Description
The Florida Canyoneer Collection consists of two scrapbooks, one manila envelope of news clippings, and one folder of news
clippings. One large scrapbook album includes news clippings, photographs, letters, and museum documents relating to Florida
Canyon, the Canyoneers, Japanese beetles in Balboa Park, and the 1974 centennial of the San Diego Natural History Museum.
The smaller scrapbook binder contains news clippings of Helen Witham Chamlee.
Background
Florida Canyon is a 150-acre natural area (mostly coastal sage scrub) in Balboa Park, San Diego, California. The Canyoneer
program of the San Diego Natural History Museum is a volunteer program which provides training by Museum scientists and local
experts on the natural history of the San Diego region. Helen Witham Chamlee (1907–1982), a botanist with the Museum, was
instrumental in the establishment of Florida Canyon as a Native Plant Preserve, advocating for the preservation of local plants.
Florida Canyon was opened to the public on November 17, 1973. Witham established the Florida Canyoneers, a naturalist-guide
program of the San Diego Natural History Museum, in 1973. The Canyoneers conduct free guided tours of Florida Canyon to provide
the public the opportunity to have direct contact with nature. The Canyoneers Program has expanded beyond the Florida Canyon,
providing guided tours of a number of locations in San Diego County. Notably, the Canyoneers remain one of the few trail-guided
groups nationwide affiliated with a natural history museum rather than a park or reserve.
Restrictions
Copyright may be reserved. Consult the San Diego Natural History Museum Research Library Director for more information.
Availability
The collection is open to researchers by appointment. Contact the Research Library Director, San Diego Natural History Museum.