Chiipam Hap (Spring Awakening) at Sweetwater Marsh
- CNNCTS
- May 21
- 3 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
Over 130 community members came together to celebrate native plants at Chiipam Hap (Spring Awakening) on March 1st. With partners from Tipey Joa Native Warriors, the US Department of Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Living Coast Discovery Center, the Climate Science Alliance hosted this event on Kumeyaay lands at the Sweetwater Marsh San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge. In great company of CNNCTS partners and community members from across the region, we welcomed Spring through native plant restoration, cultural demonstrations, and walks around the Refuge with the new “Hear our Names” signage. Learn more about this event from CNNCTS partners on today's blog!
Blog from CNNCTS partner, Climate Science Alliance
On March 1st the Climate Science Alliance, in partnership with Tipey Joa Native Warriors, the US Department of Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Living Coast Discovery Center—and with support from the Collaborative of Native Nations and Climate Transformation and Stewardship—hosted the Chiipam Hap (Spring Awakening) event. The sun was shining and the plants were singing and it was a wonderful time to be on Kumeyaay land, at the Sweetwater Marsh San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge. We arrived bright and early to set up the activity tables and assisted our partners in getting settled for the day.
Mid-morning, the day began with a prayer by a Kumeyaay Elder who generously gave their time to spend the day with us. Climate Science Alliance team members Amber Pairis and Althea Walker introduced the day and the intentions of the event which were to bring the community together to focus on native plant stewardship and restoration. Martha Rodriguez, Executive Director of Tipey Joa Native Warriors, followed up by sharing about the “Hear Our Names” project that is presented through interpretive signage throughout the reserve. Participants had the chance to learn how to say the Kumeyaay names for a selection of plants by scanning QR codes on the signs.
The creation and placement of signs is part of a collaborative and on-going effort between the Climate Science Alliance and partners to integrate Indigenous knowledges, participation, and leadership in climate adaptation planning and stewardship. Sweetwater Marsh is the second location to have signs installed (learn about the first location on this story: “Kupiihaaw Mataayum (Autumn Gathering) at Kendall Frost Marsh Reserve”) and we look forward to new locations being planned for the future. The Seek and Listen activity, which compliments the Hear Our Names project, provides participants a fun way to engage with the interpretive signage by identifying the plants and writing them in three different languages (Kumeyaay, Spanish and English). Once completed, participants were entered into a raffle to win a San Diego plant field guide or a pair of binoculars.
The day's events also included cultural demonstrations with clay pot making and basket weaving from our partners at Tipey Joa Native Warriors, a bilingual (Spanish and English) nature walk guided by Living Coast Discovery Center, and a coloring station that included coloring pages from the Plant Relatives of the Kumeyaay Coastline coloring book—providing a creative outlet for participants.
Along with the day’s events, 37 participants planted 40+ seedlings in the restoration area. They learned about the history of Sweetwater Marsh and the ongoing efforts to restore the area. Families, students, and local community members learned how to plant and protect young native plants, to give them a chance to thrive. Some participants had planted seedlings from previous Climate Science Alliance events and were able to go back and see how much their plants have grown over time.
Once the day wrapped up participants were able to celebrate the Climate Science Alliance’s 10th Birthday by taking home a gift bundle! We thank the 130+ community members and partners who participated in the event and made this day so special. Special thank you to the Marigold Fund for their generous support of the Hear Our Names project and signage.
Learn more about Hear Our Names: Meet the Plants and Animals of Our Region here:
