May

SMGA News: April-May 2024

ADDRESSING STORM DAMAGE

Like many parts of San Marcos, the natural areas suffered extensive damage from the storm that hit the city the night of May 9. The high winds that accompanied the large hail and driving rain broke branches and uprooted entire trees throughout town.

Beginning the day after the storm, the city’s trail crew, Payden and Crystal, along with SMGA volunteers were busy scouting the natural areas’ trails. Steady progress is being made in clearing blocked trails and broken overhead branches, but there’s still work to be done. If you find damage, please report it to a member of the trail crew, including as much detail as possible about its location. Intersections, landmarks, and trail markers are all helpful information.

SMGA IN THE COMMUNITY

(left) Board member Mike Bira speaking to the San Marcos Rotary Club on April 17; (right) board members Melani Howard and Olivia Palomares, with Scout Peck, prepare to greet visitors to the Earth Day celebration at the Meadows Center on April 20.

SMGA IN THE NEWS

The San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance was among the local volunteer and charitable organizations featured in the most recent issue of Kissing Tree magazine. Thank you to SMGA member and Kissing Tree resident Vee Volpe for getting this in.

KERMIT GETS A NEW HOME

A big thank you to Corridor Home & Commercial for giving SMGA a place to construct a new shelter for Kermit.

THE TRAIL CREW AT WORK

The heat and humidity were high on the morning of the big storm, but there was still a great turnout.

The crew continues to work on the new Paraiso Trail in Upper Purgatory. The rock staircase next to beautiful big head cut has turned into an architectural masterpiece!

TEAM FLORA AT WORK

Volunteer numbers have been growing, so they’ve split into groups doing various tasks. Team Flora worked at Prospect Park on May 9, string-trimming and lopping some of the trails. Another group worked at the new home for Kermit and our growing tool inventory. The primary trail crew worked at Upper Purgatory on the new Paraiso trail, mostly moving really big rocks. Some of the crew got to play, er act for the videographer working on a new video about SMGA. More about that in an upcoming post or newsletter article.

WILDFLOWERS!

Thanks to better than average rains in late winter-early spring, wildflowers were abundant in our natural areas this year, especially in River Recharge, Prospect Park, and lower Purgatory Creek. Check out the Moments of Nature section of the Loop for more photos taken earlier this spring.