We had a nice turnout with the usual great food and lively discussions at Lotus Cafe. Lotus is one of our favorite ocean friendly restaurants that we frequent. Come join us some time!
Jan 18 - Service at San Dieguito Park
We had a fantastic turnout for our third Sunday Park service at San Dieguito Park. We had our work cut out for us on this beautiful sunny day. Because of the recent rain and warm weather, the weeds have commandeered our well-manicured gardens. Luckily, we are weed pulling experts at this point and the gardens are back to looking amazing. The team worked both the front entry garden in the upper park and the SMRT garden in the lower park. A huge thank you to all those who attended – Amelie, Chuck, Mark, Niels, Carter, Tina, Mike. Thanks also to Ranger Alejandro for keeping us all in line.
Jan 20 - Mtg with Speaker Steve Jewett
Our busy meeting began with a recap of some enjoyable club events that took place earlier this month. Following this, we moved on to discuss the packed club calendar for the coming months. Members are encouraged to check the club calendar and newsletter regularly to stay informed and to make sure to register for upcoming events. Here are several key dates coming up to keep in mind:
Feb 7 -Love Your Wetlands Day
Feb 12 -Rotary Foundation Dinner
Mar 21-22 - Model UN
Mar 28 - D5340 Leadership Learning Seminar
Mar 31 - Club Assembly to discuss next year’s district grants
Encinitas Food and Wine Festival Fundraiser – June 6
Alisa is making significant progress in organizing our major fundraising event, the Encinitas Food and Wine Festival, scheduled for June 6. She has already gathered several auction items and is seeking additional contributions from club members. Volunteers are also needed to assist with zero waste initiatives, donations, ticket sales, and sponsorships. Everyone can help by promoting the event through social media. This fundraiser is an excellent opportunity to support our favorite environmental organizations and the club itself. Please reach out to Alisa if you are able to help.
Member Recognition and Eco Minute
Alisa had the honor of presenting Seth Tilley with a Paul Harris +3 award. Congratulations and thank you, Seth! Seth’s donations to the foundation also support our organizations. Following the award presentation, Seth shared an Eco Minute focused on SB868, which allows the use of portable solar generators. These solar power systems consist of one or more solar modules on a balcony, carport, garage roof or terrace and can be used by tenants who are not offered roof solar. As the general manager of SD Solar, Seth advocates for these devices, which can be plugged into regular electrical sockets to help tenants supplement their energy supply and reduce utility costs.
Speaker: Steve Jewett
We welcomed one of our newest members, Steve Jewett, who shared his background and current projects. Steve spent much of his early life in Colorado, where he was actively engaged in hiking, skiing, mountain climbing, and search and rescue missions. He enjoyed a successful career as a serial entrepreneur, primarily in sales. Inspired by his love of nature, Steve founded Clean Trails, a 501(c)(3) organization that leads teams in cleaning trails locally. The organization has since expanded nationally, aiming to keep public spaces and trails clean through education and advocacy. They have formed a nationwide network of trail stewards and Clean Trail Groups.
Today, Clean Trails has volunteers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, five US territories, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Australia, and beyond. Clean Trails is now affiliated with World Cleanup Day (September 20), which mobilizes over 140 million people in 212 countries to address the global waste crisis.
The Environmental Alliance
In recent years, Steve has launched the Environmental Alliance, a platform designed to unite the global environmental movement. The Alliance brings together nonprofits, businesses, governments, and individuals (represented by the four leaves in its logo), leveraging science and research to build common ground and promote environmental stewardship. It enables collaboration among local, national, and global environmental organizations, supporting the development of strategies for a healthy planet with a unified voice.
The Environmental Alliance features a common platform—a unified, GIS-based system—that equips partner organizations with tools to track their actions and measure impact. It also provides best practices for coordinating marketing, resources, and opportunities around the many environmental awareness days such as Earth Day, World Environment Day, and World Cleanup Day. Through coordinated external messaging on both national and global levels, the Alliance enhances cooperation and amplifies impact among organizations.
The Alliance now connects environmental action worldwide, including cleanups, tree plantings, composting, community gardens, advocacy, conservation, zero waste efforts, and education initiatives. Given all the wonderful initiatives that Steve has been involved with, we are extremely honored to have Steve in our Rotary Club.
We are advocates for the pollinators, essential for human food security and thriving ecosystems. Unfortunately, their populations have fallen catastrophically. In partnership with the California Pollinator Collaborative, our goal is to establish a California Pollinator License Plate Program by replicating the Whale-Tail License Plate program that provides millions in grants annually. If approved, funds generated from the purchase of the pollinator plates would pay for the protection and restoration of habitat for pollinators, enable more community action and support the work of many non-profit organizations (like SBECO!) in the pollinator protection effort.
We need to gather the support of elected officials for this. Our strategy is to show how much the community cares through several actions:
Join the coalition for a CA Pollinator License Plate by signing a letter of support (see below)
Hold events to promote the Pollinator License Plate
We started volunteering at San Dieguito County Park 9 years ago. Our club helped remove invasive plants, enhance the native garden, grow vegetables, maintain the Butterfly Garden, SMRT Garden and other areas. We have beautified the entrance and planted many trees! We also participate in regular environmental festivals sponsored by the park service during the year as well. Ranger Alejandro Santos extends his warm thanks to the club for our work in making this one of the very best parks in the county.
