Resource Conservation District
To support the Otay Valley Regional Park (OVRP)’s revitalization efforts, IPS lends its expertise in upstream prevention of health problems to support the planning process. As social determinants of health – the non-medical factors that impact our health behaviors and outcomes – IPS is committed to preserving and improving the neighborhood and built environment and the social and community context to create clean, safe, and healthy sources of recreation, self-healing, community cohesion, belonging, and social capital for all San Diegans.
OVRP is located in San Diego’s South Bay region and was once a hub of crime and illicit activity. Recognizing the park as an anchor of community cohesion, biological diversity, and recreational opportunities, grassroots and grasstops efforts are revitalizing OVRP. The project has four key goals:
- Restore habitat – Support local wildlife especially native and at-risk species; reduce pollution, erosion, and fire risk.
- Enhance connectivity for native wildlife – Facilitate connectivity for native wildlife movement within and adjacent to OVRP.
- Increase public access – Enable community interaction with native ecosystems.
- Improve water quality and availability – Use nature-based solutions to the extent feasible for reducing storm water runoff and erosion and improving infiltration.
To protect the environment and foster community resiliency, IPS supports regional and cross-jurisdictional agencies dedicated to opening up San Diego’s diverse ecosystems for all residents and guests to enjoy.
