dirty as they learned how composting works and how organic waste can be diverted from landfills. Community members learned how to compost at home and take green waste to local composting centers to he

Thank YOU! We want to start this newsletter by expressing our gratitude for your support during our best matching campaign yet . As a reminder, we had two generous board members pledge to match $11,000 in donations through the end of 2025. Thanks to you, we raised a total of $14,108 ! We are blown away by your passion for our wild spaces and our planet’s future, and grateful for your belief in EDI’s mission & vision. Thank you thank you thank you. Now Accepting Applications f