Who We Are
We are the North County Group (NCG) of the Sierra Club San Diego Chapter. We are dedicated to the Sierra Club mission, working from right here in our little corner of beautiful Southern California.
The North County Group focuses on outings and wilderness education in inland San Diego North County. Key activities include a Wilderness Basics Course offered from January through March each year.
The Sierra Club was founded by legendary conservationist John Muir in 1892, and is now the nation’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization — with more than two million members and supporters. Our successes range from protecting millions of acres of wilderness to helping pass the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act. More recently, we’ve made history by leading the charge to move away from the dirty fossil fuels that cause climate disruption and toward a clean energy economy.
History of North County Group
Escondido was considered to be in the far northern reaches of San Diego County in the late 1960s. To participate in Sierra Club activities meant a long drive south to San Diego on old Highway 163 before the creation of the interstate we now know as I-15. In 1970 seven like-minded Sierra Club members decided to start a North County Group. With guidelines from the National Sierra Club office, the group wrote by-laws and began meeting at members’ homes in Escondido.
Founding members were Bob Dawson, Gene Barber, Jean Love, David Martin, Richard Malm, Penny Deggelman, and Donna Beck. North County Group membership grew to 352 by 1971. NCG was instrumental in saving the Wilderness Gardens near Pala and the Agua Tibia Wilderness area near Temecula.
The first Basic Mountaineering Course (BMC) was held at Del Dios Junior High School in 1971 with 11 students. David Martin was the first course chair. (A year later the registration cost for the course had to be raised to $3 as too many people were taking advantage of the student discount!) Over the years the curriculum was updated, leading to a rename to the current Wilderness Basics Course (WBC). The North County WBC continues under the auspices of the Escondido Adult School and meets at San Pasqual High School in Escondido.
Among the stated goals of the North County Group in 1972 were to keep “the outdoors clean” and promote “the necessity of conservation.” John Muir would be proud of us.