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NATURE FOR WATER - The importance of restoring natural ecosystems.
In support of World Water Day and the launch of the United Nations International Water Action Decade, the UN Development Program has published a new paper called Nature for Water summarizing the latest research on the current state of water resources and how crucial it is that we protect and restore natural ecosystems if we are to meet our growing need for clean water.
Our current rate of water consumption is unsustainable. Globally, we consume three times more per person than we did a century ago, with no sign of easing pressure. Demand is likely to increase by more than 50% by 2030 -- to a level 40% above existing water supplies.
"By 2030, 5 billion people could face water scarcity, placing profound constraints on our ability to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. Nature provides us with a clear pathway for tackling this crisis. By protecting, restoring and sustainably managing natural ecosystems, we can mitigate the impacts of this crisis, and improve the lives of billions of people. But we must act now." -- Jamison Ervin, UNDP
https://www.oneearth.org/nature-for-water-protection-of-ecosystems-is-ke...
Envisioning A New, Greener, Wildlife Paradigm for the Upper Ballona Watershed”
Background Information:
1. Short Ballona Watershed Fly-Over Focuses on Park Expansion:
revitalization in the upper Ballona Creek watershed - Jessica Hall, former Ballona Creek Watershed Coordinator and associates.
http://www.saveballona.org/seeking-streams
3. LA Water Report 2018: www.saveballona.org/system/files/Water_LA_2018_Report.pdf
Funding and projects:
4. LA Storm Water: LA’s Watershed Protection Program:
http://www.lastormwater.org/about-us/about-watersheds/ballona-creek/
Prop 40: Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Protection Act of 2002
Prop 84: Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, River and Coastal Protection Act of 2006
7. Los Angeles Urban Canopy Report-2.pdf
YourLA2040: L.A.'s Urban Tree Canopy needs a Better Plan. Los
Angeles community members have untapped power to guide the
General Plan Update By Jill Stewart and Ileana Wachtel, September 2017
“You can’t solve a problem at the level at which it was created” Einstein
Dear Ballona Watershed Supporter,
You can be one of LA’s leaders in restoring more vibrant, natural habitat that invites wildlife into backyards, front yards, multifamily residences, and public places in the Upper Ballona Watershed.
Participate in “A Day Long Dialogue and short Bus Tour: Envisioning A New, Greener, Wildlife Paradigm for the Upper Ballona Watershed”. Join us on Saturday, April 14th from 10 am to 4 pm (includes lunch); and, a Sunday morning bus tour, April 15th from 10 -12:30. To help defray lunch and the bus tour cost, please help with an optional contribution of $30.00.
For more than 15 years I, along with others, have worked toward the day when we would open storm drains (in other words remove some of our pipe shed) and restore our watershed. Many of our participants have worked twenty, thirty or more years studying, creating and caring for urban wilderness.
With Los Angeles City and County as well as the State talking about and funding water resiliency projects, we propose to put our heads together and dialogue ways we can partner together, as a small, committed group to set a new, higher standard for multi-benefit projects that link Los Feliz and Western Avenues at Fern Dell Park to Venice Boulevard and Cochran Avenue in a green belt.
As I walked all of Ballona Creek and many of its tributaries with Jessica Hall, our former Ballona Watershed Coordinator, and visited Franklin Canyon on a rainy day with her and watched the rain make natural streams, and listened raptly to her speak as we rode through the densest part of Los Angeles on an All Day Ballona Watershed Bus Tour in 2005, I have dreamed of the day her ideas would become a reality.
Today, I believe the stars are aligned for a small group of committed individuals to make the authors of “Seeking Streams: A landscape framework for urban and ecological revitalization in the upper Ballona Creek watershed” proud.
Go to Seeking Streams to read their first 25 pages of historical maps, photos, ideas and conclusions. See page 3 for the Introduction. History buffs, water nuts like me, and anyone who wants to reverse some of the degradation man has wrought on our watershed, will love this blueprint for the future. I believe you will find the report so fascinating you will read the entire 174-pages.
