ANALYSIS AND PLANNING HONOR AWARD Kids at the Creek: Planting the Seeds of Stewardship in Chollas Creek Jacey Garrison, Student ASLA, Emily Kiefer, Student ASLA, Ceanatha La Grange, Student ASLA and Mario Benito, Student ASLA California State Polytechnic University Pomona, Pomona, California Faculty Advisors: Ken McCown, ASLA; Joan H. Woodward, FASLA; Phil Pregill, ASLA; Doug Delgado

	"The analysis was really well done. This would be really useful for community advocacy. The presentation graphics are good enough to hit the streets as an advocacy piece right now. " — 2008 Student Awards Jury Comments

Project Statement:

Kids at the Creek focuses on the creation of a new generation of environmental stewards to address the challenges facing urbanized watersheds. By creating stewards through education, community participation and design, this unique two-pronged action and awareness plan goes beyond scientific studies and regulatory policies. Changing the mindset of people and how they approach wildlife, in combination with ecological planning, is the only way to achieve a symbiotic relationship between people and nature.

Project Narrative:

Today, the natural and cultural functions of Chollas Creek are severely compromised. Runoff from housing, industries and roadways pollutes the water. Urbanization negatively affects habitat quality and quantity. Residents treat the creek channel with disregard. They are cautious of the dangers presented by illicit activities along its banks and wary of the fast-moving water during storms.

These issues contribute to the invisibility of the creek in both the physical landscape and residents’ consciousness. Many residents are unaware of the creek’s presence, its history as a resource for early inhabitants of the area or its potential to become a resource in the future. Some community members regard the creek as “nothing more than a big sewer line” . The dumped trash, invasive species and neglected places along Chollas Creek are evidence of this type of attitude. Thus, the invisibility of the creek is both a cause of, and contributor to, the issues affecting Chollas Creek. The creek is degraded, polluted, dangerous and invisible.

Despite these issues, many assets exist within the watershed, including lengths of unchannelized creekbed, a variety of native plant and animal species and strong community groups. In order to reveal the potential of Chollas Creek, the issues affecting it must be addressed as a whole, integrating the needs of people and the natural environment, and allowing Chollas Creek to become visible – a unifying force among communities within the watershed.

Environmental historian William Cronon advocates the integration of people with conservation efforts through the exploration of a “middle ground” between the human and nonhuman as solutions are sought for environmental challenges. Cronon argues that traditional approaches to conservation that exclude humans from nature can lead to dismissive attitudes toward the environment.

The physical results of this type of dismissive attitude are visible within Chollas Watershed, where some people view the creek as a dumping ground and nuisance rather than a resource to be cared for, protected and enjoyed. Areas that have been ecologically restored are subject to these abuses: discarded mattresses and graffiti mar a recent multi-million-dollar restoration effort near the mouth of the creek.

By acknowledging the potential middle ground between culture and nature, appropriate restoration strategies that consider not only what is ecologically plausible within the watershed, but also what is socially acceptable, valued and sustainable, can emerge for Chollas Creek. This type of restoration ethic, which looks “forward to the potential of nature rather than backward to what nature was in the past” can encourage urban community members to respect and enjoy nature within Chollas Watershed.

Any successful plan for reviving Chollas Creek must include strategies for connecting people with nature in order to change current attitudes toward the creek, the watershed and the greater natural environment.

Environmental data relating to the watershed’s physical characteristics, including topography, location of creek tributaries, climate and hydrology was collected and studied. Pollution data relating to soil, water and aquatic life were gathered and synthesized, including a comprehensive review of current pollution regulations and policies. Ecological maps including biological core areas, wildlife linkages and habitat types were studied, and extensive research into sensitive and endangered plants and animals was conducted. Social data included information about the history of the watershed from pre-conquest through industrialization. Detailed studies of the communities within the watershed were conducted, and on-site evaluations of stream characteristics within each community were performed. Information such as school locations, school performance, policies and previous efforts to improve the creek were also gathered and analyzed.

The analysis was centered on the idea of finding the middle ground between culture and nature for restoration within the urban context. The analysis developed a two-pronged approach that began with the exploration of ways to create new environmental stewards. Methods of creating stewards were researched and tested for their potential applicability to the Chollas Watershed. The second prong of the analysis looked at how best to preserve and enhance environmental function within the watershed in a way that included the human habitants of the watershed, rather than excluded them.

The results of the analysis are a plan that identifies the best places to begin projects that will create stewards, classifications of different types of stewards, design guidelines that will encourage the formation of all types of stewards and will encourage them to interact with
nature while still protecting native wildlife, as well as the identification of areas that must be preserved to maintain remaining ecological integrity.

Options were evaluated for how well they encouraged community members to become stewards who are involved in the restoration and enhancement of the watershed. These options were also evaluated for their potential to contribute to the ecological restoration of Chollas Creek. Chosen options promote the creation of stewards of the creek while also contributing to the ecological improvement of the creek.

Interested parties were invited to two community meetings which allowed residents to record their current concerns about the creek and their visions for its future. A creek walk helped expose the client to the challenges and potentials of restoration, and a classroom exercise with school children demonstrated the necessity of actively creating stewards.

Design was integral to the process and was used to explore the development of stewards and the compatibility of creating spaces that serve the needs of urban residents and native plants and animals. Design charettes led to the development of materials, textures, and sensory stimuli that would inspire stewards. Educational design was also a key part of the process, and a variety of techniques were explored to convey ideas and knowledge to landscape users. Design was also an important part of the process of exploring land use compatibility. Through design the physical manifestation of the differing levels of human interaction were depicted, and compatible solutions were discovered.

The project will be implemented by a local grassroots organization, Groundwork San Diego Chollas Creek (“GWSDCC”). Encouraged to begin by raising awareness of the creek and creating stewards who will be active in its restoration, this non-profit group has already begun engaging community members and coordinating creek walks.

To facilitate implementation, the project report contains lists of action items at the end of each issue. These actions are divided into two categories, outreach and policy, to further clarify the planning method developed for this watershed and guide GWSDCC in their implementation efforts. Also included in the report are captivating graphics and templates that can be used to spread information about the creek.

Design guidelines are included in the report to help with site specific design, and two site scale examples which detail how GWSDCC can implement the plan are also included in the report. The beginning stages of community outreach for these two sites have been completed by the project team, and are a starting point for the development of stewards at these sites.

Monitoring will be the responsibility of newly created stewards as well as GWSDCC and local affiliate organizations of the watershed. Detailed descriptions of monitoring strategies for each issue are listed in the evaluation section of the final Kids at the Creek document. The evaluation goals should be used as tools to gauge the success of the plan within the watershed.

¹ GWSDCC.S Feasibility Study and Strategic Plan. San Diego, 2006.
² Cronon, William. The Trouble with Wilderness: or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature. In Uncommon Ground: Toward Reinventing Nature, edited by William Cronon. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1995.
³ Gobster, Paul and Hull, Bruce. “Which Nature?” In Restoring Nature: Perspectives from the Social Sciences and Humanities, by Paul Gobster and Bruce Hull. Covelo: Island Press, 2000.