Grand Caribe Shoreline Park Turns 25

Photo by Kel Casey

Turns 25 by Mary Berube

The quiet of Grand Caribe Shoreline Park is deceptive. Despite the often calm bay and the blue sky overhead, this small sliver of a Port of San Diego park preserve is home to quiet stories of a struggle to survive in this mostly arid climate. Northern Harriers hunt for rabbits. Great Egrets stalk lizards. Larger fish nestling in the eel grass are suddenly pursued by a seal. Cooper’s and RedTailed Hawks look for prey. A Peregrine Falcon, diving at 200 mph, this time towards an Elegant Tern which had been eyeing some small fish below in the waves.

Perhaps renowned artist Christopher Slatoff had this in mind when he created the sculpture of Sheltering Wings at Grand Caribe Shoreline Park, 598 Grand Caribe Causeway, 25 years ago this summer. The sculpture depicts a Great Blue Heron mother sheltering her young offspring. His sculpture has anchored and aged with this park and nurtured appreciation for public art in Coronado. “Sheltering Wings” was the first Port-owned public art piece in Coronado. Since that installation the Port’s collection in Coronado has grown to eight pieces with the latest, “Penelope,” dedicated in Tidelands in 2019.

The idea of a Blue Heron sculpture originated with Coronado community group members. Slatoff created two Blue Herons as a tribute to the rare birds which can be seen feeding and resting on Grand Caribe Isle. The sculpture symbolizes the idea of protecting the fragile environment.

The road to get to the 25th anniversary of the park began with the Silver Strand Beautification Project (SSBP), founded in 1992, a grass-roots organization whose focus has been to enhance the environment of the Silver Strand State Beach, Scenic Route 75, and local parks and beach fronts within the Cays environs. They envisioned, worked, and fought for a natural habitat that helped create the Shoreline Park. Above Photos by Mary Berube

Celebration of Grand Caribe Shoreline Park. From left, Christopher Slatoff, Liza Butler, Mary Berube and Mike Donovan.

Photo by Kel Casey

Five years ago, after lawn had replaced the original plantings and a five year drought had allowed weedy crown daisies to overcome the native California plants, a few residents and a South Bay Girl Scout troop worked with a grant from the California Native Plant Society to begin to bring the coastal sage scrub back to life. This collection of plants, uniquely adapted to the low rainfall during summer and short rain season in winter, provides shelter and food for many migrating species of birds which seek a respite from their long journeys to and from parts as far north as Canada and as far south as Colombia.

Andrew Meyer, Director of Conservation at San Diego Audubon relates, “We’re on the Pacific Flyway, a hemispheric superhighway for American birds…[and] because of habitat loss, pollution, invasive species, cats and building collisions,” we are 3 billion birds poorer than we were in the 1970s. He noted that the restoration of the park and many more projects like this are necessary to bring the birds back and to become resilient to future effects of climate change.

Over the next few years, others volunteered their time and energy to replant the park as company volunteer service days and, most recently, the many volunteers of San Diego Audubon who continue to restore the land for birds and pollinators. Well over 1000 plants have been reinstalled.

This important piece of coastal sage scrub ties the southern part of the bay with the San Diego Wildlife Refuge to the Silver Strand State Park bayside and continuing north through the Least Tern preserves. These islands of habitat allow creatures an ability to eat and rest all along the shores of the South Bay.

Megan Flaherty, Conservation Manager at San Diego Audubon, explains, “Restored coastal sage scrub has been shown to sequester carbon, and native plants do a better job at retaining sediment preventing erosion, ensuring that we have a beach to enjoy. This rare habitat, which is declining in San Diego and southern California due to development and invasive species, supports endangered species like Belding’s Savannah Sparrow and the Coastal California Gnatcatcher. The variety of sages and other flowering plants attract a diversity of native pollinators, like some of our

hundreds of native bumblebees!”

She notes, too, that “there are plenty of seabirds that use the offshore waters [of the Bay] including Elegant, Royal, Forester’s and Gull-billed Terns, Black Skimmers and more.”

And what goes on in that Bay? Rays swim along the bottom, sea turtles feed on the grasses, the grasses shelter small fish. There are sharks, seals, diving pelicans, dolphins and people kayaking, stand up paddleboarding, and fishing. Several volunteers work with local scientists on documenting wave and erosion damage, sea turtles, and raptors. No boats can travel above 5mph to protect the sea life and the resting migratory birds – and if they do, it’s not the right thing to do.

Many unsung people clean up trash, dog waste, and follow the advice: “Take only pictures, leave only footprints!”

On Friday, July 30, the community celebrated 25 years with Grand Caribe Shoreline Park Day, where more than 100 people came together in the park. Founding members of the SSBP, people from the Audubon, and the Sheltering Wings artist were all there.

Slatoff said, “This is more beautiful now than the day we put it in. …The greatest ideals of humanity go into art. ...This is about home and protection; those sheltering wings. ...Some days you’re the big bird and some days you’re the little bird and today I’m that little bird being embraced by Coronado. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.”