Surfers Point dunes

Friday December 14, 2012

Last Friday a small crew of volunteers from Patagonia worked hard to install cables and signs at Surfers Point.  The cables are intended to mark off the designated walkways in order to allow for revegetation of the dunes.  In these photos you can also see  the sterile 'rice straw' that was installed by City contractors.  

Thanks to the Surfrider crew, including Cynthia (signs etc), Morrie (finding the cables and hardware), Curt (pizza arrived on schedule), and Alec (hard labor)  - City of Ventura staff Joe McDermott and Rosie Ornelias.  Ventura rentals donated a bolt cutter and post pounder, and of course the Patagonia edit department who provided the 'miracle grant' that paid for the materials!

We look forward to watching the native plants sprout following the rainy winter weather!  Stay tuned for future work days!

Surfers' Point workdays

Saturday December 8, 2012

Over 70 volunteers plus a dozen organizers spent the morning working on the dune area at Surfers' Point.  The large crew made quick work of cleaning, seeding, and planting the 4 acre area.  The workday was coordinated by the City of Ventura in partnership with the Ventura County Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, and attracted Surfrider members and families from the community.  

The City of Ventura has been preparing the area for several months.  In April, sand was delivered to the project area from Pierpont Beach where the large accumulation was inundating beachfront homes.  (see Surfers Point - sand dunes)

A dune restoration plan was prepared by a consultant team to coordinate the multiple stakeholder interests and ensure ecological goals are met.  Sand that was initially delivered in longitudinal rows was re-graded with machinery over the past few weeks to form more natural 'hummock' dunes, create a buffer zone along the bike path, and provide designated 'recreation areas.'  

Because some of the imported sand contained unnatural concrete and other debris, the first crew of volunteers went to work cleaning the dunes with rakes and special mechanical 'sifters.'  It's amazing how much area a large crew can cover in an hour or two!

 As volunteers completed the debris removal, they were given tools to weed areas where non-native plants were beginning to sprout from the recent rains.  Catching these sprouts early will make a big difference later in the spring when we return to remove weeds.

While the cleanup and weeding was happening, another work group was systematically distributing native plant seeds under the direction of restoration consultant Dave Hubbard.  The seed was custom mixed for different areas of the project, mixed with some dry sand and scattered evenly within a designated area.  The area was then raked to further distribute and bury the seeds.  These seeds will be futher stabilized this week through the application of straw which will be 'crimped' into the dunes by a contractor.

Surf Brewery's Bill Riegler applies seed 

to the Surfers' Point dune restoration area.

Finally, hundreds of plants arrived from our local Surfrider Ocean Friendly Gardens 'plant parents' who have been caring for them since seeds were collected from the site last year (Surfers' Point workday.)    Volunteers spent another couple of hours planting these along the bike path and filling in areas in the bioswale.

picks were needed to break up the hard soil for planting in the bioswale

On Friday Patagonia volunteers will install barrier fencing and signs to help direct traffic through the dunes to allow for plants to establish and stabilize the new sand dunes.

Thanks to VolunteerVentura, the Ventura County Fairgrounds, and our sponsors!  The Surfrider Foundation purchased seed and refreshments for this restoration project with support from the Surf Brewery, Amgen, and Patagonia.  Please help support the Surf Brewery by asking for their local brews at your favorite eatery or visiting the tasting room on Market St in Ventura:  http://surfbrewery.com/




In the news: 

Volunteers to restore Surfers Point dunes this weekend in Ventura - VCStar

Unique Project To Deal With Erosion At Popular South Coast Beach At Halfway Point - KCLU

Our Ventura TV program included interviews at the workday event

Handcrafted sand dunes require community efforts to reach their full potential
Outdoor Observer -  VC Star


Related:

As the Oceans Rise Up, What Must Come Down? - KCRW

Ventura Curb Cut

On Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012, the Ventura Ocean Friendly Gardens team returned to the recently completed garden to take it one step further: the first residential 'curb cut' in Ventura.

Ocean Friendly Gardens apply the concepts of Conservation, Permeability, and Retention to convert a residential landscape from one that sheds water and contributes to runoff and ocean pollution to a climate appropriate garden that captures and infiltrates rainwater on site.


