Helix Water District - Helix Water District Drinking Water Reservoir

Arbor Day dedication of commemorative grove

By Kate Breece
HWD Public Affairs

In commemoration of 50 years of service within the City and County of San Diego, City Beautiful of San Diego will dedicate a grove of 50 oaks planted on Sentry Point near the campground at Lake Jennings Drinking Water Reservoir. The ceremony will take place on the site at 10:30 a.m. on April 30, 2005. Speakers will include representatives from City Beautiful of San Diego, Helix Water District, and Urban Corps.

Over the next few weeks on the slopes of Sentry Point overlooking Lake Jennings, volunteers from Urban Corps, Master Gardeners, and City Beautiful will plant 50 trees--a combination of Coastal Live Oak, Quercus agrifolia, and Engelmann Oak.

Lake Jennings suffered serious devegetation during the 2003 Cedar Fire, and this project will assist in regenerating approximately one acre of the Lake's slopes, creating a native oak grove and controlling non-native vegetation while helping to control bank erosion.

Coastal Live Oak and Engelmann Oak were selected because they are native to the area, do well at the Lake's elevation, and will return the vegetation to a more natural state. It is hoped that, as the trees mature, planting of other natives can occur under the canopy.

Thirty-eight volunteers from City Beautiful, Master Gardeners, and Urban Corps youth began planting the trees in mid-April. The project is expected to be completed by the middle of May.

City Beautiful of San Diego, Inc., is a non-profit corporation, founded in 1955, to beautify and enhance the City and County of San Diego by promoting public interest in improving the appearance of the San Diego region by encouraging the planting and preservation of trees and other plants.

Urban Corps of San Diego was founded in 1989 and provides job training and educational opportunities for young men and women 18 to 25 years old from disadvantaged inner-city communities -- job opportunities that would also conserve our natural resources.

Master Gardeners are volunteers trained and supervised by Farm Advisor of the University of California Cooperative Extension. To receive certification, each Master Gardener must volunteer 50 hours of time during the first year following an intensive training program, helping educate the public, answering questions on home gardening, and pest management.

The Helix Water District serves water to a quarter of a million residents in La Mesa, El Cajon, Lemon Grove, parts of Spring Valley and Lakeside, and some unincorporated parts of San Diego County. It is a descendent of the San Diego Flume Company founded in 1885. Lake Jennings is a drinking water reservoir owned and operated by the District.