Recently 20-year old Venture Scout Emily Holmes unveiled new educational signage she designed for 230-acre Wright’s Field.
The two signs were kept hidden beneath white cloths tied on with wide, red ribbons to hide the finished project from public view until Holmes and Back Country Land Trust Program Director Jon Green spoke to the crowd of about 25 people who hiked out for the unveiling.
Nearby a sunshade stocked with muffins and sun tea for guests at the event, Green announced they would start by unveiling the first sign designed to educate visitors on endangered San Diego thornmint plants that helped keep the acreage undeveloped in the mid-1990’s.
Holmes explained the genesis of the signage.
“Three years ago, I first had this idea,” Holmes said, then briefly described the hours of work designing and redesigning the signs to accommodate important information, altered fonts, necessary logos and other items that had to appear on the signs.
“It’s been really exciting to have this come together. Thank you to my family for helping,” Holmes said before thanking Green and other community members as well as local sponsors such as Alpine Ace Hardware and Alpine Education Foundation.
Green volleyed gratitude back to Holmes, said she was critical in helping to get the project done.
“I know this is just a plaque and wood but they represent hundreds of hours of volunteer time, incredible community effort and thousands of dollars of donations,” Green said.
With that, Holmes and Green removed the red ribbon and unfurled the white cloth to reveal one of two signs that will be seen by the hundreds of hikers who visit Wright’s Field each year.
After a round of applause, Green escorted attendees to where the second sign lay under cover about 250 feet up the trail from the first sign.
The second sign warns people of the Western Spadefoot toads living in the vernal pools and asks them to stay out of the area.
“The vernal pools area is a really sensitive habitat for the Western Spadefoot toad. It looks dry right now but when the pools are visible, they look like puddles and it’s hard to block it off from people and dogs passing through,” Holmes said.
The artwork for the second sign is based on a drawing by Green’s 10-year old daughter, Sayana, who helped unveil the sign along with Holmes.
After the sign was revealed to the public, Emily Turner Braun, an attendee there with Scout Grace Braun being so concerned for the area that she brought her microscope out to the field over summer to learn more about the life science of the vernal pools, then created handwritten signs warning people to keep their dogs out of the sensitive habitat.
Young Grace was too shy to tell the crowd about the importance of keeping the area preserved for the Western Spadefoot toads but her father, Eddie Braun said he was proud of her for getting involved.
“I look around and I just see plants, not endangered Thorn mint or toads. It really brings a new perspective to things to get out here and look around, see it through new eyes,” Eddie Braun said.
Green stuck around after the second sign was unveiled to talk with attendees about a few challenges they ran into while placing the signs near the vernal pools.