What is a 'curb cut?'  and why?

In cases where a public 'parkway' exists between the sidewalk and the street, cutting a notch in the curb allows rainwater to enter the parkway where it can be absorbed and cleansed.  This captures urban runoff before it reaches the storm drain.


The curb cut design was created by the Green Gardens Group (G3), a watershed-friendly design group who have been working with Surfrider and the City of Ventura (as well as other municipalities in Southern California) to provide professional training and design/oversight for Ocean Friendly Gardens.




Volunteers worked to dig out the parkway and transform the hard-packed grass into a permeable bioswale.

A 'french drain' was laid in a bed of gravel to ensure drainage once the soil becomes saturated.

Once the curb was cut and drainage installed, the parkway was planted and mulched.  The end result is a beautiful native landscape that captures and absorbs runoff from the street.  If the 'upstream' neighbor is washing a car, it waters the plants rather than pollutes the ocean. In heavy rains, excess water will re-enter the street on the downstream end of each bioswale, which will have removed most of the pollutants (car oil, fertilizers, trash, etc)

A series of projects like these installed the length of the street would effectively capture the 'first flush' runoff, which contains the majority of pollutants, and reduce the total volume of water entering the storm drain system.  In order to make this possible, the City of Ventura will soon be offering a standard design, no-cost permit for all City residents, a first in the nation!

Many thanks to all those who made this demonstration project possible, including the City of Ventura, Green Gardens Group, Paul Herzog and all the Surfrider Foundation volunteers who donated their sweat to help lead the way in solving the urban runoff problem!

This residence is the site of the recent Ventura Ocean Friendly Gardens (OFG) retrofit, funded by a State grant (Whale Tail License Plate Program). Turf grass was removed and the site was sheet mulched (smothered with compost, paper and mulch). Rain gutter downspouts were redirected into the landscape, filtering and utilizing rainwater as a resource. Native and some non-native-but-climate-appropriate plants were installed, and the irrigation was converted to drip. (See this for more details: http://www.surfrider.org/coastal-blog/entry/ventura-chapter-teams-with-city-for-ocean-friendly-gardens-program-series).


In the news:  http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/oct/01/volunteers-help-ventura-homeowners-rework/

More information:

surfrider.org coastal blog: taking-ofg-to-the-streets-parkway-curb-cut-bio-swale

Ventura OFG Campaign: http://ww2.surfrider.org/ventura/VenturaOFG.html

Surfrider's OFG page: http://www.surfrider.org/programs/entry/ocean-friendly-gardens

Solving the Urban Runoff Problem:  http://www.venturariver.org/2008/01/urban-watershed-planning-ventura-ca.html

Participant blog: http://www.lajohnny.com/404/green-streets-pilot-program-ventura-california/


Get involved:
Surfrider:             vcsrf.oceanfriendlygardens@gmail.com
City of Ventura:  Jill Sarick     jsarick@cityofventura.net     805-652-4501

...

Restoring the Shore

The Ventura County Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation has been working for over 15 years to help plan the restoration of Surfers' Point. This world class surf break was once in danger of being compromised by a seawall, and will soon be the site of an innovative 'Managed Shoreline Retreat' project.

Construction of the first phase of the project is scheduled to begin in September 2010 and be completed by May 2011. More information: www.surferspoint.org

This short (10 min) video describes the project:



We also cut this short PSA (Public Service Announcement) for local broadcast:

Ojai Creek Restoration

The Ojai Valley Green Coalition team was out today, continuing the effort to clean up and restore the creek in Libbey Park, downtown Ojai. This tributary to San Antonio Creek has been impacted by upstream urbanization, and overgrowth of non-native plants.


In addition to the thick groundcover that has been hand-removed by volunteer events, six huge palm trees were recently removed. The creek already feels so much more open and unrestricted.

Today crews were weeding and planting - acorns and willow stakes were placed in appropriate locations, and it looked like everyone was having a great time!





To learn more and get involved see:http://www.ojaivalleygreencoalition.org

Volunteers work on Ojai creek

Over 20 volunteers came out on Saturday for the kickoff of a well-planned collaboration to restore a section of the Ojai Creek. On the first three Saturdays of this month, the riparian corridor that meanders through Libbey Park will be restored and enhanced through removal of invasive non-native plants.

