Peon games for men, women and children, horseshoes, tug-of-war, greased pole climbing and other competitive games were offered. A fun cake walk for all ages saw lots of sweet treats won with help from announcer Joe Ontiveros, Soboba’s Tribal Historic Preservation Officer and DJ Mike Nevarez. Salsa and tortilla contests produced lots of delicious entries with Vincent and Vanessa being voted as top salsa makers and Elizabeth Russell winning for the tastiest tortillas.

Vendors, sharing fun food items and lots of merchandise, dotted the perimeter of the Sports Complex’s large grassy area. A huge tent was erected with folding chairs underneath to provide shade and breezes during the sunny afternoon, and it got plenty of use. There were also traditional ramadas that were built for the occasion, providing additional shade and comfort for families that brought their own chairs and gear.

Several Soboba departments shared resources with visitors. Members of the Soboba Foundation, Tribal Council and Tribal Executive Offices joined together to offer lots of reasons for guests to stop by their booths. Representatives and volunteers with the Soboba Foundation gave every guest a free Maui rolling cooler that is perfect for picnics, tailgate parties, hiking or a day at the beach, just in time for summer.

A Tribal member-only raffle, giving away two Soboba-branded easy-up canopies, was sponsored by Tribal Council, who also provided frozen treats to those wanting to cool off with ice cream or popsicles. Tribal Council also encouraged Tribal members to scan QR codes to participate in a Luiseño Language Assessment, a Septic System Questionnaire for Soboba residents and an opportunity to sign up for Korbyt, the Tribe’s newest notification system.

Christian Aceves, Soboba Tribal Environmental Department Director, shared a demonstration of watershed and what his department is doing on the Soboba Indian Reservation to keep pollution out of its waterways. The most ambitious project is determining riparian zones where plants can be situated near roadways and other areas where runoff is common. “What happens upstream, happens downstream,” he said, adding that runoff after rainfall is how harmful items on solid ground find their way into water sources.

The Soboba Reservation riparian areas include many native species only found in this general area of the United States. STED, with the help of the Soboba Public Works Department , was able to plant more than 80 native species recommended by Soboba’s Cultural Resource Department, which included Coast Live Oak, California Scrub Oak, Western Sycamore, Sugar Bush and Red Willow. Riparian areas supply food, cover and water for a large variety of animals.

Soboba’s Public Safety, T.A.N.F., Family Services, Legacy Bank and Fire Department all offered information and fun freebies. Mikayla Mendoza, Emergency Services Coordinator, will be working with the Tribal Emergency Response Commission (TERC) and the Soboba Fire Department to present the next Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) basic training class, June 2-4. The course is being offered to Tribal members, reservation residents and Soboba employees at no cost.

The pool and splash pad were open for those that wanted to enjoy the water and the playground was filled with energetic children who wanted to climb and swing. Both baseball fields were open to host six teams playing co-ed one-pitch softball. In an early game won by team Beernuts, the fast action resulted in the required seven innings being completed in less than 20 minutes.

Steve Lopez, Assistant Director of the Sports Complex, oversaw the horseshoe tournament that promised more than $2,000 in payouts to the best players, making for some very competitive games.

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Some of the youngest earth dwellers, students from the Soboba Tribal Preschool, made musical instruments from recycled materials and paraded through the Sports Complex outdoor area where the event was set up.

Teacher Ponie Mojado said the children fashioned tambourines from two paper plates sealed with pinto beans inside and then colored. Some of the students, who range in age from two through kindergarten, cleverly filled plastic eggs with pinto beans and then placed the eggs between two plastic spoons. After taping the handles together, it formed a rattle. Still others made rattles from empty toilet paper tubes filled with beans and taped up on both ends.

Shaking their instruments to “I Love My Planet (The Earth Song)” they learned, proud parents videotaped and photographed the budding musicians who learned an important lesson about recycling. Aceves said this was definitely his favorite part of the whole event.

“Getting the youth involved is always an achievement because they are the next generation that will play a pivotal part in environmental stewardship,” he said.

Students at Noli Indian School, which serves sixth through twelfth grades, used their science class time to create posters that matched this year’s Earth Day theme of “Invest in Our Planet.” Each visitor at the event was given a voting dot upon check-in to place in front of their choice for favorite poster.

