Welcome to the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation
Our mission is to energize people through education and outreach to preserve the Agua Hedionda Lagoon as an accessible and healthy watershed.
The Discovery Campus is Open:
Summer Hours: 7 Days A Week, 9am - 4pm
*Extended Hours for Members Wednesday 4pm - 7pm
You do not need to make a reservation to visit the Discovery Campus.
Please click HERE to see our upcoming closures.
- On rainy days during the school day, we are CLOSED to the public until the field trips have left.
- Please call us for the most up to date closures, or partial impairments due to events, activities, and field trips at (760) 804-1969.
- Please be advised that our school programs are scheduled every day of the week so in the event of rain, the Discovery
Campus will be closed until 1:30 PM. Additionally, if rainfall occurs on the weekend, the Great Room will be closed due to birthday parties moving indoors. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. If you have questions about visiting during a rainy day, give us a call at 760-804-1969.
- If you are bringing a group larger than five people for an educational experience, please contact Emily Bonds at emily.bonds@aguahedionda.org to set up a time to come discover and learn!
Visit The discovery campus
The Discovery Campus is an extraordinary collection of hands-on exhibits, gardens, and live animal ambassadors allowing visitors to “taste nature.”
Memberships
Become a member of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation and join a community dedicated to preserving this stunning 400-acre lagoon.
Volunteer
Join our community of volunteers and interns who assist with trail maintenance, event support, conservation projects, teachers-aids, gardening, general upkeep, guest interactions and more.
join us!
welcome to the lagoon
Agua Hedionda Lagoon is a 400-acre lagoon home to a wide array of flora and fauna. The lagoon invites us to appreciate our water resources through such uses as a YMCA day camp, recreational boating, a mussel and oyster aquaculture facility, a white-sea bass hatchery, and a desalination plant. It connects us to a greater world in so many ways.
Join the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation in our work to preserve and provide healthy access to this valuable resource.
Thanks to everyone who has supported us, will continue to support us, and our members, as they “Make it Happen!“ If you are able, please consider an investment or membership to the Lagoon Foundation. We want to remain your nature resource through this entire ongoing “new normal” and beyond
~ The Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation Team
Information & News
The Discovery Campus will have special hours on the following days:
- Sunday, June 8th, the Discovery Campus will be open from 9AM-12PM
- Saturday, June 21st, the Discovery Campus will be open from 9AM-3PM
- Saturday, June 28th, the Discovery Campus will be open from 9AM-3PM
Extended hours just for members!
Members are encouraged to bring a picnic dinner and enjoy the sunset over the lagoon while playing games at Mayor Matt Hall Hill on Wednesdays for
member-only hours from 4-7pm!
Not a member? Click here to learn about Membership
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Our Vision
To be Stewards of the Watershed as we inspire future generations so we all have access to a healthy lagoon. A safe space in nature…for all.
Our Mission Statement
To energize our community through education and outreach to preserve the Agua Hedionda Lagoon as an accessible and healthy watershed.
WHO WE ARE
We are a 501C(3) non-profit formed in 1990 by passionate Carlsbad citizens who strive to promote the Agua Hedionda Lagoon in its global context. We are not affiliated with or obligated to any government, religious, or for-profit organization. Our initiatives, including our educational programs and events, are supported by ordinary citizens, grants, supporters and members; donations are tax deductible.
what makes us different
By providing direct access to nature (in the form of gardens, wildlife, aqua culture, and water-based recreation), we uniquely offer fun, interactive experiences with diverse bodies that rely on the lagoon. We do this differently from others by offering learning experiences that focus on the hands-on doing (not just viewing) of how people and wildlife depend on active watershed management.
who we serve
The Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation operates the Discovery Campus (DC). The DC is an extraordinary collection of hands-on exhibits, gardens, and live animal ambassadors allowing visitors to “taste nature.” We are open to the public, but we primarily serve families with school-aged children who care about the environment, the watershed, and the local community, and we are stroller friendly. These families come to Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation for active ways to involve their kids in fun, hands-on, educational experiences that give them a sense of accomplishment. Most guests spend between half an hour to two hours exploring our offerings. We have a suggested $15 donation per group; members are complimentary. See our Exhibit page and Meet the Animal Ambassadors page for details about what you can experience at the Discovery Campus.