Join us on Saturday, May 3rd to clean up Park Blvd in preparation for our big neighborhood block party! We will be taking care of:
Volunteers will receive a free UH t-shirt or swag item as a token of our appreciation for beautifying the crown jewel of our neighborhood!
Join our Beautification Team for our next native plant initiative. Bring gloves, gardening tools if you have them and water for yourself. We will be transplanting native plants, maintaining existing plants, spreading mulch, and weeding select areas by Park Blvd & Meade. Questions? Contact Frank Santana at nativeplants@uhsd.org. See you there!
Its a big block party for the entire neighborhood! We shut down Park Blvd to traffic to host the party of the year!
Bring your friends and meet new neighbors at the biggest party of the year in University Heights! Enjoy bites & drinks at participating restaurants, shop various vendor tables, listen to live music by Appian Way Band, and have a great time on Park Blvd! Purchase your wristband ASAP as these run out:
Purchase your ATTENDEE WRISTBAND HERE
Want to get involved as a vendor and/or sponsor of this event that draws HUNDREDS of attendees? Register here: VENDOR REGISTRATION HERE
Join San Diego County in getting on bikes for SANDAG's annual Bike Anywhere Day! UHCA & University Heights Library will be co-hosting a Pit Stop in front of the library for participants to stop by on their way to work, school, errands, etc. to grab waters, snacks, a free t-shirt, and other swag.
We hope to see you there!
Mark your calendars for the UH Community Yard Sale happening on Saturday June 7th! This is the perfect opportunity to declutter your home and make some extra cash.
Hundreds of shoppers will be following the map of yard sale participants so remember to submit your address here - It's free!
In addition to neighbor-hosted garage sales all around UH, we will be offering recycling, e-waste, and donation acceptance - and more! - at the Birney Elementary School parking lot:
Free e-waste recycling
Paper shredding for $5/bankers box
Kitchen items/clothing drive donation station
EnviroGreen, our recycling partner, accepts most anything that has a plug. A sample list includes TV’s, monitors (CRT and LCD), computers, laptops, cellphones, pagers, CD/DVD Players, typewriters, radios, cords, cables, stereo components, tape players, fax machines, hard drives, telecom equipment, household electronics, telephones, circuit boards, small appliances, keyboards,-mice, testing equipment, audio visual equipment, , laptop batteries, networking equipment, two-way radios, UPS power, VCRs / camcorders, modems, answering machines.
Items for which there is a nominal disposal fee or cost:
Paper Shredding $5 box
Alkaline Batteries $1 per lb.
Microwave $5
Printers $3
VHS/DVD/Tapes 1.00 lb.
Fluorescent bulbs $50 ft.
Power tool batteries $1
Certificate of Destruction $25
A big thank you to EnviroGreen for partnering with us for this event! Visit the UHCA stop at Birney Elementary for the e-waste, paper shredding, and donation services.
Want to sell your old items, but don’t have a front yard? No problem! We will be offering limited spaces for sellers to set up at Birney Elementary. To claim one of these spots, simply fill out the registration form above and list Birney Elementary as your address location.
OTHER SPECIAL STOPS:
University Heights Garden Club will also be hosting a Farmstand, selling homegrown seedlings, produce, seeds, chicken eggs, flower bouquets, and more.
University Heights Native Plant Initiative will be selling native plant seeds and seedlings to fundraise for their beautification efforts around the neigborhood. Be sure to stop by their stop!
University Heights Friends of the Library will also host a stop during the sale, selling HUNDREDS of used books and accepting used book donations. Have any books you don’t sell during the sale, bring them by their stop!
Be sure to pick up your garage sale map to find out where each of these station stops will be hosted. Don't miss out on this chance to meet your neighbors and reuse and resell in UH!
Join our Beautification Team for our next native plant initiative. Bring gloves, gardening tools if you have them and water for yourself. We will be transplanting native plants, maintaining existing plants, spreading mulch, and weeding select areas by Park Blvd & Meade. Questions? Contact Frank Santana at nativeplants@uhsd.org. See you there!
More details coming soon!
Join us for a featured film screened in the park, decided on by the community! Participate in our baked goods bake-off challenge, cozy up with one of our UHCA blankets, purchase conessions, or bring your own picnic!
