Fire-Wise Landscaping Festival Saturday in El Cajon

By Ed Joyce / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published November 9, 2007 at 12:40 PM PST

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

The dry year and recent wildfires have some San Diego County residents thinking about fire-wise landscaping. A festival tomorrow in El Cajon will be a one stop shop for anyone looking for plants or ad

The dry year and recent wildfires have some San Diego County residents thinking about fire-wise landscaping. A festival tomorrow in El Cajon will be a one stop shop for anyone looking for plants or advice. KPBS reporter Ed Joyce has details.

The Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College is the place to go to find drought-tolerant and fire-resistive plants. The Califorrnia-friendly gardening festival is geared to help San Diegans learn about water-wise landscapes that fit the region's semi-arid climate.

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Marty Eberhardt is the Executive Director of the Garden.

Eberhardt : You know if we're going to have the correct plants for this habitat they probably ought to be plants that don't take a lot of water, because there isn't a lot of water around. Because we are, we do live in this fire prone area we do emphasize fire-wise landscaping.

She says restrictions and shortages to the region's water supply and the recent wildfires have made drought-tolerant, fire-resistive landscapes an important water conservation and safety measure. Local nurseries, landscape specialists and a tribute to Cal Fire and San Miguel Firefighters are also part of the free festival.

Ed Joyce, KPBS News.

Ed Joyce

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Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.

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