San Diego Canyonlands

San Diego Canyonlands' mission is to promote, protect, and restore the natural habitats in San Diego County's canyons and creeks.  We do this by fostering education and ongoing community involvement in stewardship and advocacy, and by collaborating with other organizations. 

San Diego Canyonlands is a nonprofit based in City Heights. Since 2008, we have played a major role in restoring San Diego’s canyons and creeks to their natural habitat. Through stewardship volunteer events and our habitat restoration field crew, we are dedicated to caring for the San Diego canyons and creeks in perpetuity.  

Some of our programs and projects include: 

• Outreach including volunteer events and interpretive hikes
• Building and supporting canyon and creek Friends Groups
• The City Heights Canyon Loop Trail
• The Mission Hills Canyon Streambed and Habitat Enhancement Project
• Rueda Canyon and Ruffin Canyon palm tree removal via helicopter lift
• The Environmental Career Opportunities (ECO) Initiative Program:  The Environmental Career Opportunities (ECO) Initiative Program aims to provide comprehensive paid on-site job training for the habitat restoration field. Participants work in small cohorts of 6 - 10 individuals to learn and understand proper habitat restoration techniques, brush management techniques, basic San Diego ecology and natural history, teambuilding skills and job readiness to aid participants in becoming qualified in the field. All training will have a hands- on focus, utilizing training techniques for diverse participants’ needs. 
• The Canyon Connections Internship Program: The Canyon Connections Internship Program will support a two-year youth internship program for 24 interns (12 interns per year) to build social equity in environmental careers through place-based, student-led projects, education, and mentorship in urban canyons in City Heights, San Diego. Interns will construct eight trailhead gardens in the canyons for the City Heights community. 

If you would like to get involved join us for a weekly volunteer event or monthly hike, subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Instagram or Facebook.

Click here to read about our history.