Register to attend this event by clicking on the link below:
Join Friends of Birney Elementary & UHCA's Garden Club at the annual University Heights Fall Festival in San Diego! This free event is open to the public and features live music, food trucks, craft beer, a pumpkin patch to purchase your perfect carving pumpkin, and tons of fun activities for adults and children like face painting, lawn games, and hayrides.
Trick or treat along Park Blvd on Saturday, October 25th from 1:00 - 3:00 PM with participating businesses.
Join us in this all volunteer run community event. The UH Arts Open is a free event.
Taste of UH is ticketed.
Free shuttle service is provided for both events via historic trolley.
Sunday, November 9th 11am-4pm
Taste Venues to be announced closer to the event date.
More details coming soon!
Join us for the fourth annual University Heights Lights in the Heights Bike Ride on Sunday, December 14th at 7:00 PM. Meet at Trolley Barn Park to tour all holiday light contest entry homes and vote online for the best, most creative, and wackiest lights of the season. Wear your most festive holiday outfits, dress warmly, and equip your bike with holiday lights + spirit! Jingle bells, holiday tunes, and glow sticks will be provided.
This ride is open to all ages and all levels of bike riders (including furry friends in baskets!). The ride will be approximately one hour in length and will feature a hot cocoa stop midway through at Santa’s Workshop. Be sure to dress warmly and light up your bikes/clothing/hats with festive lights.
Don’t have a bike or can’t join us on the ride for whatever reason? Join in the fun by cheering us on outside of your festively decorated home! We will be touring the neighborhood from 7:00 - 8:00 PM moving west, then south, then looping back to Trolley Barn Park from the east.
Join us in Old Trolley Barn Park on Saturday, April 19th from 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM with your bike (kids bikes also welcome!) to get some assistance with patches, changing tubes/tires, cleaning off rust from chains, troubleshooting brake issues, and the like. Swing by anytime during the clinic hours to receive assistance with your bike, plus visit with some local bike organizations who will be giving away cycling related freebies, including:
At the close of the tune-up clinic, UHCA + San Diego Bicycle Collective will be leading an easy group ride around University Heights area for anyone interested in testing out their newly fixed up bikes and/or just cycling around town with new cycling friends. Join us at 1:00 PM for the group ride, leaving from Old Trolley Barn Park.
If you are in the market for an used bike, we encourage you to stop by the clinic to chat with the folks from San Diego Bicycle Collective. They fix up used bikes and resell them at very reasonable prices at their Sunday clinic. They will also be raffling of several free bikes during the clinic so be sure to stop by!
Join our Beautification Team for our next native plant initiative. Bring gloves, gardening tools if you have them and water for yourself. We will be transplanting native plants, maintaining existing plants, spreading mulch, and weeding select areas by Park Blvd & Meade. Questions? Contact Frank Santana at nativeplants@uhsd.org. See you there!
Join us for a free seminar highlighting all of the how-tos, top tips, things to avoid, and general guidance for growing a successful summertime garden. During this seminar, you will learn:
UH Garden Club will answer all of your grow-your-own food gardening questions and will be handling out free seeds, fertilizers, compost, and other garden goodies at the beginning and end of the seminar.
Register to attend this fun, free seminar!
Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in University Heights this year with fellow neighbors and friends! Join us for an UH pub crawl that includes seven participating bars providing attendees discounts on drinks and food, as well as themed snacks, swag, beaded necklaces, temporary clover tattoos, and more.
The UHCA St. Patty's Day pub crawl will feature:
And lots of fun! Gather your friends, dress festively in green, and register to join one of our official crawl groups, or go your own pace with our map.
Register to attend this event by using the link below to select which pub crawl group you'd like to join. Starting points are:
Cheers San Diego: 1839 Adams Avenue
Gilly's: 2306 El Cajon Blvd
Participating Bars for the 2025 Pub Crawl:
Tag us to be featured @universityheights_sdcommunity #StPattysDayUHcrawl. Looking forward to celebrating St. Patrick's Day by supporting our local UH bars!