You will begin to see that revitalization of the Ballona Watershed by capturing millions of gallons of rainwater for nature parks and seasonal wetlands in the upper Ballona Creek Watershed is possible, before it goes into storm drains. This is doable, sensible, and will pass a cost benefit analysis. In some cases these drains have been parching the water-starved inner city since 1917.
Imagine how carefully choosing some storm drains for day lighting could create new attractions for wildlife, provide life nurturing walking trails along a babbling brook for nature deprived inner city folks, and begin to achieve equity in the high density, park and wildlife starved upper Ballona Watershed.
This idea is consistent with moving toward a resiliency based 130 square-mile Ballona Creek Watershed and saving millions, upon millions of gallons of storm water for wildlife.Sincerely, Jeanette Vosburg, Chair Airport Marina Group, Member Ex-Com Sierra Club Angeles Chapter
Some participants – Possible Funding – Partnership Creation
Bev-Sue Powers, Moderator, a Ballona Wildlife Photographer and Blogger as well as a consultant/project leader of corporate change for companies like General Electric where she helped 13 different companies under the GE umbrella embrace one Legal Department for the whole corporation. She is currently working at Rand Corporation to enliven their current 350-page written project reports using today’s flexible, timely, newsworthy technologies.
Sierra Club Angeles Chapter Participating Entities:
Elizabeth Bayne, Barbara Hensleigh, Will McWhinney, Central Group
Bev-Sue Powers, Jeanette Vosburg, Kathy Knight, Airport Marina Group
Lore Pekrul, Chuck Gooley, GIS Committee
David McNeill, Executive Director of the Baldwin Hills Conservancy. David has overseen the construction of the buildings, gardens and hiking trails at the 8.5-acre Stoneview Nature Center, the 40-acre Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook which attracts thousands of hikers every week, the newly dedicated 2-acre Milton Green Street project in Marina del Rey and is currently working to create a land bridge from Stoneview Nature Park to Kenneth Hahn State Park.
· Danny Sciolini, Project Manager of the Baldwin Hills Conservancy
· Gail Krippner, Grant Program Manager of the Baldwin Hills Conservancy
· Noa Rishe Khalili, Park and Recreation Specialist, Baldwin Hills ConservancyEric Dugdale, Pacific Palisades Historical Society, 5 minute power point of Cienega swamp before storm drains.
Lan Weber, Ph.D., P.E., Hydrologist, WRC Consulting Services, Inc. Dr. Weber has over 25 years of experience in wetlands and river restoration projects, with strong expertise in hydrology, hydraulics, river erosion and sedimentation, flood control and drainage system design and analysis. She has been involved in over 300 multi-disciplinary wetlands, river, coastal and watershed management projects and has successfully managed design and planning for both public and private agency projects ranging from $5,000 to over $5 million.
Margot Griswold, Ph.D., Restoration Ecologist and former owner of EARTHWORKS Restoration, Inc. has done restorations for the West Bluffs Slopes and Bluff Trail in Playa del Rey, California. She and Lan Weber of WRC designed and implemented walking trails and riparian corridor, adjacent to Bonita Creek, an urban stream restoration for three endangered species in Newport Beach, California. They also worked in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Santa Ana habitat restoration. Margot is President of Los Angeles Audubon Society, has worked with Baldwin Hills Conservancy on the planting and maintenance of the 40-acre Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, and spoken out for natural freshwater wetlands at Ballona that preserve saltpan, and 12 other habitats that currently exist at Ballona.
Rex Frankel has highlighted his favorite parts of the Seeking Streams report for you. Rex has devoted his adult life to our greater Los Angeles urban and outlying wilderness. He is an avid hike leader, has achieved a life long goal of owning 120-acre Mount Rexmore in Chatsworth, California where he is creating hiking trails. Rex envisions opening 10 miles of natural, day-lighted streams from Los Feliz to Venice Boulevard which will complete a 50-mile-contiguous hiking trail around LA. Rex is President of Ballona Ecosystem Education Project.
Rex’ website and blogs are:
http://connectingcalifornia.org
http://lacreekparks.org
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