 Noli science teachers Jay Dagostino and Sabrina Sobel tied the project into their lesson plans on Ecology. “I liked the creative art mixed with science and community involvement,” Dagostino said. Aceves said the class that created the winning poster will be treated to a pizza party, courtesy of STED. The second-place class will receive an ice-cream party.

Junior Nataly Lemus worked with two other classmates to create the “Help Save the Earth” poster that stresses reduce, reuse and recycle. “We collaborated on the whole design and then I put it together,” she said. Nataly made tree “leaves” out of pieces of green plastic soda bottles.

Seniors Sienna Goff and Bella Resvaloso, along with sophomore Jacklyn Ramirez, created their poster during chemistry class. Their artfully crafted message offered ways to help save the earth – use less water, plant more trees and stop pollution. The earth was shown as green and vital on one side where nature was key and the other half as brown and polluted where factories and poor air quality prevailed.

Sixth-grade students pointed out that if we don’t invest in our planet now, we might not have one to live on 20 years from now. They wrote, “If we don’t protect our environment and animals, future generations won’t be able to enjoy it.” A list of possible solutions included carpooling, planting more plants, turning off lights when not in a room and using cooling and heating systems less.

Another poster read, “Investing in our planet is important for our future because without our planet, there is no future. A healthy planet isn’t an option, it’s a necessity.”

Members of the Soboba Foundation, Tribal Council and Tribal Executive Offices are looking ahead to summer’s outdoor activities and provided water pool toys and kites to guests. Marketing team associates from Soboba Casino Resort had a fun watercolor craft for all ages. The younger artists were impressed with the “magic” that took place when Cheyanna Perez sprayed water on the paper plate they colored with blue and green markers to create a muted “earthy” masterpiece.

There was information on electric cars and solar energy. GRID Alternatives and ONYX Power shared details about the current solar back-up project they have at Soboba. Current Home focuses on residential solar projects and offered games for the children who attended.

Jonathan Reinig, the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority Reserve Manager, and Jonathan Marin with Riverside County Transportation Commission tag teamed discussions about land and wildlife habitat conservation. “We have 146 species in Western Riverside County and 34 are considered threatened or endangered,” Reinig said.

Climate Science Alliance and Inland Empire Waterkeeper nonprofits have programs geared towards youth and showed them how they could get involved. River KATS (Kids Activism Through Science) is a program that offers workshops and field trips to teach children firsthand about watershed.

The Soboba Fire Department had a booth where they shared the importance of signing up for wildfire alerts and things that can be done to mitigate damage to homes and other property as fire season approaches. There were also plastic firefighter helmets in pink or black for the young children as well as crayons, a coloring puzzle and more.

The Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians gave a demonstration of a do-it-yourself water filter and representatives from the Sierra Club, Master Gardeners, the Forest Service Volunteer Association and other agencies shared hints on protecting wildlife, preserving resources and investing in our planet.

Southern California Edison Community Crew members Torrie Brandon and Jose Soto, who work with vegetation management, were passing out potted plant starters for those that wanted them while also sharing the important job SCE does in making sure trees are kept trimmed away from power lines. To learn which tree species are utility friendly, contact safetrees@sce.com before planting.

Trequitta Jennings and other members of the SCE Community Outreach Team gave away resiliency kits, explained ways to be energy efficient and how to sign up for the service that sends out alerts regarding power outages and other informative messages. To sign up, visit sce.com/outagealerts.

Hosea Jones and Taylor Hart with CalFresh talked to guests about eating healthy by growing fruits and vegetables, such as celery.

The Cultural Resource Department’s cultural garden is going strong and members shared fresh produce from the Soboba Indian Reservation garden. Other department representatives shared the importance of pollinators to help bees. They offered seeded pots of the types of flowers enjoyed by bees, bee-shaped bookmarks and a list of the native plants at the reservation that bees like: black sage, brittlebush, buckwheat, chia, cottonwood, elderberry, sagebrush, sycamore, white sage and yerba santa.