The project will improve the creek’s flow and reestablish a functioning wetland and riverbank ecosystem to support a diversity of fish and wildlife species.

The Ojai Creek Restoration Project is a collaboration of the Ojai Valley Green Coalition under the leadership of conservation biologist and Watershed Committee Chair Brian Holly, and of representatives from the C.R.E.W, the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, BioResource Consultants, Inc., and Glenn Hawks and Associates, along with numerous other volunteers.

Members of the community are invited to participate on any or all of three consecutive Saturdays starting on November 7 - 9:30 a.m. at the Libbey Park Gazebo.

For more info contact Brian Holly - beholly@gmail.com


In the news:
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2009/nov/21/reworking-the-creek-ojai-crew-to-replant-libbey/

Re-Beavification

Chalk this up to one of those crazy ideas that just might make sense...

This idea was introduced to me several years ago by a somewhat eccentric Ojai resident. Seems that now it is catching on in many areas of the West...








More here: http://www.landscouncil.org/beaversolution/

Castor canadensis, believe it or not, is a time shifter. The humble, hardworking rodent, through its dams and ponds, can extend the release of water late into summer, saturating the ground and healing watersheds. It has the power to re-create the primordial, wetter West that existed for millennia -- a West we just missed seeing.

"Restoration of the beaver is restoration of a landscape we don't have a cultural connection to," O'Brien says, "because they largely were trapped out."

http://www.hcn.org/issues/41.10/voyage-of-the-dammed

http://www.seventh-generation.org/Climate_riparian_beaver.html

Reference:

Beaver in California:
https://oaec.org/projects/bring-back-the-beaver-campaign/

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2120/is_n3_v79/ai_20608564/

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Beaver

Tour of Ojai Meadows Preserve

The April meeting of the Ventura County Task Force of the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project was a site tour of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s restoration work at the Ojai Meadows Preserve.

The Ojai Meadows Preserve is a 58-acre site of valley and live oak, grasslands and wetlands. Over the past several years the OVLC has been working to restore the preserve as closely as possible to its native state by expanding the wetland, planting additional oaks, and reintroducing native grasses. The long-term objectives of the project include providing better habitat for wetland birds, raptors and other wildlife species and reducing flooding on the highway and adjacent property.

Derek Poultney, the OVLC’s project manager at the Preserve, led us on a tour of the Meadows and discussed the various components of the project, including restoration of the hydrology on the site, the work of consultants and volunteers, trail improvements, creation of swales and vernal pools, and restoration of native riparian, oak savannah and coastal sage scrub habitats.

Derek pointed out that this property was once slated to become a shopping mall, in which case all stormwater would have been directed into an underground storm drain system.

Listen as he describes the hydrologic and water quality benefits of this wetland restoration project:



(...hear those happy redwing blackbirds!)




Note: this is the Happy Valley Drain downstream of the preserve, that Derek describes as 'very artificial and undersized for the watershed'

Ojai Meadows Preserve

For the past several years, a collabarative effort led by the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy has been slowly restoring a historic wetland in the heart of the Ojai Valley. Many of you have seen and perhaps participated in the activities on the Ojai Meadows Preserve. Earthmoving & construction were completed in April 2008 and major planting efforts will continue for several years. Ecological benefits include increased wildlife habitat, improved water & habitat quality, and increased aesthetic beauty. This little publicized effort is making a real difference in our watershed.

Restoration efforts have so far:

• Alleviated HWY 33 flooding by transforming Maricopa Drain from a straight, undersized man-made ditch into “Maricopa Creek,” a wider/deeper natural meandering stream with gently-sloped streambanks conducive to riparian vegetation establishment. Widening and meandering the stream required the removal of up to 90 eucalyptus trees.
• Re-created freshwater marsh/wetland/riparian habitat to recapture likely historic conditions
• Created 2 vernal pools
• Created an additional meandering (Taormina) streamcourse, lined with 50 sycamores, 50 black cottonwoods, and native understory.
• Allowed braided streams to naturally re-occur (from Nordhoff campus storm flow)
• Significantly decreased the non-native plant cover and increased the percent-cover of native riparian, wetland, oak woodland, savannah grassland, and sage scrub habitats, the bulk of which are now protected within a newly-erected wooden post & rail fence. Approximately one-third of the preserve is undergoing varying levels of restoration.
• The overall “Ojai Meadows Preserve Habitat Restoration & Flood Control Plan,” prepared by Condor Environmental Planning Services, Inc., is being managed and implemented by OVLC staff, Coastal (ecological) Restoration Consultants, public and private schools, and volunteers of all ages.

