San Diego’s community of Tecolote Canyon grieved the loss of their neighbor Friday — a decades-long advocate of the natural park.
Eloise Battle died at 95 years old after spending her life fighting for the preservation of her community.
“Her profound legacy and life inspire us to be stewards to Tecolote Canyon and always to one another,” said the Friends of Tecolote Canyon in a statement.
When developers tried to build condominiums and a road in Tecolote Canyon in the 1960s, Battle and her neighbor, Sherlie Miller, led the fight against the development.
They convinced the City Council to vote unanimously to preserve the area, and in April 1978 Tecolote Canyon Natural Park was officially dedicated.
Battle served as the first chairperson of the Tecolote Canyon Citizens Advisory Committee, and she helped author the Master Plan for San Diego’s first dedicated Open Space park.
In the six decades Battle lived in her Tecolote Canyon home, she frequently volunteered, creating an educational program where students and teachers could join her on nature walks.
Battle dedicated her life to the natural park, making a virtual appearance at the March 19 Tecolote Canyon Citizens Advisory Committee meeting less than two weeks before she passed away.
Tecolote Canyon has about 6.5 miles of trails and hosts a nature center with exhibits of the canyon’s animal and plant life.
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