In June 2025, the people who run the Water Conservation Garden on the Cuyamaca College campus said its savings might last 18 to 24 months. By June 30, 2026, the Garden had more cash in the bank than it did when that warning went out. Its own board records explain why. Donations and memberships from the people who walk through the gate came in far above what anyone had budgeted. That's the context for The Garden Goes Batty, its Halloween night this Saturday, October 17.
One Saturday, Two Stops
The Halloween night runs from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at 12122 Cuyamaca College Dr W. The Garden's event page lists a "Bat Chat" with Garden director Lauren Magnuson and Community Programs Manager Yaily Gonzales, a local youth rock band, educational exhibitors and trick-or-treat stations. General admission is $18 on the ticket page. Children three and under get in free, and members get a discount by entering their code at checkout.
Rancho San Diego families can fill the whole day without leaving the neighborhood:
- 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Rancho San Diego Library at 11555 Via Rancho San Diego holds its Fall Festival, with pumpkin painting, a Ralph's World music show and spooky crafts, according to the county library's event listing.
- Afternoon. Head home, carve whatever survived the pumpkin painting, and find the flashlights.
- 5 to 7:30 p.m. Bats, the band and trick-or-treating at the Garden.
That $18 ticket goes into a budget that leans heavily on the people who visit.
The Warning From June 2025
On June 26, 2025, the San Diego County Water Authority voted to withdraw from the Water Conservation Authority, the joint powers agency that runs the Garden. Earlier that year the City of San Diego had already left. East County Magazine reported that the two exits put about a third of the Garden's funding at risk.
Brian Olney, Helix Water District's general manager and the Garden's acting administrator, told East County Magazine the vote was a setback but "not the proverbial nail in the coffin." He also gave a timeline:
"We have about $420,000 in the bank, and we'll use some of that money in the coming year. But when you look at this long-term, this probably gives us 18 to 24 months. We'll be looking to find new memberships."
The same article described how lean the place already was. It had three full-time and three part-time employees, about 100 active volunteers organized in 25 teams, 2,346 paid memberships, and roughly 15,000 visitors in the previous year. More than 2,750 people had signed a petition asking the Water Authority to stay.
What the Following Year Actually Produced
The treasurer's report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026 put the Garden's cash and bank deposits at $736,918. A year earlier, Olney had described about $420,000. The 18-to-24-month warning came with savings that, twelve months later, had grown by roughly three-quarters.
The receipts for fiscal year 2025–26 show where the money came from. Here they are next to what the board budgeted for the current year, which it approved unanimously on May 26, 2026.
| Revenue line | FY 2025–26 actual | FY 2026–27 budget |
|---|---|---|
| Donations | $348,513 | $60,000 |
| Memberships | $112,784 | $64,500 |
| Admissions | $30,414 | $24,500 |
Last year's donations came to nearly six times this year's budgeted amount. The jump was already visible at the halfway mark. By December 31, 2025, the agency had recorded $281,936 in donations. Admissions are the smallest of the three lines. Gate tickets on regular days, which the San Diego Union-Tribune lists at $11 for adults and $8 for seniors, students, teachers, first responders and military, bring in far less than what people give.
The Gap That Still Needs Filling
Even with a strong year behind it, the Garden doesn't pay for itself. The FY 2026–27 budget projects $339,540 in Garden-generated revenue against $888,501 in expenses. JPA staff labor alone is $457,251. That leaves a gap of $548,961. The board's plan covers it this way:
- Helix Water District: $141,370
- Otay Water District: $141,370
- Sweetwater Authority: $49,824, its fixed $48,000 adjusted by the January 2026 San Diego CPI of 3.8%
- The Garden's own reserves: an estimated $216,397
- Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District: the land, in lieu of cash
The budget describes the shortfall as unbalanced and says the Garden is working "toward a goal to have the Garden self-supporting operations." If the year goes as budgeted, the planned draw would leave a little over $520,000 of the June 2026 balance. That's still more than the Garden had when the 18-month warning was given.
One of the three water districts hasn't settled its place in the arrangement. On June 28, 2026, Sweetwater Authority's general manager wrote to the Garden asking to suspend the board's "intent to terminate its relationship with the Water Conservation Garden" until the board's August 12, 2026 meeting. The public records reviewed for this post don't show what Sweetwater decided. As of September 2026, the Garden's board page still listed Sweetwater among the four member agencies. An updated JPA agreement was on the September 22 agenda as a discussion item, not a vote.
The board has also been looking at new sources of support. In May it approved a five-year County of San Diego education contract for 10 workshops a year. In July it discussed sponsorship, membership or other partnerships with Fire Safe Councils and the Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego.
What's Growing There Now
Those Fire Safe Council talks line up with the Garden's newest work. In the Union-Tribune's October 3 profile, Magnuson described two exhibits. "Firewise" dates to the Garden's beginnings in the 1990s and was renovated, she told the paper, because climates, restrictions and the fire season have all changed. It now helps visitors understand how to create defensible space around a home.
"Nifty 50" is a newly planted display of water-wise plants. The Union-Tribune's photos show red yucca, a drought-tolerant succulent that draws hummingbirds, and operations manager Tim Townsley checking new plantings in September. Both exhibits sit inside nearly six acres of themed displays, alongside a native plant and vegetable garden, mulch and irrigation exhibits, and a seasonal native butterfly pavilion.
Ways In Through December, Free or Close to It
You don't need a ticketed event to visit. The Garden is open Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's closed Sunday and Monday.
- Free Friday. Admission is free on the second Friday of every month from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and parking in the main lot is free that day. Cuyamaca College Lot 4 costs $2. The next two are November 13 and December 11.
- Wave-In days. On designated days, admission is free for Helix, Sweetwater Authority and Otay Water District ratepayers and employees, and for current Grossmont and Cuyamaca students and staff. Members always get in free.
- Small Business Saturday Craft Fair, November 28, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- HOLIDAY Free Friday, December 11. The schedule hasn't been announced yet.
The campus has its own season too. Cuyamaca College's Samuel M. Ciccati Theatre is a short walk from the Garden, and its ticket calendar runs through the holidays:
- October 15: Middle Eastern Music Festival, free admission
- October 22: Nathan Hubbard Trio, new music for vibraphone and strings
- October 27: Cuyamaca Concert Band Fall Concert
- October 29: Faculty & Staff Recital, free admission
- December 10: Danny Green Trio, contemporary jazz
- December 17: Cuyamaca Choir, Holiday Choral Favorites, directed by Amanda Olea
All six start at 7:30 p.m.
A hike on the Sweetwater side of the neighborhood fits around any of these. About 1.3 miles of the Sweetwater Loop and River Trail at Sweetwater Summit Regional Park were rerouted to protect sensitive habitat while keeping it open. The County, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Sweetwater Authority did the work together. Fish and Wildlife reported it finished in November 2024.
Sladek Homes keeps track of what makes daily life in Rancho San Diego work, from Saturdays on the Cuyamaca campus to the budgets that keep places like the Garden open. If you're curious how the area's year-round draw shows up in what your own home could sell for, we're happy to talk it through. Start with a free home valuation, or browse our Rancho San Diego neighborhood page for more local coverage.