Over $5 million has been spent to date. Partners in this project include:

• State Department of Water Resources
• Nordhoff High School
• State Water Board
• Army Corps of Engineers Mitigation Program
• Oak Grove School “Once Upon a Wetland”
• Taormina Community Tree Fund
• Southern California Wetland Recovery Project
• Kaddis Oak Tree Fund
• Patagonia

Future restoration plans include more of all-the-above on more acreage, focusing more on the County portion of the preserve. Contact OVLC for more information: 805-649-6852

Surfers' Point on CNN

“SoCal News” did a great story on the Surfers' Point restoration project:





It is scheduled to air on CNN Headline News Sept. 12-14. “SoCal News” is one of three five-minute segments that rotate in a time slot at :24 and :54 after the hour on Headline News (channel 47) throughout Time Warner Cable’s Ventura County coverage area.

Here’s the link:

http://www.twcsocalnews.com/index.php?option=com_seyret&task=videodirectlink&Itemid=26&id=1042.

Surfers' Point - Funding 2008

On June 5th the California Coastal Conservancy dedicated $1.5 million to the Surfers' Point Managed Retreat Project. This makes for a total so far of $3,172,500 for project construction. Originally scheduled for construction beginning October 2008, the project is awaiting additional funding for construction to begin in the fall of 2009.

PROJECT FINANCING: (2008)

Coastal Conservancy $1,500,000

Fed SAFETEA-LU $1,500,000

City of Ventura $172,500

OPC (requested) $500,000

Other sources TBD $3,383,500

Total Project Cost $7,056,000

On June 20, 2008, the Ventura County Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation held a big event for International Surfing Day. The focus of the event was a beach cleanup at 'the Point' in recognition of the urgent need to raise over $3M for project construction. See recent story in the Ventura County Star. According to the article 'Some have suggested trying to find an angel donor or auctioning naming rights to help offset the gap.'

Surfers Point restoration - funding update

The Final Design for the Surfers' Point Managed Retreat Project in Ventura, CA is almost complete, and construction could potentially begin in Fall 2008. Fundraising for construction is underway, but we are still looking at a $3.4 million shortfall. There may be opportunities to phase the project. Summary of the current status is below:

PROJECT FINANCING: (2008)
Coastal Conservancy (pending) $1,500,000
Fed SAFETEA-LU $1,500,000
City of Ventura $172,500
OPC (pending) $500,000
Other sources TBD $3,383,500
Total Project Cost $7,056,000


Coastal Conservancy June 5th meeting - funding request for $1.5M for Surfers Point project

Ventura City Council June 9th meeting - approval of the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the Fair Board for the operations and maintenance of the project. According to city staff there were no concerns with the latest minor changes requested by the Fair Board. The MOU is in line with the deal points approved by the City Council in April 2007. City of Ventura will also be amending the project EIR and Coastal Development Permit to allow the City to begin bringing recycled asphalt from road work to the Fairground to begin covering up the dirt parking area as requested by the Fair Board in the MOU.

Ocean Protection Council meeting September 11 - Bay Area

more information at www.surferspoint.org

Urban Watershed Planning - Ventura CA

This is an excerpt from our document, "Solving the Urban Runoff Problem: A Vision for the Urban Watershed - Ventura, California"

Over the past year, the Surfrider Foundation has been working on developing a vision for solving the urban runoff problem in the city of Ventura. We have used GIS to map the existing storm drain infrastructure and analyze aerial photos to identify potential opportunities within the watershed. Following site visits, we identified several areas in this subwatershed with potential for stormwater projects.

This image shows opportunities for "low impact development" (LID) retrofit within the Sanjon drainage. First, there are several large parking areas (purple) that connect directly to the storm drain system. LID retrofit of these impervious areas could be achieved, effectively reducing a significant percentage of the urban runoff entering the system.

