Today was an incredible day at the Colorado Lagoon and I would like to point out the inspiring people that helped make it so. With all of the wonderful improvements to the storm-water infrastructure occurring right now it has been difficult to host FOCL’s education activities. While we have limited our education program a bit, it is quite another task to keep our regular volunteers away from the current community-based restoration of planting plants and non-native removal. Every volunteer is a great volunteer and at each event we host it is guaranteed at least one of our veteran restoration volunteers, FOCL’s Champions, will be pitching mulch and creating habitat along the shores of the Lagoon. These people are the backbone of our community-based efforts. What makes these Champions so special? Our volunteers are innovative, intelligent, and dedicated people mostly in their mid-twenties(!), either in college or a few years outside of graduation, giving back to their community while exploring the natural world and expressing themselves with utmost compassion. They are impressive people providing the greatest proof of that care: their action. FOCL’s Champions are regular people who have found something special in a little wetland and each of them has their own reason for caring. But at the Lagoon what they share is a community built around mutual appreciation and love of the natural world that, in the last 18 months, is over 2200 volunteers strong. Today a handful of those Champions decided that taking a couple hours to wander about the Lagoon exploring birds and plants before sweating a little to nurture those same creatures was valuable to them. It is an inspiring act when those are the values chosen by people who have every opportunity to put their energies elsewhere. FOCL, the Colorado Lagoon and the surrounding Long Beach community are fortunate to have these committed Champions investing their time and energy and demonstrating what is valuable to them.
While the Champions were busily working on the habitat, a group – or rather, a pack— of cubs and tigers descended on the Lagoon. An intimidating number of these scouts were scouring the beaches of the Lagoon for trash trying to understand why litter is even there at all. When I met up with them each had a plastic grocery bag in one hand and a stick or rock or leaf or feather in the other. All tools necessary toward trash cleanups, for sure. This rowdy bunch met with the intention of cleaning the Lagoon and you can only imagine how excited they were to see the giant earthmovers that are currently stationed on the adjacent roads, on weekend break from the Lagoon restoration. We went on a brief nature walk to explore the colors and scents of the flowering habitat in full spring showiness and all were delighted to stand by a field of California Poppies while Forster Terns were diving in the Lagoon water, fishing for Topsmelt. We explored more and had a great time thinking about what it would be like to drive the back-hoe. And then this energetic pack met the Champions at work.
Introducing the group of scouts to the group of Champions was fun for me because, in the end, we’re all playing and we all have a purpose. The scouts came for trash and experienced the dynamic habitat while getting dirty and playing with their friends. The Champions did much of the same. The big construction equipment on-site right now is really wonderful because it is the evidence of at least 10 years of work trying to make this restoration happen. Equally inspiring and a concept that is joyously difficult to fathom is that there were two generations of people – 6 year olds and 26 year olds – that were at the Lagoon today that will now accept those earthmovers as fact, that see a hard-won restoration not as a hard-won restoration but as something that just is. These two inspiring groups of people who chose to give their Saturday to fixing the Lagoon in their own ways, now know that that’s the way the world is, a world where positive restorative activity occurs. That is very hopeful. And it is their respective evolving worldviews that is inspiring.
Taylor Parker
Education Director
Friends of Colorado Lagoon
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Earth Day Planting
Congratulations Friends of Colorado Lagoon. WE have completed our first successful planting season at Colorado Lagoon. WE have established new coastal habitat in the City of Long Beach. WE have reached a new level. WE are now the proud care takers of a 50,000 squarefoot piece of restored California coastline.
What an opportunity for a young restoration ecologist like myself to be involved with such a holistic and successful project. I have made so many new friends and colleagues. Since November 2008, people from all over the greater Long Beach area came to the Lagoon and sunk their heart and sole into 2 hours of restoration and education. Many people returned again and again, and got to watch the eastern Bank of Colorado Lagoon transform. People became my friends...friends to each other and friends of nature.
And WE all learned so much! From tree removal debates, to smoldering mulch piles, barking dogs and exodus from the WAMSEC. Through all of the challenges that come with any project, we always kept on learning. WE improved our techniques. WE accepted criticism and performed at higher levels. WE learned our native plant names. WE worked together.
I really want to thank everyone for helping me be a better restoration ecologist. Most of what I did for this project was based on my passion for nature, however a good percentage of what I did was for you, it was for people. I lead this project not only to install some of my favorite botanical species, but also to reconnect people with plants and natural living. To reconnect people with natives of California. And to connect people to their home...Long Beach, California, USA, Planet Earth. FOCL built something permanent. WE built pride in our community.