The San Dieguito County Park is 125 acre-wide, bordering Solana Beach and Del Mar. This is a hidden gem in North County San Diego with two suspension bridges, picnic areas, several kid zones, and many beautiful natural trails to explore.
SBECO would like to help your next event be zero waste. Our Zero Waste Committee has great ideas and dinnerware sets to use free of charge. The kits include plates, utensils, cups, glasses, mugs. We also have bins to sort recycling, composting and landfill waste. Use SBECO dinnerware kits for your next event. To borrow the kit, fill out this form:
UCSD Rotaract is hosting their annual WAPI Project on Sunday, 10a-4p, January 25th, 2026. WAPI stands for Water Pasteurization Indicator. A WAPI is a small plastic tube with a bit of wax inside. When water reaches pasteurization temperature, which is about 149°F, the wax melts and falls to the bottom. Pasteurization kills harmful bacteria, so once the wax melts, the water is safe to drink without needing to boil it. WAPIs help families in resource-limited areas access clean water more efficiently while also saving fuel and time. During the event, volunteers assemble and test WAPIs that are later sent to communities around the world.
Amelie (chair) and Carter (co-chair). DES connects interested Rotarians from all district clubs and introduces great speakers. DES is looking for speakers on environmental topics for an ambassador program. Please let Amelie know if you are interested in participating.
The Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group empowers members of the Rotary Family worldwide to take actions to sustain our environment, particularly to stabilize our climate. Contact Amelie for a discount to membership. The ESRAG website is an excellent resource for information and ideas. There are great weekly seminars on climate solutions and projects from around the world.
Check out the climate solutions task force here: https://esrag.org/task-forces/
Check out upcoming seminars 7am, Wednesdays here: https://esrag.org/seminars/
This handbook has been created by the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG) between 2020-2023 with the support of our members. Its purpose is to educate and inspire Rotary members and friends around the world to take club action to reduce the environmental footprint of their events. The handbook includes a selection of activities that your Rotary club can do to be more sustainable.
Jenny and Alisa would like our club to reach EREY recognition this year so please donate to the Rotary Foundation Annual Fund. EREY status is achieved by clubs when, during the Rotary year:
EVERY member of that club personally contributes at least $25 to the Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund
The club’s total TRF Annual Fund contribution averages at least $100 per capita
SDCAN is a non-profit organization focused on strengthening and accelerating climate advocacy in San Diego County. The non-partisan network facilitates resource sharing, focusing on coalition building and public relations, in order to amplify the efforts of member organizations. Check out their calendar below for environmental seminars and events around town.
NCCCA is a non-profit organization working to empower people and organizations to take action on climate disruption through education, collaboration and mobilization. The goal is to inspire, unite and educate individuals, empowering them to seek out and act on solutions to the climate crisis. Our members and active volunteers provide education throughmonthly presentations in cities throughout North San Diego County and across the planet via Zoom. Check out the calendar below.
The San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy preserves, protects and shares the natural and cultural resources of the San Dieguito River Valley (92,000 acres) through efforts to acquire lands, complete trails, restore habitats, establish educational programs, create interpretive centers, encourage recreation and mobilize public support. Watch this 3 min video showing the great work being done right now:https://youtu.be/vbJ9FzRllQ0.
The San Diego LEARN Program offers free energy efficiency & electrification courses through live webinars, on demand training, microlearning, and more! Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, our short courses are designed to support you with upskilling and gaining new knowledge from content provided by industry leaders. Check out the courses at sandiegolearn.com or contact Jasmeet Singh, Marketing and Outreach Manager at 619-878-3811 or jsingh@rhainc.com.
The world’s richest 1% usually runs through its fair share of carbon emissions within just a few weeks. How many days did it take them to emit their annual ration in 2026?
Co-Presidents Elect – Jenny Parker and Alisa Morrison
SBECO Club Foundation Board
President – Dick Stevens
Treasurer – Lynn Stevens
Secretary – Andi Kosnar
SBECO Rotary Club Committees 2025-26
Membership Committee – Niels Lund and Mark D'Andrea
Foundation Committee – Lynn Stevens
Communications Committee – Jenny (bi-monthly newsletter and weekly reminders). Amelie – point of contact for calendar.
Program Committee (speakers) – Niels Lund - nlund@sbeco.org
Service Committee – Amelie (chair) We will continue our every 3rd Sunday, 9am service work at San Dieguito County Park. SD Park also hosts environmental festivals three times a year. We sponsor an educational booth and zero waste stations.
Events Committee – Members needed. SBECO partners in several events every year including several Eco Festivals and the Encinitas Wine and Food Festival.
Zero Waste Committee – Julie (chair), Amelie, Carter. There is a virtual meeting every first Thursday at 5-6 pm.
Fundraising Committee – Alisa Morrison and Dick Stevens
Rotary Climate Action Team. Carter (chair) Amelie, Niels. A group of Rotarians passionate about the environment and interested in doing some public speaking on various climate related topics.
Youth Committee – Lynn (chair) and Andi.
Eco minutes - Carl Kosnar. Want to volunteer to give an Eco Minute? Please email Carl at carl@kosnar.com
Culinary coordinator (snacks for meetings) Andrea Goicoechea. Sign up directly by clicking here.
