SOLANA BEACH —Walking from the parking lot to the entrance of the Solana Beach Post Office is easier and more scenic thanks to the efforts of the SeaWeeders Garden Club, an offshoot of the Civic and Historical Society focused on beautifying landscaping throughout the city.
The group decided to unveil this year’s beautification project on April 15 because they figured a lot of people would visit the post office because it was the deadline for mailing in tax returns.
“Everyone has been thanking us for the path from the parking lot to the front door,” SeaWeeders member Susan Larson said.
The previous walkway, or lack thereof, was a trail people had made by walking through the old landscaping.
Funds for the approximately $10,000 project came from a variety of sources, including a county grant, sales of poinsettias at Christmas and donations from the Del Mar Rotary Club, private individuals and the city’s Public Arts Advisory Commission.
Volunteers from Solana Beach Presbyterian Church helped clear away the old landscaping. SeaWeeders members then spent about a week installing the new plants, sidewalk, decorative stones and mulch.
“It was a real community effort,” Sandy Mills said. “I was sore for two days afterward.”
“It was everybody working together to make this project happen,” Sandy Parish said.
Mills, Susan Larson and Kristine Schindler were handing out free cookies and lemonade the morning of April 15 to highlight the project and raise funds to complete it.
The group needs about $1,800 to install a bike rack and paint the flag pole.
“We’ve had some generous donations, but I don’t think we’ll raise $1,000 today,” Larson said.
The SeaWeeders meet the first Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at the Boys & Girls Clubs, 533 Lomas Santa Fe Drive.
Upcoming educational speakers will address water-saving suggestions for home irrigation May 7 and organic pest control June 4. There are no meetings in July or August.
Call Sandy Parish at (858) 481-0453 for more information or to contribute to the post office project.
