Updates:

OFG meets the 4th Tuesday of every month.

All of our blog posts are now done through our Surfrider chapter website at
http://sandiego.surfrider.org/programs/ocean-friendly-gardens You can also visit our Facebook page at 'Ocean Friendly Gardens - San Diego'






Friday, September 19, 2008

Non-Native gardens possibly doing more harm than they know...

Another reason why it's important to have Native California plants in your garden, is to prevent the possibility of genetic erosion with nearby Natives. Basically non-native gardens can affect the genetic integrity of native plants that were meant to survive in our region of Southern California...so the overabundance of non-native gardens' adverse impact surpasses the metes and bounds of those specific properties, largely due to the birds & the bees.

"If the urban
plants are chosen from geographic
sources that do not reflect local conditions,
this interbreeding could undermine
the local adaptations and long
term viability of natural populations."

YIKES!!!

And we all know how important our natural populations are: especially since they are the one's most genetically able to soak up rain water and prevent unwanted stormdrain discharge into our oceans!

This is yet another reason we want to encourage land-owners and landscapers to choose, not only water-absorbing plants, but native strains of plants, that were grown naturally in open space. (If you just buy at a commercial nursery, you may be getting a genetic strain that is not native and may not survive in your garden, and may even contaminate the local species.)

Learn more on urban landscaping's effects on genetic erosion here:
http://www.cnlm.org/cms/images/stories/cnlm_docs/ref_library/Vol_12_screen.pdf

"Only Rain In the Storm Drains"

Below, listed by jurisdiction, are the respective numbers for local watershed issues in your area and reporting illegal stormwater discharging in your area!

OCEANSIDE
Watershed Issues: (760) 435-5800
Illegal Discharge: (760) 435-5800

CARLSBAD
Watershed Issues: (760) 602-7580
Illegal Discharge: (760) 602-2799
www.carlsbadwatershednetwork.org

ENCINITAS
Watershed Issues: (760) 633-2632
Illegal Discharge: (760) 943-2125

CITY OF SAN DIEGO
Watershed Issues: (619) 235-1000

COUNTY of SAN DIEGO
Watershed Issues: (888) 846-0800
www.projectcleanwater.org

VISTA
Watershed Issues: (760) 726-1340 x 1373
Illegal Discharge: (760) 726-1340 x 1334

ESCONDIDO
Watershed Issues: (760) 839-6315
Illegal Discharge: (760) 839-4668

SOLANA BEACH
Watershed Issues: (858) 720-2477

SAN MARCOS
Watershed Issues: (760) 744-1050
Illegal Discharge: (760) 744-1050

"Residents fail to meet water conservation goal "

According to San Diego's Mayor citizens just aren't doing enough when it comes to water conservation. I'm sure you are getting tired of hearing "you need to do more." But the fact is that if we don't do more than it might hit everyone right where it hurts; our pocket book. Southern Californians meet just over half of the requested conservation goal of 10% according to Mayor Sanders. This could mean tougher restrictions and increased law enforcement. Sanders said "mandatory conservation measures could be rolled out this winter," according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Can we do more as a city? This is question that we should be asking ourselves. There are many things we can do on a personal and community level. San Diego dumps a large quantity of water from the Colorado River directly into the Ocean. This is water that we could and should conserve and distributed to San Deigns. In addition, alternate water treatment facilities, such as "toilet to tap," could easily be implemented. This would ease the strain on our water woes. If we continue the path we have chosen there just might not be a future for San Diego. Ask yourself, “What can I do to help?”

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080917-9999-1m17water.html
http://www.surfridersd.org/