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View Winners → Amigos De Los Rios Are Beautifying Our Rivers to Have a World Class Park Network
Arcadia Weekly Jan 15, 2015
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By Nick Kipley
At Durfee-Thompson Elementary School this past Saturday, an AP science class from Arcadia High School, the Key Club from Arroyo High School, and “Interact,” the Key Club from Gabrielino High School, were all hard at work with rakes, spades and gardening scissors. After removing leaves and sticks from the path, they spread them back out again upon a corner of the school’s playing field that has been turned into a reserve for native plants, essentially performing the opposite job of a leaf blower.
In conjunction with the mission of Amigos De Los Rios, these kids are earning the service hours required to graduate while beautifying the parks lining the river systems that crisscross the San Gabriel Valley.
Known as “The Emerald Necklace,” this system of waterways comprises more than 1,500 acres of open space, river walks and trails, and parks like the one connected to Durfee-Thompson. The San Gabriel River, the Rio Honda and the lower portion of the L.A. River, (as well as a network of subterranean water sources) are all part of this system connecting the San Gabriel Mountains with the Pacific Ocean.
Volunteer Coordinator John Latsko is enthusiastic about the non-profit’s ambitious dream. Echoing their website, he believes in the Amigos’ vision of The Emerald Necklace becoming, “a world-class park network on the scale of Central Park in New York;” however, this will only happen once So Cal residents decide to “change their mindset” about water-costly lawns.
The Amigos’ dream is an ambitious one. The main selling point for early Southern California real estate companies was the promise of sunshine and oranges every day. Over time, the ubiquitous green lawn became a part of that dream, which makes the Amigos’ mission an educational one. They claim that the first step towards a greener, more drought-tolerant California begins with challenging what many view as a standard of home ownership: the weekly act of watering and then mowing a patch of non-native grass, over and over again, for as long as you own the patch of grass.
Watching the students turn pruned branches into mulch, John became optimistic. “There are kids in AP science classes now who are thinking about what we’re trying to do here and are writing papers and projects on the benefit of replacing turf with native plants.”
Standing next to a bush covered in bright yellow flowers he began to eagerly display the “educational bend” that makes A.D.R. a hit amongst local schools, cities and independent contributors. “This is a bladderpod,” he said, “it’s one of the few things that blooms in January and provides food for California’s more than 600 species of bees.”
Pointing to a nearby elderberry tree he continued, “You see, native plants like this actually add to the water table. We need more of them. For decades we’ve been planting things that take away from the habitat potential while simultaneously channeling the water out to sea so it wouldn’t erode anything. We need to start capturing more of it and planting native. We noticed this type of tree growing in the nearby riverbed so we planted one in this park and look at how well it’s doing.”
Durfee-Thompson borders the San Gabriel River which, like many rivers in Southern California lately, seems more like of riverbed than an actual body of water. Piled up in the bottom of the river channel are what look like a series of ineffective dams-which is a misconception. “Those are swales,” John corrects, “the soil here is very dry, poor in nutrition and drains very quickly. Swales trap the water flowing out to sea and allow it to sink down into the water table, mimicking the way water is collected in the bottom of a canyon.”
In order to further expedite the process of adding water to our underground reservoirs, John explained that Amigos De Los Rios wants to challenge residents to plant erosion-resistant California native plants instead of turf. He claims the benefit is not just environmental, but monetary. “L.A. County will pay you $3.75 per square foot if you tear out your lawn,” he said. “Take some pictures of it; send it in; and you get 90 days to tear it all out. San Gabriel Valley cities may also have their own reimbursement plan.” John claims that by performing this task you save “70% of the water you use a year.”
Water, he claims, you should use elsewhere in your garden; “So either plant native or plant food,” he said. “Citrus trees are especially drought resistant. It’s a win/win. You’re adding to the environment and gaining a ton of food.”
John also listed: Coast Live Oak, Coyote Bush, Rodgers Red (California’s native grape), local buckwheats, brittlebush and a special mix of San Gabriel Valley flowers which include: California Poppy, Clarkia, phacelia, gilia, tidy tips, baby blue eyes and lupines. “But if you plant native, plant small,” he advises, “Our native plants are all quick-growing but need to establish an intricate root system before they can. So when you plant a native plant it might not look like it’s doing anything for about a year, and then bang! pop! It’s there forever.”
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