Nature Trails

Make Your Voice Heard: Help Us Direct Donations to Nature Trail Projects

One of the joys of living in this region is the ability to hike year-round on a variety of nature trails – on mountains, in the desert and canyons, and along lakes, rivers and lagoons. Nature trails, sunshine, and fresh air are key ingredients of the SoCal lifestyle.

Now through the end of this year, you can play a role in helping three local nonprofits expand and enhance trails when you process an energy efficiency rebate through our Marketplace web portal, a one-stop shop where local residents can comparison shop for energy-efficient appliances.

As part of the rebate process, everyone is invited to let us know which local trail project they would like SDG&E to direct a $10 donation on their behalf. We worked with Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation, San Diego Canyonlands, and The San Diego River Park Foundation to identify three projects as beneficiaries of our donations.

Since thousands of energy efficiency rebates are processed through Marketplace each year, these three charities could see substantial donations to support their projects. More than $25,000 could be allocated through this campaign.

How the Marketplace Campaign Works

Say you buy a smart thermostat that qualifies you to receive an energy efficiency rebate, and you file your rebate request through SDG&E Marketplace.

As part of the process of redeeming your rebate, you will be prompted to pick one of the three non-profits’ projects for SDG&E to support. Please note those who choose to participate in the Marketplace campaign still receive their full rebate amount. The money going to the non-profits comes from SDG&E’s shareholder funds.

Funds generated through the Marketplace campaign will be provided to these organizations on a quarterly basis. The campaign ends in December 2018.

What Projects Would the Donations Support?

The Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation is dedicated to inspiring people through education and outreach to preserve this North County jewel as an accessible and healthy watershed. Families and students come to the lagoon for fun, hands-on educational experiences. 

Funds raised from the Marketplace Campaign will go toward enhancing and completing the Foundation’s Discovery Trail and outdoor educational classrooms around the newly renovated parking lot. With green features such as bioswales, native landscapes and different permeable surfaces, the trail will double up as an educational showcase to inspire people to bring more environmentally friendly practices back to their own homes and businesses. In addition, the trail and outdoor learning spaces will be used in the Foundation’s Academy of Environmental Stewardship Field Trip Program and other educational initiatives.

San Diego Canyonlands is working to restore and provide safe access to open space canyons in underserved communities, such as City Heights. Last year Canyonlands completed construction on the award-winning City Heights Canyons Loop Trail system, which provides five miles of safe nature trails, accessing 92 acres of open space within four urban canyons. 

The SDG&E Marketplace campaign will provide funds to enhance this trail’s accessibility and wildlife interpretation features, as well as volunteer activities in wildlife habitat restoration.

The San Diego River Park Foundation has a vision to develop a multi-use regional trail and river park system spanning the length of the San Diego River from the mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The Marketplace campaign will enable the foundation’s trail team to raise money for improving recreational access for bike riders, hikers, and pedestrians to 2,200 acres of land in the Upper San Diego River. Together, the trail team and volunteers will leverage those donations for trail-building, repair and maintenance, scouting new trail opportunities and trail connections, and creating directional and interpretive signage.

More Information

To learn more about what we do to support non-profit environmental organizations, visit our Environmental Champions web page.

Don’t forget to visit Marketplace today and designate a trail project for us to support!