They shared that we should invest in our planet with native plants, those that occur naturally in a region in which they evolved. They are the ecological basis upon which all life depends. To learn more about the native plant species in your region, visit https://calscape.org. They further explained the benefits of native plants, such as promoting biodiversity by providing shelter and food for wildlife, supporting pollinators, reducing the carbon footprint while minimizing pollution as they require little to no maintenance, saving water since native plants are able to sustain themselves and controlling erosion due to their strong, deep and varying root lengths.

Mike Perez with the Riverside County Department of Waste Resources shared the many ways people can learn how to recycle and be more eco-friendly. Free in-person and virtual classes about composting, sustainable landscaping and zero waste are just a few that are available through www.rcwaste.org.

“We teach people how to keep things out of the trash that don’t belong there,” Perez said. He started out as a volunteer in 2017 and is now Volunteer Services Coordinator. “We also offer the longest-running composting class (since 1996) and the biggest one is the state.”

With the help of more than 10 volunteers, although they are always recruiting more, Perez said they work with schools and attend many community events, such as this one, to help educate others on the importance of recycling and how to do it properly.

Guests were also treated to a raffle ticket for some great prizes, a free cup of Kona Ice and a meal ticket for the In-n-Out food truck.

Aceves said the most beneficial thing the average person can do today to make a great impact in the future is to adopt sustainable practices. This can include carpooling, recycling, limiting single use plastic, reducing water use and many more.

“Adopting sustainable practices into your everyday life may not seem like a great impact but over time these practices really add up,” he said. “The environment rarely changes overnight; it’s the small changes over time that often make the biggest impact.”

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The Soboba Tribal Environmental Department is committed to protecting, restoring, and enhancing natural resources on the Soboba Reservation for all tribal members past, present and future. The STED works to raise awareness of all aspects of the environment. This includes solid waste issues, pollution prevention, water and air quality, conservation measures, household hazardous waste disposal and many other areas.

The open house gave the department yet another community outreach opportunity to provide education and updates utilizing a slideshow to highlight some of its projects.

STED Environmental Director Christian Aceves, who recently celebrated his one-year anniversary with the department, said the event was designed as a way to connect to the community it serves. Because they are often seen out and about on the Reservation, describing some of the reasons they are doing what they do seemed appropriate.

“We want to let everyone know that we are here to help and we’re here to answer any questions,” he said. “Please feel free to stop by our office or call us at any time. We are here for you.”

Aceves explained a common misconception people have is that they are part of the national Environmental Protection Agency, which is an independent agency of the United States government that was proposed and implemented by President Richard Nixon in 1970 to ensure clean air and water. Since the EPA has no jurisdiction over Tribal affairs, STED is a liaison between the Tribe and the federal agency.

“On top of generous Tribal support, we qualify for many EPA grants to help us achieve our goals,” he said.

Current grants being utilized include one for Hazardous Household Waste so residents can safely dispose of items that can be dangerous to keep around their homes, such as old paint and solvents. The department hosts a quarterly event to try and make it as easy as possible to keep homes safe from hazardous materials building up. The next event is being planned for November.

STED Environmental Specialist Micah Knox focuses on the water and air quality on the Reservation and said through the Clean Water Act Section 106 and 319 grant programs, the department monitors water quality, creates educational materials to prevent pollution of water and assesses/addresses any nonpoint source pollution issues. Knox said water quality is tested for a multitude of parameters including temperature, pH level and other crucial elements. It has begun to be monitored for flow.

The newest grant is from the California Air Resource Board, which will allow the installation of air quality monitors to measure such things as temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure. The monitors will be directly connected to their own dedicated website where anyone can access the information in real time.

“What you drink is the same as what you breathe and we want it to be safe,” Knox said. “Graphs are available on our website and this newest grant will give us air quality details, minute by minute.”

Additionally, an annual community cleanup is held that enlists youth volunteers from the Soboba Tribal TANF program.

“Soboba Tribal TANF youth volunteers are always willing to assist STED in many events from Earth Day to the Household Hazardous Waste events and community clean-ups. Their ongoing support is appreciated and valued by this department,” Aceves said. “We admire Mr. (Harold) Arres’ continued devotion to teaching Soboba youth and his commitment to creating young leaders within the community.”

