APRIL 2021 NEWSLETTER

UPCOMING EVENTS
Spring Nature Walk
Saturday, April 17, 9 am
Please join us for the second Spring Nature Walk of 2021! Perennial plants and annual
wildflowers should be in peak bloom by mid-April. This burst of color will fade once
temperatures rise, so don't miss the show! Whether you walk at Los Jilgueros every day,
or have never been there, you'll discover something new at this event. All ages and
backgrounds are welcome. Please wear a mask and sun protection, and bring your
binoculars or camera if you like. Thank you to FLC Kestrel partner Del Rey Avocado for
sponsoring this Spring Nature Walk!

Earth Day Membership Drive & Reggae Festival
Thursday, April 22 - Sunday, April 25
Show your love for the Earth and the FLC by joining or renewing your membership online
or at one of our trailhead membership drive tables on Saturday, April 24 or Sunday, April
25. We’ll also be celebrating Earth Day with our Village Green partners, Firehouse Que
and Brew with some live reggae music!
Fallbrook Earth Day Reggae Festival
Saturday, April 25 from 12 - 6 pm
Firehouse Que & Brew
1019 Main Street
Fallbrook CA, 92028

Avocado Open Golf Tournament Benefiting FLC!
Friday May 7
It's not too late to sign up for the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce's Avocado Open! A
portion of the proceeds will benefit the FLC! To sign up for the tournament, which takes
place May 7th at Pala Mesa Resort, please contact the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce
or visit Avocado Open Golf Tournament.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

MONSERATE MOUNTAIN PRESERVE VOLUNTEER DAY
When: Saturday, May 1 and Thursday May 6 , 9 am
Where: Meet at the MMP trailhead
Who: You! All ages and experience levels welcome!
Tools and training are provided. Please bring water and a mask.
Please call 760-728-0889 or email us for further information.

PALOMARES HOUSE SCULPTURE GARDEN
When: Tuesday, April 20, 27 at 10 am
Where: Meet at the Palomares House, 1815 S. Stagecoach Lane
Who: You! All ages and experience levels welcome!
Tools and training are provided. Please bring water and a mask.
Please call 760-728-0889 or email us for further information.

 

SAVE OUR FOREST WORK PARTIES
When: Wednesday, April 14 at 8:30 am and Sunday, April 25 at 7:30 am
Where: Meet at Village Square at the corner of Main and Alvarado
Who: You! All ages and experience levels welcome!
Tools and training are provided. Please bring water and a mask.
Please call 760-728-0889 or email us for further information.

 

NATIVE PLANT RESTORATION TEAM
When: Wednesday April 14, 21 and 28 at 8:30 am
Where: Meet at Los Jilgueros Preserve
Who: You! All ages and experience levels welcome!
Tools and training are provided. Please bring water and a mask.
Please call 760-728-0889 or email us for further information.

 

OLD HIGHWAY 395 CLEANUP
When: Saturday May 8, 8 am
Where: Meet across the road from Pala Mesa Resort
Who: You! All ages and experience levels welcome!
Tools and training are provided. Please bring water and a mask.
Please call 760-728-0889 or email us for further information.

 

OTHER VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
None of these convenient for you? Want to volunteer independently? Just let us know and
we can find a volunteer opportunity that works for you.
Thank you to the Fallbrook Regional Health District for supporting Fallbrook's open
spaces!

 

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT: BEVERLY TUCKER
I started volunteering in the sculpture garden shortly after Covid 19 started. I went there
one day to sit on a bench and a bush was so big there was barely room to sit on the
bench. That is when I got the idea that it is time to roll up my sleeves and help at the FLC
sculpture garden and give back to our community. After all, on lock down what better place
to be? I have met two new friends, Jim & Lisa Stowers. They are new to Fallbrook and to
FLC. They are wonderful people and dedicated volunteers. I have also gotten to know
other members and volunteers better.
Individuals and groups have adopted the areas around each sculpture. It is amazing to
see how the garden is being transformed. We still have some big projects to do, like
replacing the split rail fence and running electrical power to the garden, and have
someone to continue to prune and maintain the trees and area.
It has been a blessing to make new friends & give back to our community. We have 16
preserves (with more to come soon) to maintain and only 3 full time and two part time
employees. During this time of lock down the preserves have given families a safe place to
hike, volunteer, and get to see all the wonderful areas in and around Fallbrook.
I invite you, your friends and families to join us. The most used preserves have dedicated
groups of volunteers who desperately need your help. Monserate Mountain requires hard
volunteer work repairing the trail, the Los Jilgeros group continues to restore native
plants and the sculpture garden is a more manicured area. Something for everyone and if
you can't volunteer please donate.
Thank you to FLC's Osprey partner Angel Society for sponsoring the renovation of the
Palomares House Sculpture Garden! FLC volunteer Bev Tucker has led the charge to trim
trees, remove overgrown shrubs, and enlist other volunteers to adopt sections of the
garden, installing new plantings. Funding from the Angel Society and other generous
supporters allowed the committee to hire professionals to install new irrigation, pathways,
and remove ailing trees. Visit the garden now to catch spring wildflowers like California
Poppies and see the current state of transformation. Come out on Tuesday mornings at 10
am to lend a hand volunteering!

