By Richard Murphy

On the last Saturday of April, the Hidden Meadows Artisan Guild, along with the Escondido Creek Conservancy (TECC), held an open air, or plein air, painting session on the Mountain Gate property in Hidden Meadow. It was a good time for a good cause.

Five different artists participated, all capturing the beauty of this incredible property in watercolors.  All the paintings from the event will be on display on at Boulder Oaks Grill in June to help promote TECC’s Save1000Acres campaign, which will protect 1,000 acres in Mountain Meadow and near Lake Wohlford.  It will be a great chance to see inspiring paintings and learn how you can help protect our neighborhood.

Mountain Gate is a beautiful piece of property with spectacular views.  It has wonderful rock formations and a wide variety of native plants, many of which were still in full bloom during this event.  Located just south of Mountain Meadow Road, this 694-acre parcel stretches from just east of I-15 to the nurseries on North Broadway, and then south to Tatas Place near Jesmond Dene Road.

With over two decades of experience in land acquisition, TECC works cooperatively with landowners, government agencies, and businesses to preserve and protect natural lands. You can help preserve this property forever by donating to the campaign.

There are up-front costs to make these acquisitions a reality, and it is these costs that the Save1000Acres campaign will cover. Your donation to the campaign will help TECC temporarily control the properties, to keep them from being sold and developed, while TECC raises the balance of the funds from grants to buy the properties. TECC must raise $300,000 to hold the properties until the end of 2018.

In addition to protecting wildlife, preserving the Mountain Gate property means that thousands of new car trips will not be added to our freeways or local roads. Community support is critical, as the greater the participation of the community, the better our chance of success. To help TECC preserve this gem near Hidden Meadows, please visit the project website at save1000acres.org.

Your support is greatly appreciated!