By Ryan Sullivan, Interdisciplinary Apprentice

I am so excited to announce the unveiling of my baby- Nature Walk through History, an interpretive hike along Bayside Trail. I have been working on this for several months and after so much reading (seriously, so much), four completely different outlines, two practice runs, and a lot of pep talks, she’s finally here!

I will be leading guests on a 60-minute, ¾-mile tour that begins at the Visitor Center and ends at the searchlight bunker, about halfway down the unpaved portion of the trail. My goal is to introduce visitors not only to the wonder that is our coastal sage scrub and chaparral plant communities, but to illustrate the impacts that humans have had on the environment throughout time. 

I will be mentioning the way the Kumeyaay people used this land, the changes Cabrillo and the settlers who came after him brought, how things changed during the 19th century, and what impacts followed the development of the land by the military. Between these major thematic stops, I will be sure to point out some of my favorite plants and the adaptations they have to survive in our unique semi-arid climate. 

I will launch this program on 2/29 and you all are invited! The program will officially run every Saturday at 12:30 through the end of my apprenticeship term at the end of March. I hope to see some of your friendly faces!