This story was reported for San Diego News Network on July 29, 2009.
Once an endangered facility like the animals it cares for, the Chula Vista Nature Center has been saved, rehabilitated and intends to become stronger than ever.
Forced to make up for a city deficit of $20 million, Chula Vista considered closing its $1.3 million Nature Center. But residents of the South Bay city rallied and raised enough money to save it from extinction.
“Through a lot of community activism and fundraising we were able to get the message, the desire, support and will to have the nature center stay in San Diego,” said the Center’s program manager Charles Gailband. “We had kids come in with their piggy banks saying ‘I wanted to get an iPod for my birthday but no — take this and stay open.'”
Toward the end of 2008, the city shaved the Center’s budget by laying off an executive assistant and letting a veterinary technician employee retire early. But the savings weren’t enough and councilmembers proposed closing the Center altogether. The Center only brought in $318,000 of revenue to the city – well short of the $1.3 million in operational costs per year.[nggallery id=116]
Sparked by this proposal however, said Gailband, the city’s residents forged ahead and asked the city to reconsider. Now months have passed and residents have collected nearly $600,000 so far, to fund the facility this fiscal year. They expect to raise the remaining funds by January.
With a future now secured, residents and volunteers formed the Friends of Chula Vista Nature Center. They intend on taking the Center completely under its wing and out of the city’s budget in January.
“We’re going through a process where we’re going to cease to be a city department,” Gailband said. “We’re going to be absorbed into a new non-profit – Friends of Chula Vista Nature Center.”
Gailband said the Center’s seven employees, 115 volunteers and nearly 150 species – and of course, Chula Vista residents – will see a “bigger and better” Center. This will happen with the assistance of local animal attractions SeaWorld and the San Diego Zoo.
Mayor Cheryl Cox said that aside from the transition, the Center will be treated like another zoo – meaning the Center will be able to market itself to San Diegans. It’s something Gailband has hoped for, for a long time.
“The problem with the Center being a part of the city is that it’s an informational center – you’ll never see a commercial for a library on T.V.,” Gailband said. “We’ll be having a marketing team and hire a development director. We’re really excited.”
Chula Vista director of recreation — and the nature center — Buck Martin said the city will still be obligated to contribute funds to the center. After July 1, the city will contribute a total of $310,000.
These include:
— $138,000 in operation costs
— $49,299 in public works
— $40,000 in utilities
— $82,000 in paying off debt for the construction of the Center.
Other costs generated by the Center will be paid off through the new non-profit, including the savings on employees’ salaries.
Gailband — who has worked at the Center for 10 years and was a volunteer 10 years prior to that — said a number of students visit the Center every day. In addition, one-third of the 115 volunteers are high school students and at the start of next school year, elementary students from the local district will be taught at the Center.
“The 10 years of volunteer service I did at the Nature Center was very important for me; it got me a paying position with SeaWorld before I completed my degree,” Gailband said. “That’s essentially why we’re here. We created kind of a living platform, hands on place for people to come see these animals, learn about them and learn about the importance of this habitat.”
The Center is home to rescued birds, including both a bald eagle (the U.S. bird) and the golden eagle (the Mexican bird), sharks, sea turtles — all of which, are native to the County’s bay. In addition, the Center cares for one iguana, named Verdi, who became an orphan when his San Diego family moved to another state.
Gailband said they also offer programs and times where visitors can feed sharks.
Cox said if each of the 210,000 Chula Vista residents were to visit the Center once a year at a cost of $11 on his or her birthday- it would receive enough funding.
But what’s most important about the Center being saved, said Gailband, is that the animals will continue to have homes. The program manager said that had the Center been closed, employees would have had to find proper facilities to take care of each animal. Animals that couldn’t find homes would have been euthanized.
“We can’t let them go,” Gailband said. “It would not be the humane thing to do.”
Hoa Quach is the political editor for the San Diego News Network.