Secondly, there are two large irrigated recreational areas (green); Cemetery Park and Cabrillo Middle School. In researching projects elsewhere, we found examples that demonstrate the feasibility of using storage cisterns to capture stormwater for later use on landscape irrigation. These open spaces also provide opportunity for constructed bioswales or infiltration trenches, landscaped with either native trees and shrubs, or grassy swales. These may be engineered to provide storage, retention and filtration for a specified design storm capacity, typically a one inch rainfall event.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we have outlined an opportunity for Coastal Wetlands and Urban Creek Restoration within the lower Sanjon drainage. Coastal wetlands serve a well-documented function in the coastal zone. Ecosystem benefits include wildlife and fisheries habitat, as well as water quality enhancement in the final stages before discharge to receiving waters. In the case of Sanjon barranca, this function has been entirely eliminated through concrete infrastructure.

Restoring the historic creeks and wetlands at this site would provide significant benefits. The process of “daylighting” creeks has been achieved elsewhere, and wetland creation and restoration has become a proven means of achieving water quality objectives.

This vision is intended to provide a conceptual starting point for an urban watershed plan. The purpose is to illustrate the many opportunities that exist, and provoke a community dialog on how to achieve the city vision, which states:

Our goal is to be a model for other communities of environmental responsibility, living in balance with our natural setting of coastline, rivers, and hillside ecosystems.
- City of Ventura General Plan 2005

Restoring Urban Watersheds

It seems one of the toughest hurdles in organizing watershed restoration efforts is identifying the goals and types of projects that need to be done. Many initiatives seem to get bogged down by the sheer volume of issues and differing perspectives, making it hard to organize and prioritize goals and objectives.

The Center for Watershed Protection recently announced that it is making its first two manuals of the Urban Subwatershed Restoration Manual Series available permanently for free
download.

Here are a couple of excepts from Manual 1, An Integrated Framework to Restore Small Urban Watersheds, which examines the basic concepts and techniques of urban watershed restoration, and sets forth the overall framework used to evaluate subwatershed restoration potential.

This is a good starting point for anyone interested in working to protect and restore the ecological integrity of their watershed.

Surfers' Point restoration

View Larger Map

November 30, 2007:

The Surfers' Point Working Group met to discuss the project status and schedule.


Project Description:
- Multi-Benefit Project to Relocate/ Remediate Damaged Public Park
- Restoration of Natural Processes/Shore Protection/Water Quality
- Enhance Coastal Access/Recreation/Education

The 70% Design is complete, with Final Design to be completed within 6 weeks (Feb 2008). An updated estimate now places total construction costs at $8.1M. Increases are result of general inflation in construction costs.

A significant portion of the cost is cobble to rebuild and protect the shoreline. A cobble source has been found from a County Flood Control project, but sorting and transportation is costly. A discussion identified approximately $1M in possible cost-cutting measures by leaving abandoned pipes in place, reducing landscaping costs, and limiting grass-pave to high use areas. General consensus was that these should be included in the final plans, although preference was to find full funding.

The coastal consultant is working on beach management plan, including “trigger points” for future renourishment as required by the Coastal Commission. The final MOU with Fairgrounds and City needs ratification.

Funding is going to be the big hurdle for this project. The City of Ventura has a federal transportation grant of $1.5M for the bike path that needs to be used in the next 2 years. Other grant applications have not been successful. The Ocean Protection Council OPC will be meeting in Ventura on February 28, and this will provide an opportunity for field tour of Surfers’ Point as well as Matilija Dam.

More information: www.surferspoint.org

Las Virgenes Creek Restoration

Solving the urban runoff problem:


Undoing the damage caused by concrete "flood control" engineering is no easy task, but the City of Calabasas is doing just that. Driven by a mandate from the Regional Water Quality Control Board to solve an algae problem, and prioritized through watershed and regional planning, this project will provide significant benefits in restoring the natural function of this creek in the Malibu Creek watershed.

The vision for the project is illustrated by the images below. Visit the photo gallery for more.

It is encouraging to see our neighbors in Los Angeles County implementing such a bold vision! Where is the leadership in Ventura County?

Also see story here: venturacountystar.com