To celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week and encourage families to connect with nature, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Chula Vista Nature Center will be hosting an event from 11am-4pm on Saturday, October 15 at Sweetwater Marsh with activities for the whole family! Track refuge animals and birds by using telemetry, identify their tracks and scat, and learn about their marsh habitats. Create a work of art and learn how to draw and paint with an art teacher. Dip a plankton net in San Diego Bay to see the intricate creatures that live in the sea… or plant native plants in the new butterfly garden.
Families will have FREE admission for the day into the Chula Vista Nature Center where they will be able to view the birds, fish and turtles that live in San Diego County up close, and touch a bat ray or a sea star in one of the Nature Center’s aquaria. In addition to nature arts and crafts, families enjoy an interactive story time and other fun presentations in the Nature Center auditorium. There will be a prize wheel to spin for all participants who complete the activities on the refuge trails.
Free parking for the event will be at the Nature Center parking lot at Bay Blvd. and E St., just west of Interstate 5 in Chula Vista. From there, visitors can ride the free shuttle bus into the refuge and Nature Center for all the festivities. Our kids LOVE taking the shuttle!
The Sweetwater Marsh Unit of the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge is one of five refuges in the San Diego Refuge Complex and belongs to a nationwide network of federal lands – the National Wildlife Refuge System – dedicated to the protection of wildlife habitat and wildlife species. All of San Diego’s refuges were established to protect, conserve and restore the wildlife and habitats of southern California’s diverse coastal ecosystems, one of the most biologically diverse areas in the United States.
National Wildlife Refuges across the country will be holding events for National Wildlife Refuge Week. Refuges offer a variety of outdoor activities: environmental education, wildlife observation, wildlife photography, fishing, hunting and interpretive activities. There is at least one wildlife refuge in every state and one within an hour’s drive of most major cities. Please click HERE for more information about National Wildlife Refuges.
For more information on the Chula Vista Nature Center, please visit: www.chulavistanaturecenter.org. Click HERE to see our pics and write up about this wonderful Nature Center. Perhaps we’ll see you there!
