OCEANSIDE — A local Girl Scout is on the cusp of earning the highest award achievable after installing several interactive signs along a nature trail in El Corazon Park.
Elli Sottile, a junior at El Camino High School, has spent more than a year working on her Gold Award project, an effort that requires 100 hours of service.
“I’m already over 100 hours with this project,” said Sottile, who has been a Girl Scout since kindergarten. “I really enjoy doing all the service projects and getting to explore my passion, which is environmental science.”
Sottile’s project was inspired by a desire to enhance the experience for visitors along the 1.5-mile Garrison Creek Trail, which begins at 3210 Oceanside Blvd, near the Waste Management Oceanside Compost Facility.
She came up with the idea of installing a series of small signs along the trail to help tell the story of biodiversity. Much of her project involved research and working with Joan Bockman and others from Friends of El Corazon, a nonprofit organization that acts as the park steward.
Sottile ended up creating eight small signs that sit low to the ground to avoid obstructing views with QR codes that link trail users back to the Friends of El Corazon webpage about the trail. Each sign instructs trail users to take in their surroundings and learn about the biodiversity that exists there.
“I try to tell a story through the signs so that it kind of transfers you from the city into nature,” Sottile said.
Though still small, the Garrison Creek Trail travels through several different habitats, beginning with coastal sage scrub before transitioning into a riparian habitat near Garrison Creek.
Southern California is one of the most biodiverse regions statewide and in the U.S., spanning arid deserts and lush forests, snow-capped mountains and a massive coastline.
While Southern California is incredibly biodiverse, over 75% of its original natural habitat has been lost due to human development, unsustainable resources and invasive species.
Sottile hopes to spread awareness about the trail and the larger region’s biodiversity while also encouraging hikers to protect natural habitats in their own backyards.
