EDI Species of the Week: Red Diamond Rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber) 🐍♦️ The Red Diamond Rattlesnake is one of California's most impressive native reptiles, known for its distinct reddish hue and striking diamond-patterned back. It is one of three rattlesnake species commonly referred to as "diamondback," and its coloring becomes progressively more vivid as it matures from juvenile to adult. Found in the southwestern corner of California and extending south into Baja Californi

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

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