REGISTER HERE: https://forms.gle/Voya46buH9hcr2pt8
Join our Beautification Team for our next native plant initiative. Bring gloves, gardening tools if you have them and water for yourself. We will be transplanting native plants, maintaining existing plants, spreading mulch, and weeding select areas by Park Blvd & Meade. Questions? Contact Frank Santana at nativeplants@uhsd.org. See you there!
Join our Beautification Team for our next native plant initiative. Bring gloves, gardening tools if you have them and water for yourself. We will be transplanting native plants, maintaining existing plants, spreading mulch, and weeding select areas by Park Blvd & Meade. Questions? Contact Frank Santana at nativeplants@uhsd.org. See you there!
Sunday December 15
Join a guided tour of the amazing UH Lights in the Heights
Saturday December 7
3 locations of holiday cheer!
Wednesday December 4
Meet your neighbors and enjoy some holiday spirit!
Join us this summer for fun and free entertainment every Friday in July during the University Heights Summer in the Park concert series! Bring along a picnic dinner and indulge in ice cream treats from our mobile vendor, Mrs. Frostie, or dine at any of the University Heights restaurants before or after the concerts.
Join Our Native Plant Donation Drive
The UHCA Beautification team is seeking your financial support to purchase native plants for our neighborhood. Native plants help sustain birds and insects while adding beauty to our streets. These plants will be installed along Meade Avenue, adjacent to the Birney joint-use field.
If you are interested in sponsoring a plant or two at $15 each, please contact info@uhsd.org. If you prefer to donate your time and energy, please join us from 8-11 AM during regularly scheduled mini cleanup events at Meade and Park Blvd.
Frank Santana
University Heights neighbors take their holiday decorating very seriously and this year's lights in the heights will once again showcase the best of the best! Have your decorations ready by Sunday December 17th at 4pm so our judges can see your creativity shine! Winners will be announced that week on social media, receive bragging rights via a certificate, and be featured in the February UHCA Newspaper issue happy holidays and good luck!
Embrace the holiday hilarity at 'Caroling in the Heights' ugly Christmas sweater contest! 🎄🤣 Join the festive fun, showcase your wackiest sweater, and stand a chance to win amazing prizes. Let the jingle battles begin!
We are happy to bring back our SOCK FOR VETS donation drive!! 🧦 Homeless Veterans tend to move around a lot, often on foot, and at times in the bitter cold. These circumstances make socks one of the most requested items at homeless shelters. Please help our veterans who served us and now are in need of our help. Please bring your donations to our Drop off box at the 📚 BFD 4075 Park Blvd 10am-6pm Daily • We will also have donation box available at 🎄 CAROLING IN THE HEIGHTS/ MONTHLY MEETING on December 2 at BFD 4075 Park Blvd Bites and prizes Complements UHCA
Get ready for a jolly good time this holiday season with UHCA! 🌟🎶 Join us for a night of “Caroling in the Heights” with the Rockin Cranberries at BFD on Saturday, December 2 from 5-7pm. 🎤🏘️ This special evening will also be our monthly December meeting. Come for the delicious food, festive fun, and the chance to win delightful raffle prizes! 🎁 Don't miss out on the holiday cheer – mark your calendars and join us at 4075 Park Blvd @bfdsandiego for this joyful event!
🎄It's that time of year AGAIN! Want to make this holiday season brighter for a neighbor in need? UHCA has a great way for you to make a positive impact on families in our neighborhood- we’re continuing our annual tradition of sponsoring the Birney Giving Tree 🎁
HOW IT WORKS👇
Neighbors buy one or more gift cards in any denominations (suggested $5 - $50) from local stores. Deposit them to one of the collection boxes around the neighborhood or send/drop off directly at Alice Birney School. The staff at Birney will then discreetly include the gift cards in packets going to Birney families that need it the most this holiday
🎁 Collection boxes have been placed at UH businesses where you can drop off gift cards by Friday, December 1.
🤩 Last year UHCA helped raise over $1800 in donations! Let’s show our generosity to families who need a little help in our neighborhood and break that record again.