Administrative Assistant Angelica Rangel said this past summer’s event was very successful with more than 30 truck/trailer bins filled with about 15 tons of solid waste, household waste, e-waste and tires. The collected items were sorted and distributed to the proper authorities that oversee each area.

“Assisting the Soboba Elders is such an honor. STED hosts a multitude of special events for environmental health and sustainability that help both children and elders alike. All events, most notably cleanup events, offer special services for elders in need of extra assistance,” Aceves said. “STED also relies on Public Works and Canyon Crew and of course the support of the Soboba Tribal Council and Tribal Administration offices to ensure the success of each event.”

Rangel said April’s Tribal Earth Day was the biggest STED-hosted event of the year.

“Over 500 people attended and nearly 40 environmentally conscious vendors participated,” she said, adding there were free giveaways for all attendees, recycling boxes available throughout the event and educational material and activities provided by the participating vendors.

The STED regularly collaborates with other Tribal departments to ensure all is being done to provide a clean and safe environment. Parks and Recreation aids by placing and picking up recycling bins. Although STED operates within its own department to distribute recycling bins, permanent bins are located throughout various administration departments and areas. Temporary bins, such as cardboard boxes, are used for special events at the event coordinator’s request. STED works with CR&R to obtain these temporary bins at no cost.

Rangel said the recycling boxes placed at key locations throughout the community resulted in about 31 pounds of aluminum cans and plastic bottles being recycled last month, with all earnings going back into the program. These are disposable boxes that are provided for specific events and by year’s end about 50 of them are expected to be utilized.

Michelle Kaliher, who recently returned to the department as an administrative assistant, said Noli Indian school has been pivotal in many different aspects of the department. “Noli science classes participated in the second annual recycled art project contest at Tribal Earth Day and have now graciously volunteered space on school property to host a permanent air quality monitor for our California Air Resource Board Community Air Grant monitoring project.”

Knox talked about the tree monitoring that he works on with GIS Technician Justin Subith. He said about 150 oak trees have been tagged to date but there are more than 2,000 oak trees on the reservation so it’s an ongoing process. Trees are examined for overall health, damage, crown health, insect emergence and tree circumference.

“We have an annual tree planting event coming up to revitalize some areas on the reservation with trees that are indigenous to this area and the Canyon Crew is a crucial part of this project; they help plant and pick up the plants,” Knox said. “Public Works also aids by providing additional personnel and equipment.”

The team also used the open house event to bring awareness to challenges facing the reservation with the main concerns being erosion control and illegal dumping.

According to National Geographic, “erosion is described as the geological process in which earthen materials are worn away and transported by natural forces such as wind or water.” Aceves pointed out that other factors, such as off-roading vehicles in erosion vulnerable areas, also worsens the condition.

Yet another concern is the possibility of the Gold Spotted Oak Borer finding its way onto the Reservation. The GSOB is an invasive species contributing to the growing number of oak tree deaths occurring on federal, state, private and Native lands in Southern California. So far, it has not affected Soboba’s oaks. To prevent the GSOB from entering the Reservation, introducing outside wood sources such as firewood should be avoided. There were GSOB identification cards available at the event. Residents were asked to report any possible sightings.

Another concern STED is addressing is the fact that Soboba lands are having trouble sprouting new life due to high brush levels.

“Without human intervention, we could see a major loss of oak habitat in the next 50 years,” Knox said.

Aceves said the best way to be proactive is to keep the area clean by picking up any litter that is seen and disposing of it properly; never to burn or bury it. “Every bit of waste has its place,” he said. He also encouraged everyone to use greener and cleaner alternative cleaning products, plant more native species and try to reuse water whenever possible. Safer choice products can be found at www.epa.gov/saferchoice.

The STED takes a comprehensive approach to addressing environmental needs and concerns on and off the reservation. A large emphasis is placed on community outreach with a focus on youth. The development and presentation of workshops, meetings and classroom activities help produce awareness of the environment and reduce negative impacts. Team members also regularly participate in trainings, conferences and webinars related to grant topics and conditions. For more information, 951-654-5544 ext. 4129, caceves@soboba-nsn.gov, mknox@soboba-nsn.gov, epa.soboba-nsn.gov or on social media @sobobaenvironmental.

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