Engage Encinitas celebrates one-year anniversary
Engage Encinitas, a local nonprofit dedicated to enriching the lives of Encinitas residents and strengthening civic engagement, will celebrate its one-year anniversary on the Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service with a volunteer event at the Ocean Knoll Farm.
Members of the community are invited to join Engage Encinitas as they rebuild the Ocean Knoll Farm’s educational greenhouse from 9 a.m. to noon on Monday, Jan. 18, at 710 Bonita Drive in Encinitas.
A group of Encinitas residents — including former Encinitas Mayor Teresa Barth — created Engage Encinitas last January to provide a high-quality, interesting and accessible way for Encinitas residents to get to know their city on a deeper level, without the distracting rancor of politics.
“We wanted to provide insight into both what works well in Encinitas and what needs improvement, but we also wanted to tease out how each of our citizens’ unique skills and talents might factor into a better future for our fair city,” says Barth. “With the help of our supporters, we’ve transformed our intention into real action, filling the past year with more than a dozen panel discussions, tours, service activities and opportunities to try one another’s favorite beach party potluck recipes.”
“The enthusiastic support we have received,” Barth continues, “reaffirms my belief that Encinitas is full of people looking for an opportunity to participate in positive and meaningful ways. By coming together we really can make a difference.”
Engage Encinitas held monthly “Citizens Academies” at the Encinitas Library Community Room during 2015 to educate the community about various relevant, timely and sometimes controversial topics of interest to Encinitas residents.
Topics included water use and reuse, urban agriculture, active transportation, disaster preparedness, for-benefit businesses and the renovation of Pacific View School into a community arts and ecology center. In its first year, the group also sponsored a Cash Mob for local business Ducky Waddles Emporium, held a community-building beach potluck and organized a tour of the San Elijo WasteWater Reclamation Facility.
A tour of the Solana Center for Environmental Innovation is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 31, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Barth says that based on the feedback and suggestions of their supporters, the Engage Encinitas team is already busy calendaring 2016 with a roster of compelling speakers, interesting tours and other events to rival the organization’s inaugural year.
Those interested in finding out more about Engage Encinitas can find the group on Facebook or visit its website at