💚 Drop off at any of these locations by Friday, 12/1: •
@bfdsandiego 4075 Park Blvd - 10am-6pm every day
@ceciliasfinejewelry 4669 Park Blvd-Monday-Friday 10-5 Sat 10-3
@jacooleymuseumsd 4233 Park Blvd - 11am-4pm every day
@mysticmochacafe 2105 Mission Ave - 7am-5pm every day except Weds, 7am-2pm
@serpentine 2311 El Cajon Blvd Tuesday-Thursday 3-9pm Friday 3-10pm Saturday 12-10pm Sunday 12-8pm • 📫 YOU CAN ALSO DELIVER YOUR GIFT CARDS IN PERSON OR VIA MAIL: • Alice Birney Elementary School Attn: Birney Giving Tree 4345 Campus Ave San Diego, CA 92103 • 🌟For fun, please snap a 🙌🏻 and tag @universityheights_sdcommunity and use our #universityheightssdcommunity when you drop off. • 😊UHCA thanks our business partners for offering their help by hosting drop boxes for this program!
Join us in this all volunteer run community event. The UH Arts Open is a free event.
Taste of UH is ticketed.
Free shuttle service for both events compliments of University Heights Community Association.
Sunday, November 12th 11am-4pm
Start your tour at the information booth and ticket will call in front of Diversionary Theatre. 4545 Park Blvd on event day
Taste Venues:
Grains
Cecilia's Fine Jewelry
Plumeria
Pemberley Realty
Madison on Park
Red House Pizza
Park & Rec
Yipao Coffee
Kairoa Brewing Co.
Buddha's Light Bookstore
Lestat's on Park
Original Skin and Body Care
Al Dente
Big Front Door
Breakfast and Bubbles
RustiCucina
TapRoom Beer Co.
Gnarly Girl Pizza
Serpentine Cider
Flavors of East Africa
Help support Birney Elementary & celebrate Día de los Muertos with a beautiful marigold bouquet.
Oct 28 1-5pm Original Skin and Body Care, 4416 Park Blvd
Oct 30 8-9am & 3:30-4:30pm Birney Elementary, 4345 Campus
Oct 31 9am-7pm Halloween on Maryland, 4314 Maryland St
Nov 2 9am-12pm Día de los Muertos, 4314 Maryland St
Join the University Heights Garden Club for a timely seminar on Preserving Bumper Summertime Crops through Water Bath Canning. Water bath canning (different from pressure canning) is appropriate for high acid foods like tomatoes, jams, jellies and pickles, perfect. Our instructor, UC Master Gardener and Master Food Preserver, Deanna Chandra will provide an introduction to this method of canning and discuss the equipment and necessary ingredients.
For more information, see UH Garden Club Events .
Master Gardener, Teri Sprecco will be presenting on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) – the Scientific Ecosystem Strategy in the Garden. Pick the right plant for the right place.
For more information, see UH Garden Club Events .
Walk with UH Pride
The parade begins at the Hillcrest Pride Flag at University Ave and Normal St, proceeds west on University Ave, turns south on 6th Ave, turns left onto Balboa Dr and ends at Quince Dr. Route Length is 1.5 miles. This is a free, community event.
Join the University Heights Garden Club for a seminar on Efficient Irrigation for Urban Farming on Saturday, June 10th from 10:00 - 11:30 AM at the UH Library. Backyard gardener Chris Sera will share with attendees the various types of irrigation systems, including drip emitters, drip line, and low flow in-ground vessels. Chris will also address water pressure regulators, timers, and tapping into existing sprinkler systems for garden bed irrigation.
The University Heights Library will be making irrigation related books available for library card holders to check out for attendees to use for further guidance at home.
Two lucky social media winners will receive low-flow, in ground vessels at the seminar. Winners must be in attendance to receive their giveaway prize.
Register to attend this free event at tinyurl.com/EfficWatering .
Fire Season is rapidly approaching fueled by the record rainfall this winter. Now is the time to work together to mitigate the risks from the buildup of invasive vegetation and highly flammable waste from abandoned campsites. All of UH is in a Cal Fire zone because of our proximity to canyons, so this concerns all of us. UHCA is teaming up with I Love a Clean San Diego and Adopt a Canyon to conduct fire mitigation in UH.
