Photos By Serina Duarte

Like many of the species it shelters, Chula Vista’s much-loved Living Coast Discovery Center needed to be rescued. Then, in a pre-Christmas miracle, it happened.

Indebted and troubled financially, the LCDC (formerly the Chula Vista Nature Center), a non-profit zoo and aquarium, was on the brink of closing down.

An Oct. 1 announcement painted a bleak picture. LCDC had a deficit of $200,000 to pay off in order to keep its doors from closing to the public on Oct. 28.

Education Coordinator Amanda Grant said she prepared for the worst while reassuring those around her.

“The first thing we told people is we have a plan for every single one of these animals,” she said.

Since the animals are all non-releasable they would have had to go to other organizations, she said. LCDC staff was scrambling to find homes for sea turtles, stingrays, sea horses and its many other species.

An outpouring of support from the community retired the deficit in just 27 days. On the day LCDC was supposed to close down it instead celebrated the collection of $401,064. Donations came in from corporate sponsors, anonymous sources and community members, including young children pitching in change.

Grant said one local girl went around asking her family, friends and neighbors for small donations, enticing them by telling them about the center. Other children raised $650 by running a lemonade stand.

“Then we had a little girl who did a cartwheel-a-thon, which was adorable,” said Grant. “She got her neighbors and her friends to sponsor money for every cartwheel that she did.”

Located in the outskirts of Chula Vista at the foot of E Street, the LCDC is a wetlands wildlife refuge, an area where nature is protected from the impact of humans. It provides many services, including overnight programs and educational outreach, said Grant.

“Not only do kids come for field trips and day camps but we also have two fully equipped classrooms,” she said.

Grant said the classrooms are used by the Chula Vista elementary schools and the Mueller Charter School.

Southwestern College biology major Arlene Alvarado said the LCDC is great for teaching and inspiring children.

“I think that if you teach kids since they’re little then they’ll learn to appreciate nature,” she said. “Biology is everything. It’s all around.”

Former SWC student Ethan Faust deMello said he started dedicating time to the center after his grandmother told him about its impending demise. DeMello has close ties to the LCDC, both as a Chula Vista local and as the grandson of Charles Faust, who was known throughout the county for his artwork, including the “Tidelands” sandcasting displayed outside the LCDC. DeMello credits his uncle Rolfe Faust with teaching him to sandcast, which has been his contribution to the center.

“Anyone who was donating certain amounts to the center would be given a gift of a sand casting,” he said.

His compensation, he said, is spreading happiness.

“I don’t get paid, said deMello. “I pay for the materials. “The people I’ve met and the connections I’ve made well outweigh anything that would ever leave my pocket.”

Grant said a plan is in place to keep LCDC financially stable.

“The first thing this money is going toward is to hire a director of development, somebody who’s entire 40-hour a week job is focused on raising money for us,” she said.

A strategic plan has also been put into place, Grant said.

“Instead of just focusing on being a zoo and aquarium, we are going to focus on being what is called an education and interpretive facility,” she said.

Grant said status as an education center would give LCDC the opportunity to apply for a wider variety of grants.