It will be so great to have conversations with all of the people that will be walking the FOCL Champions Trail along the east bank for years to come.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
A Reflection of the Creative Arts program and Looking Forward
Greetings!
The beginning of the Creative Arts program was marked with the launch of ColoradoLagoon.BlogSpot.com. This blog is dedicated to the Lagoon restoration, its habitants and all the great people who volunteer. It quickly became the go-to site for all things Lagoon. The community can see photos of volunteers restoring the East Bank or maybe a snapshot of Least Tern diving for food. The blog showcases photographs of our beautiful estuary taken with a unique perspective. Various volunteers have also lent their hand in writing an article or two. While the blog has continued to change over the last year it stills serves as a resource for the community.
In early 2009 the Lagoon’s education program was approached by a local restaurant owner. Aside from his successful restaurant he also owns a small gallery space in Long Beach. He believes in what we are doing for the Lagoon and opened the gallery doors to us; the space was ours to use. We had great success with our first International Wetlands Day Art show. We quickly realized the opportunity we had with the gallery as it helped pave the way for future shows and gave confidence to our Creative Arts program. To date, we are the only group the owner offers the gallery space to use, a testament to the great work we are doing for the Lagoon.
The Creative Arts Program was heading straight into our summer event, Acoustic Tidal Artwalk: A night of Art and Music in the sand. With the help from Taylor, Eric and dedicated volunteers, ATAW was the biggest public event any of us had produced and it came together beautifully. Visitors saw the work of five local photographers with pictures hung in the sand along the tide line of the Lagoon. The air was filled with musicians playing acoustic guitar, violins, bongo drums and singing. There was a hands-on education area, face painting for kids and we even had live ‘grafiti’ artist creating masterpieces on the spot. There was something for everyone, kids and adults alike.
The participation we saw from the community was unprecedented. Our goal was to reach the Lagoon’s immediate neighbors and draw folks in to let them know about the programs available at the Lagoon. Throughout the evening I met many of the 300+ visitors who attended, most were from the surrounding area and were so thankful we were taking action. I had a number of people tell me they had never seen an event like this done on the beach of the Lagoon. Needless to say, our efforts were working; the word was getting out and bridges between the community and the Lagoon were being built.
As we entered 2010 we saw the success of our 2nd Annual Wetlands Day Art Show: Our Urban Wetlands and Wildlands. It was the first time we complimented a Creative Arts event with a fundraising aspect. Over the two night show, we offered visitors an opportunity to support the local wetlands group of their choice and the response was wonderful. People truly believe in what we are doing in the community and the environment. This type of fundraising not only allows the Creative Art events to be more self sustained but continues to gives local artists and volunteers the opportunity to participate.
Now, in the midst of construction, we push on with the Colorado Lagoons summer event, 2nd Annual Acoustic Tidal Artwalk (ATAW). This is certainly an exciting time to be involved with Creative Arts as we are in the planning stages of this year’s event. We are working closely with the City of Long Beach to achieve our goals and hope to provide another large scale community event. Due to construction, the Lagoon’s South Beach will provide a new venue for its very own acoustic artwalk. This two night event, July 9th & 10th is not to be missed and will mark another great summer event at the Lagoon.
We have had over 600 folks attend our different events, an example that Creative Arts at the Colorado Lagoon has become a vibrant and fun program. For those who may not come to trash clean-ups or native plantings, this program offers volunteers and community residents a way to engage the Lagoon not previously available. Whether at a nature walk or Acoustic Tidal Artwalk I encourage everyone to experience the Lagoon from their own unique perspective.
Many Smiles and Thanks,
~Timothy
In keeping with the oral/written tradition of the Colorado Lagoon I thought I would lend my hand in sharing the story of the Creative Arts program.
A few years ago no one would have thought the Colorado Lagoon would have its very own Creative Arts Department. At the time we did not know what a Creative Arts department meant or what roll it would play among our other programs. Through the use of art and music events, a web Blog and documenting the Lagoon from a unique perspective, the Creative Arts program strives to help bridge the gap between the Colorado Lagoon and the local community it serves.
The idea came out of a late night brainstorming session along with a passion for art, music and giving back to the community. As we huddled around a kitchen table, I talked with Taylor Parker and Eric Zahn from Tidal Influence who oversee the education and restoration programs respectively. I expressed my vision of bringing the arts to the Lagoon to help achieve our goals as a community organization. As a photographer I felt like the Lagoon should be documented and shared with everyone. Of course, Taylor and Eric were very supportive of the idea and told me to look at the Lagoon as a creative canvas. If I could dream and plan it, than we should do it!