The first of these cleanups will be Sunday June 4th from 9 am to Noon at the S-163 freeway on-ramp (near Washington St just west of Lincoln Ave), which will be closed to traffic during the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. We will start at Mystic Canyon (aka Camelot Canyon) under the Vermont St Pedestrian Bridge and work our way down along Hwy 163. Please sign up at cleanup@uhsd.org.
Remember to wear protective clothing and bring water. Tools will be provided. Please tell your neighbors. Thank you and stay safe!
Mark your calendars for the UH Community Yard Sale happening on Saturday June 3rd! This is the perfect opportunity to declutter your home and make some extra cash.
Hundreds of shoppers will be following the map of yard sale participants so remember to register your address at uhyardsale@gmail.com. It's free!
Don't miss out on this chance to meet your neighbors and reuse and resell in UH!
The University Heights Garden Club cordially invites you to a Summertime Garden Gala event on Saturday, May 20th from 4:00 - 7:00 PM in a local University Heights' neighbor's garden. Celebrate the incoming summer season with us as the days get longer and the gardens become more alive. Join us for botanical cocktails, live bluegrass music, light botanically inspired bites, and a silent auction all set within a beautiful garden setting.
This event is a fundraising event to raise money for repairs and supplies needed for Birney Elementary's school garden. Ticket sales and silent auction donation funds will be put towards these projects.
If you would like to donate a silent auction item or gift basket, please contact us at universityheightsgardenclub@gmail.com to donate.
Please bring a light sweater and sensible shoes as we will be outside in a garden space with unpaved pathways. Parking will be limited so please plan to either walk or carpool to this event.
If you cannot attend this event, but would still like to donate funds towards this project, please submit a donation here with information in the memo line that reads, "UHCA Garden Club - Birney Elementary Project Donation."
We look forward to seeing you at the Garden Gala!
Join the University Heights Garden Club for a spring garden swap event. Bring seeds, seedlings, garden tools, reference books, fertilizer, soil, and any other garden related supplies to this semi-regular garden club swap event.
Tables will be set up in the park for participants. Please label your seeds/seedlings and bring bags, a receptacle for compost (if you’d like some), notecards, or other label items to help with your swapping. All are welcome to participate!
Special Guests include:
Epic Gardening
Epic Gardening is a rich resource guide on how to grow your own food and ornamental plants with simple, practical how-to articles, podcast episodes, and videos. The Epic team has a ton of content online on their blog, on their YouTube channel, on Instagram, and other social media platforms. Check out their gardening supply store and more here: https://www.epicgardening.com/
True Organics
True is the worldwide leader in diverse and innovative production of organic fertilizers. They are a family-owned business who respectfully treats our growers’ land as if it were our own. They are passionately dedicated to manufacturing the highest quality, safest and easiest-to-handle organic fertilizers developed exclusively to help you grow your business. They will be providing free giveaways of liquid fertilizers and bags of compost/fertilizers to the first 60 attendees to arrive at the swap. Find out more about them here: https://true.ag/
Xerces Society
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international nonprofit organization that protects the natural world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats.
Our name comes from the now-extinct Xerces blue butterfly (Glaucopsyche xerces), the first butterfly known to go extinct in North America as a result of human activities. The Xerces blue's habitat was destroyed by development in the sand dunes of San Francisco, and the species was declared extinct by the 1940s.
They will be passing out native seeds/seedlings to attract pollinators to your gardens, as well as literature on best practices to foster a healthy environment for invertebrates. Check out more information about them here: https://xerces.org/
Malibu Compost
NO GMO's, green waste, conventional Ag by-products, pesticides, herbicides, growth hormones or sewage sludge.
Bu's Blend Biodynamic Compost is a large ingredient in our potting soil, seed starter and compost tea collection. Fix your soil organically with our unique and simple Malibu Compost product line that resembles how soil was made in the past.
Ocean Beach Seed Library
Ocean Beach Seed Library began in the spring of 2019 and it quickly took root in the neighborhood. With the assistance of Friend of the Ocean Beach Library, community partners and dedicated staff, the OB Seed Library became a hub for patrons to share and lend seeds. Ocean Beach Library often hosts Seed Library programming as part of a community movement for sustainable urban agriculture.
