Our Programs

SMRT (Stormwater Makes Retained Treasure) Gardens

website: Smrt Garden
 

SMRT Gardens are innovative street-side and parking lot gardens designed to manage stormwater by channeling runoff from streets directly into retention basins. The plants within these gardens utilize the collected water to grow, simultaneously cleaning and replenishing groundwater supplies. By integrating these gardens into urban landscapes, several environmental and community benefits are realized.

Environmental and Community Benefits
• Flooding mitigation and prevention of erosion: As longer droughts and larger storms affect our cities and storm drains, SMRT Gardens make efficient use of rainwater while cleaning and recharging groundwater.
• Cooling Urban Spaces: SMRT Gardens help lower temperatures on streets, parking lots, and sidewalks, creating cooler environments reducing the urban heat island effect.
• Wildlife Habitat: These gardens can provide vital habitat for pollinators and other wildlife, supporting urban biodiversity.
• Pollution Reduction: By filtering stormwater, SMRT Gardens take up pollutants from the streets that frequently end in waterways, lakes and oceans. SMRT Garden plants also clean the city air.
• Climate mitigation: SMRT Garden plants store carbon.
• Improved Quality of Life: The presence of green spaces has been linked to better mental and physical health, reduced crime and conflict, and enhanced concentration and academic performance among students.
• Economic Value: Green spaces add economic value to communities and foster a sense of pride and cooperation among residents. Shoppers spend more time and money in areas near green spaces. Housing units rent for more money and houses sell higher near green spaces.

Target Areas and Educational Opportunities
Flood-prone regions are often concentrated in low-income urban districts and have substantial potential to benefit from the implementation of SMRT Gardens. Whereas modern city development and landscape codes frequently integrate bioswales into their planning, many older neighborhoods rely on conventional storm drains that are increasingly unable to manage intensified rainfall. SMRT Gardens could fill the gap.

The intentional placement of educational signage within these gardens would serve to inform the public about the consequences of pollution, climate change, and habitat degradation, while simultaneously fostering sustainability, resilience, and cohesive communities. Scientific observation of these SMRT gardens could be incorporated into citizen science projects, creating an opportunity to assist with research while educating the public.

Building Partnerships and Community Engagement
Rotary is well positioned to collaborate with community groups, schools and government to promote, design, develop and maintain SMRT Gardens. They not only beautify public spaces but also build meaningful partnerships and goodwill. These efforts contribute to the economic vitality of neighborhoods, educate and encourage a collective commitment to sustainability.

One of these SMRT Gardens has been installed at the San Dieguito County Park in Del Mar, CA. 

TIJUANA RIVER PROJECT

The Tijuana River flows 190 kilometers through the mountains and deserts of northwest Mexico before reaching the Pacific Ocean where it forms the Tijuana River Estuary. The estuary, a US National Estuarine Research Reserve, is made up of many diverse and sensitive habitats, including beaches, sand dunes, mudflats, salt marshes, and vernal pools. Spanning 930 hectares, it is home to 29 species of fish, 29 species of reptile and amphibian, and 370 species of bird. The estuary also protects ten endangered species including the San Diego fairy shrimp, the light-footed clapper rail, and the salt marsh bird’s beak.

Concerns about Tijuana River pollution have existed for decades as the border city’s population increased without adequate infrastructure, and industrial waste from unmonitored corporations ended up polluting local waterways that feed into the river. The International Boundary and Water Commission, the binational agency that enforces water treaties between the U.S. and Mexico, among other roles, reported that over 100 billion gallons of untreated sewage spilled into the Pacific Ocean through the Tijuana River and its tributaries over the last five years.

The Solana Beach Eco-Rotary Club is committed to joining the collaborative efforts of government, private and public bodies to find and implement solutions for change.

PRODUCE GOOD

ProduceGood is dedicated to reducing food waste, alleviating hunger, and fostering community by rescuing surplus produce from local orchards, backyards, farms, Farmers Markets, and grocery stores. They then deliver this fresh, nutritious food directly to those facing food insecurity throughout San Diego County.

They are a food recovery organization-but not a traditional one. Instead of waiting for donations, They go straight to the source of excess produce. Their volunteers glean fruits and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste and transport them to food pantries, shelters, and community organizations that serve those in need.

Each week, Produce Good supplies 24,000+ servings of fruit and vegetables to dozens of SD organizations for the food-insecure people they serve. Their harvests are equivalent to 500,000 meals, annually for the thousands of individuals.

Through this grant the Solana Beach Eco Rotary Club is providing the necessary infrastructure support that is required to operate the vast network of volunteers that are required to gather fruits and vegetables from local farmers markets, residential back yard orchards and expired food from local supermarkets. Produce Good has a paid staff of 6 to accomplish the task of providing 24,000 meals. This program has the added benefit of keeping 500 tons of editable food from going to the land fill.

SAN DIEGO ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL

The purpose of The San Diego Environmental Film Festival (SDEFF) is to inspire awe, engagement, and social change between people and our natural environment. Its mission is to curate an artistic, educational experience that uses film to bring people together, facilitate knowledge exchange, and effect social change. It creates a unique, inclusive, and representative film festival focused on people, air, water, and land, which all contribute to the long-term biodiversity of our planet.

SDEFF offers a platform for filmmakers from around the globe to present creative ideas, talent, and skills in service to the planet. Films that amplify unheard stories, highlight emerging talent, enhance access to unique content, provide new opportunities for learning, and build the environmental community within and outside San Diego.

The festival was held the weekend of October 23-25, 2025. Our funds were used for the planning of the film festival such as screen and projector rentals, venue coordination and fees, film award prizes, marketing materials, and more!

The San Diego Environmental Film Festival is a registered 501c3 nonprofit.

The board is made up of scientists and policymakers with a big vision to inspire fun, creativity, and action in the environmental, conservation, and artistic space. They have each had a share of working in the field: collecting water quality samples, monitoring coral reefs in the ocean water, developing policy to establish marine protected areas off our coast.

MODEL UN

Model UN is for high school students to participate in teams of two in a United Nations debate setting. They will draw a country three months in advance of 2026 event, learn about it's history, culture and political positions, before presenting those positions in response to two UN Resolutions chosen by the director. It has been on going in our District for 20 years and now has participation from as many as 5 foreign countries.