The idea came out of a late night brainstorming session along with a passion for art, music and giving back to the community. As we huddled around a kitchen table, I talked with Taylor Parker and Eric Zahn from Tidal Influence who oversee the education and restoration programs respectively. I expressed my vision of bringing the arts to the Lagoon to help achieve our goals as a community organization. As a photographer I felt like the Lagoon should be documented and shared with everyone. Of course, Taylor and Eric were very supportive of the idea and told me to look at the Lagoon as a creative canvas. If I could dream and plan it, than we should do it!
And so it began...
The beginning of the Creative Arts program was marked with the launch of ColoradoLagoon.BlogSpot.com. This blog is dedicated to the Lagoon restoration, its habitants and all the great people who volunteer. It quickly became the go-to site for all things Lagoon. The community can see photos of volunteers restoring the East Bank or maybe a snapshot of Least Tern diving for food. The blog showcases photographs of our beautiful estuary taken with a unique perspective. Various volunteers have also lent their hand in writing an article or two. While the blog has continued to change over the last year it stills serves as a resource for the community.
In early 2009 the Lagoon’s education program was approached by a local restaurant owner. Aside from his successful restaurant he also owns a small gallery space in Long Beach. He believes in what we are doing for the Lagoon and opened the gallery doors to us; the space was ours to use. We had great success with our first International Wetlands Day Art show. We quickly realized the opportunity we had with the gallery as it helped pave the way for future shows and gave confidence to our Creative Arts program. To date, we are the only group the owner offers the gallery space to use, a testament to the great work we are doing for the Lagoon.
The Creative Arts Program was heading straight into our summer event, Acoustic Tidal Artwalk: A night of Art and Music in the sand. With the help from Taylor, Eric and dedicated volunteers, ATAW was the biggest public event any of us had produced and it came together beautifully. Visitors saw the work of five local photographers with pictures hung in the sand along the tide line of the Lagoon. The air was filled with musicians playing acoustic guitar, violins, bongo drums and singing. There was a hands-on education area, face painting for kids and we even had live ‘grafiti’ artist creating masterpieces on the spot. There was something for everyone, kids and adults alike.
The participation we saw from the community was unprecedented. Our goal was to reach the Lagoon’s immediate neighbors and draw folks in to let them know about the programs available at the Lagoon. Throughout the evening I met many of the 300+ visitors who attended, most were from the surrounding area and were so thankful we were taking action. I had a number of people tell me they had never seen an event like this done on the beach of the Lagoon. Needless to say, our efforts were working; the word was getting out and bridges between the community and the Lagoon were being built.
As we entered 2010 we saw the success of our 2nd Annual Wetlands Day Art Show: Our Urban Wetlands and Wildlands. It was the first time we complimented a Creative Arts event with a fundraising aspect. Over the two night show, we offered visitors an opportunity to support the local wetlands group of their choice and the response was wonderful. People truly believe in what we are doing in the community and the environment. This type of fundraising not only allows the Creative Art events to be more self sustained but continues to gives local artists and volunteers the opportunity to participate.
Now, in the midst of construction, we push on with the Colorado Lagoons summer event, 2nd Annual Acoustic Tidal Artwalk (ATAW). This is certainly an exciting time to be involved with Creative Arts as we are in the planning stages of this year’s event. We are working closely with the City of Long Beach to achieve our goals and hope to provide another large scale community event. Due to construction, the Lagoon’s South Beach will provide a new venue for its very own acoustic artwalk. This two night event, July 9th & 10th is not to be missed and will mark another great summer event at the Lagoon.
We have had over 600 folks attend our different events, an example that Creative Arts at the Colorado Lagoon has become a vibrant and fun program. For those who may not come to trash clean-ups or native plantings, this program offers volunteers and community residents a way to engage the Lagoon not previously available. Whether at a nature walk or Acoustic Tidal Artwalk I encourage everyone to experience the Lagoon from their own unique perspective.
Many Smiles and Thanks,
~Timothy
Monday, April 12, 2010
Lagoon Earth Day Planting!
I am extremely excited about this Earth Day! For the first time in a while I will actually be organizing an Earth Day event on the actual Day of Earth which some people forget is always April 22nd. This actual Earth Day next Thursday I will be hanging out with my Colorado Lagoon Friends from 2pm-sunset helping people plant native wildflowers along the Lagoon's East Bank!! People are welcome to come and go as they please and I look forward to seeing people throughout their days and offering them the opportunity to pay homage to Mother Earth. It is also exciting because this is our last public planting event at the Lagoon for the season. It will be a nice conclusion to a very successful restoration project.
