The club presented the money to the historic trail in recognition of its conservation of California native plant species.

Nonprofit group Friends of Coast Walk Trail received $1,000 May 20 from the La Jolla Garden Club for the group’s work to conserve native plant species.

The historic Coast Walk Trail is a path measuring just over a half-mile from Goldfish Point and Coast Boulevard east to Coast Walk; Friends of Coast Walk works to maintain and preserve the trail.

The donation, awarded during the La Jolla Garden Club’s annual Spring Scholarship Luncheon at the La Jolla Country Club, is meant to recognize Friends of Coast Walk Trail’s commitment to native plant management.

La Jolla Garden Club co-president Elizabeth Eade, left, presents a donation to Brenda Fake of Friends of Coast Walk Trail May 20.

“It is all about our community working together for beautification, preserving local history and conservation of California native plant species,” said Elizabeth Dameron Eade, co-president of the La Jolla Garden Club.

Friends of Coast Walk Trail founder Brenda Fake is “hugely appreciative,” she said. “We really need any nickel we can get right now.”

The Garden Club, Fake said, is “very supportive of the trail and how [it] has emerged as a La Jolla experience.”

In maintaining the trail, Fake consults with the California Native Plant Society, which gave Friends of Coast Walk Trail a 30-page report on what plants work well on the coast, she said.

“It’s not a random selection.” 

Friends of Coast Walk Trail is currently amid an annual project to remove springtime invasive plant growth. Not all invasive plants are removed; only those that threaten soil erosion or are a fire hazard.

The group will add more native plants in the fall, repair slopes, the fence and the bridge, Fake said.

The La Jolla Garden Club has met monthly since 1968, and works with local groups like Enhance La Jolla and the La Jolla/Riford Library to beautify the community. The club also provided horticulture scholarships for students at local community colleges. 

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