PRESS RELEASE
November 29, 2007
Slater-Price Began Work Nearly Two Decades Ago for San Elijo Lagoon
SAN ELIJO – Supervisor Pam Slater-Price and the County Department of Parks and Recreation recently broke ground on a new 5,600-square-foot San Elijo Nature Center.
The $6.5 million two-story facility at the San Elijo Lagoon in Cardiff will be made from recycled building materials and will feature solar panels, irrigated roofs plants and recycled water.
The new “green” center will serve as a base for education, land stewardship and environmental protection.
The supervisor has worked to make the project a parks priority at the county since first elected in 1992. She helped locate funds for the project through a combination of county and other grants because of its importance to her district and the region.
“This lagoon serves as the lungs for the area,” Slater-Price said.
The 885-acre lagoon is home to 700 species of plants and animals, including 300 bird species, some of them endangered or threatened, such as the California gnatcatcher.
It is one of the county’s largest wetlands and draws about 50,000 visitors each year.
The center will provide environmental education tools and complement a habitat park in an urban setting.
“California has lost 90 percent of its coastal wetlands to development,” Slater-Price said. “We must work to restore and retain these wetlands, as well as educate our young people so they can continue this legacy for generations to come.”
