Santa Barbara Milkvetch ( Astragalus trichopodus ) 🌿 Santa Barbara Milkvetch is one of the most common Astragalus species found in Southern California. It features pea-like, bilaterally symmetrical flowers and distinctive balloon-shaped seed pods that hang from its stems. While many species in the Astragalus genus are highly toxic and classified as “major toxicity” by the California Poison Control System, this species appears to lack those toxins. It has traditionally been u

Volunteer Heroes Making a BIG Impact This month, we had dozens of passionate people help us install HUNDREDS of native plants at El Monte, reaching a milestone of over 2,500 native plants in the ground at El Monte this year! We know what you're thinking...our highlight email early this month said over 1,000 plants  this year, but we were totally mistaken - everyone put in hard work in the spring too, so we installed more than double that amount!! We are so impressed by all th

Toad-ally Exciting Encounter During one of our habitat restoration events this month, we spotted a native Western Spadefoot toad (a threatened species) and we were so excited! Whenever we have encounters like these, it is a perfect reminder of why all our hard work matters and why we are so grateful for our volunteer heroes who help us make an impact in San Diego's wild spaces. We have two more habitat restoration events at El Monte coming up before the end of 2025! If you'd

Elfin Forest Enchantment It was such a treat to bring East County families to the enchanting Elfin Forest in North County as part of our "Education Through Recreation" program. Guided by our field instructors, multigenerational families explored the wonders of the Interpretive Center, hiked the botanical trail, had a leaf race in the Escondido Creek, played totem tag, and enjoyed the splendor as families connected with nature and each other. A key goal of our family-focused e

California Climate Action Corps Fellows We are so excited to welcome our California Climate Action Corps Fellows, Carrie, Asilia, and Kendall, who will be spending the next year working with our conservation team to protect and restore wild places in San Diego! In their first week, they collected seed at EDI's Milkweed Farm, installed six new farm rows, helped with weeding at our cactus scrub restoration site, and learned all about the work we do at EDI. We are so looking for

Volunteer Hero Appreciation This past month, our wonderful volunteers have been helping water and up-pot Milkweed at our native Milkweed...

Monarch Butterfly Habitat Gardens Beth and family (some of EDI's wonderful volunteer heroes) visite d one of the Monarch Butterfly...

EDI's Milkweed Farm is Thriving! A major shoutout to our team, volunteer heroes, and grantors for making the EDI Milkweed Farm burst with...

Cruising Around Cabrillo National Monument We took the entire 3rd grade class from Vista Grande Elementary to Cabrillo National Monument...

Spring Break Anza Borrego Adventure! We took full advantage of Spring Break this month when we brought our east county neighbors on a...