For you plant dorks. Here are a few wildflowers we will be planting on Earth Day:
Blue-Eyed Grass: Sisyrinchium bellum
Coast Goldenbush: Isocoma menziesii
Yerba Mansa: Anemopsis californica
California Poppy: Eschscholzia californica
Deerweed: Lotus scoparius
Sticky Monkeyflower: Mimulus aurantiacus
For you plant dorks. Here are a few wildflowers we will be planting on Earth Day:
Blue-Eyed Grass: Sisyrinchium bellum
Coast Goldenbush: Isocoma menziesii
Yerba Mansa: Anemopsis californica
California Poppy: Eschscholzia californica
Deerweed: Lotus scoparius
Sticky Monkeyflower: Mimulus aurantiacus
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Colorado Lagoon Article in the LA Times!!
Hey everyone-
Earlier this month a reporter from the LA Times came down and checked out our local estuary. With the restoration poised to begin, the word is getting out!
Click the link down below to check out the article with our own Adrienne in the picture!
Earlier this month a reporter from the LA Times came down and checked out our local estuary. With the restoration poised to begin, the word is getting out!
Click the link down below to check out the article with our own Adrienne in the picture!
Popular Long Beach swimming spot is poised for restoration - latimes.com
Be sure to share this with friends and family
~Timothy
Friday, January 15, 2010
TIDE Sunset walk - January 12th 2010
Greetings!
Can you believe that its 2010?!?! Crazy, I know. We are going to start this new year off right and make the blog a more interactive place. You can sign on the blog and find letters from FOCL prez Dave Pirazzi, stories from other folks and of course...Pictures.
If you or someone you know may be interested in contributing to this blog please email me with your idea and we'll make it happen. We want this to become more of a community platform rather than just a lagoon report. Is there a funny story that needs to be told, a favorite photo, some news, or upcoming events, this is the place to check it out. Be sure to check out our calander of events at the website www.ColoradoLagoon.org.
For our first TIDE meeting of the year we got together and went on a sunset walk of the Lagoon. Most of us who work at the Lagoon are usually down there for a reason, for restoration, education or some sort of event. It was great to walk the whole Lagoon and just enjoy OUR urban wetland.
Here are some photos from the evening....
It was wonderful evening. Perfect temps and clouds for show
Dave Pirazzi and Eric Zahn talking about different phases of the Lagoon restoration
It actually looks like a wetland!
A motley crew for sure
Some digital camera fun
The Bio Swale. Come check out the latest addition to the lagoon restoration. You can help with plantings. Go to the Restoration Calander at www.coloradolagoon.org for dates to help!
Lots of bird watching- Adrienne and Shannon
So if you're interested in being apart of the Colorado Lagoon Blog email me and we'll get you started. Be sure to check back for more frequent postings :)
Can you believe that its 2010?!?! Crazy, I know. We are going to start this new year off right and make the blog a more interactive place. You can sign on the blog and find letters from FOCL prez Dave Pirazzi, stories from other folks and of course...Pictures.
If you or someone you know may be interested in contributing to this blog please email me with your idea and we'll make it happen. We want this to become more of a community platform rather than just a lagoon report. Is there a funny story that needs to be told, a favorite photo, some news, or upcoming events, this is the place to check it out. Be sure to check out our calander of events at the website www.ColoradoLagoon.org.
For our first TIDE meeting of the year we got together and went on a sunset walk of the Lagoon. Most of us who work at the Lagoon are usually down there for a reason, for restoration, education or some sort of event. It was great to walk the whole Lagoon and just enjoy OUR urban wetland.
Here are some photos from the evening....
It was wonderful evening. Perfect temps and clouds for show
Dave Pirazzi and Eric Zahn talking about different phases of the Lagoon restoration
It actually looks like a wetland!
A motley crew for sure
Some digital camera fun
The Bio Swale. Come check out the latest addition to the lagoon restoration. You can help with plantings. Go to the Restoration Calander at www.coloradolagoon.org for dates to help!
Lots of bird watching- Adrienne and Shannon
It was a fine display of sunset and clouds
So if you're interested in being apart of the Colorado Lagoon Blog email me and we'll get you started. Be sure to check back for more frequent postings :)
~Timothy
TimothyDunham9@yahoo.com
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