 

NATIVE PLANT RESTORATION TEAM
Superlichens Save the World!
Lichen (Like-an) is not a plant, nor is it a moss, nor is it parasitic. Those marvelous green,
grey and gold patches you see on rocks are examples of just one form that lichen can
take. Lichen are the manifestation of a symbiotic relationship between fungus and algae.
The algae can be brown or blue-green (cyanobacteria). Neither fungus nor algae have
roots, so neither are plants, but algae can photosynthesize. Algae provides fungi with
food, and the fungi give protection to algae so that together they can grow as lichens in
many forms, in any environment all over the world, in areas neither could survive on their
own. There are more than 20,000 identified lichens; some look like small overlapping
leaves, some hang down like moss or ‘witch’s hair’, and many are the first to cover rocks
after a landslide. Perhaps 8% of the earth is covered by lichens, and that is fantastic news.
Not only do they add oxygen to the air through photosynthesis, but like other fungi they
absorb pollution from the air and bind it. Where there is fungus, there is the beginning of
the food chain. Where there is cyanobacteria, there is carbon sequestration and oxygen
release. The U.S. Forest Service uses lichen testing to measure air quality and pollution
levels. Lichens create miniature microclimates where they help other species to grow.
Please don’t touch lichens; like many creatures and plants they are damaged by the oils
and pollutants from our skin and clothing. Because they are so important in cleaning our
air, sequestering carbon and helping other life, give any that you see on your property a
pride of place.
Article and photo by Diane Kennedy

 

SAVE OUR FOREST
The end of the good planting time is just around the corner. Please consider Save Our
Forest's "Cut the Carbon Program" before it's too late!

 

OTHER EXCITING NEWS
FLC welcomes our new Preserve Manager, Alexis Wells. Alexis has a background in
Wildlife Management and Biogeography. She has been a resident of Fallbrook since 2012
and lives here with her husband and sons. She is most excited to be a part of preserving
our rural landscape.
You may see Alexis around town with her dog, Cali. When you do, please wave hello!

 

THANK YOU LEGACY ENDOWMENT!
FLC was recently awarded a Community Fund grant from Legacy Endowment. This
generous grant will help FLC bring much needed trail repairs and improvements to Los
Jilgueros and Dinwiddie Preserves. Both of these preserves offer relatively flat, wide,
gently, sloping trails that are used by families and senior citizens. Since the beginning of
the Covid-19 pandemic, FLC has seen a large increase in the use of our preserves which
has created additional wear and tear. FLC will use grant funds to repair eroded sections of
trail and smooth out the trails where repeated, heavy usage has created uneven terrain.
Funds will also be used to repair benches at the preserves to offer a safe and comfortable
place to rest. Thank you Legacy Endowment!

 

CAN YOU HELP OUT?
Beverly Tucker is looking for a donation of six lantana bushes (preferably the purple
variety) for planting in the upper area of the Wildlife Sculpture Garden. Please email us or
call the office at 760-728-0889 for details.

 

Did you know that over 70,000 people hiked Monserate Mountain Preserve
in 2020? Yet we only collected $2,255 in the trailhead cash drop box. That's only $0.03
per hike!
At Los Jilgueros Preserve we had over 68,000 visitors in 2021 but collected only $986 in
cash. That's a measly $0.01 per visitor!
Please help us keep our trails clean & safe by donating at the trailhead, Venmo
@FallbrookLandConservancy, or at FallbrookLandConservancy.org/donate.

Becoming a member is the best way to support our work and stay connected with the
FLC! Thank you to the Fallbrook Regional Healthcare District for the grant funding to
purchase trail counters that give us this important data.

 

DID YOU KNOW? You can now DONATE by
using Venmo (user name: FallbrookLandConservancy)
using the FLC website
sending a check to 1815 S. Stagecoach Lane, Fallbrook
CA 92028

 

ADDITIONAL WAYS TO HELP
Please save your receipts and drop them off at
the Palomares House at your convenience.
Shop the FLC's wish list on Amazon, and link
your account to Amazon Smile!
Remember to set your Amazon home page to
smile.amazon.com and select FLC as your
charity of choice.
NEW! Amazon Smile now has an app for
Android users. Click here for more info.

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