Food2Soil
Food2Soil is San Diego's Neighborhood Composter. We are a collective of residents and businesses, chefs and farmers, entrepreneurs and innovators building a people-powered, community-centered foundation for the circular economy. We believe that waste is a resource that has intrinsic social, environmental and economic value. Our programs are designed to challenge us to extract this value so it turns into income for farmers and living soil for our farms. Food2Soil operates a robust network of decentralized community compost hubs all over San Diego where residents can dropoff their scraps for composting. To learn more about us go to www.food2soil.net.
Information About The Hosts:
University Heights Garden Club
The University Heights Garden Club is a garden enthusiasts group associated with the University Heights Community Association that meets regularly to present on garden related topics, such as growing your own food, integrated pest management, soil health, preserving food, native plants, water conservation, and more. The club is free to join and open to non-UH and UH neighbors alike! https://uhsd.org/events
Lemon Grove Garden & Nature Club
The Lemon Grove Garden & Nature Club brings their local community together around gardening, urban farming, tree planting, floral design, and environmental responsibility. The club meets once every other month at our local Treganza Heritage Park, Lemon Grove CA for a FREE swap of all things garden and nature. The club is free to join and is open to all. Check them out on Facebook and Instagram!
San Diego Seed Swap
The San Diego Seed Swap is a group of local urban farmers who got their start connecting fellow local gardeners via Instagram during the pandemic. They provided seed swaps via mail initially and now have expanded to fun, incredibly successful in-person swaps. Follow their Instagram page for tons of subject matter expertise!
Mission Hills Garden Club
The Mission Hills Garden Club is a group of neighbors and friends with an interest in gardening and aesthetics. The group meets regularly for garden related seminars, happy hours in the garden, and host a wildly successful garden walk each May. Join their group by visiting their website here.
Let us know that you are coming for accurate headcount for tables/swap supplies by clicking the registration button below:
Join UH neighbors + friends for a fun St. Patrick's Day pub crawl at these participating UH bars/food trucks on Friday, March 17th from 5:00 - 9:00 PM:
The UHCA St. Patty's Day pub crawl will feature:
And lots of fun! Gather your friends, dress festively in green, and pop by as many of the participating locations as you can! Check out the pub crawl map and be sure to stop by these locations to receive free beaded necklaces and temporary tattoos!
Tag us to be featured #StPattysDayUHcrawl
Join University Heights Garden Club for a presentation on developing monarch friendly garden spaces on Saturday, March 11th at 3:00 PM at a local UH certified monarch waystation. Urban farmer and Monarch Messenger, Amber Mcpolin will discuss:
monarch butterflies and their importance in our ecosystem, their migration pattern, and their lifecycle
milkweed - growing, pruning, cleaning
Our garden club hosts, Andrew and Cathy Guzzon will be providing guests a tour of their pollinator friendly garden, as well as share the process of certifying their garden as an official monarch waystation.
Participants will receive special butterfly kits to take home with them to help foster pollinator friendly garden spaces at their own homes. Register to attend this session as space is limited. Registrants will receive the address of the event location one week prior to the event via email.
Join us for a growing your own food series presented by Lauren Doucette, founder of The University Heights Garden Club. Topics that will be covered in the workshop include:
Developing Healthy, Living Soil: discussing layers, compost, hugelkultur method for raised beds, identifying beneficial organisms/insects within your soil, establishing mycorrhizae and other beneficial symbiosis, fungal relationships
No Till Methodology
Seed Starting: discussing the type of soil to use, planting depth, light, and heat needs; direct sow vs. transplant; seeds to start in March; using liquid fertilizers for germinated seedlings; avoiding transplant shock
Proceeds of this event will go to The University Heights Garden Club's fundraiser to build replacement garden boxes for Birney Elementary's school garden.
About Lauren Doucette:
Lauren Doucette is a local urban farmer that grows food year-round for her family in a 200sf backyard space. Lauren graduated from the University of California Santa Cruz with a degree in Agroecology + Sustainable Food Systems and studied coffee cultivation and production in Nicaragua. She is the founder of the University Heights Garden Club and is passionate about encouraging folks to grow their own food in a way that supports a more sustainable, healthier future.
