2021 Highlights and A Look Ahead at 2022

All of us at South Bay Parkland Conservancy are excited to review our highlights from last year and our goals for 2022 to demonstrate the good YOUR donations have done to date and where they will be going this coming year. The Board has been working hard at channeling our time and energy into a few key projects. We are thrilled to have such a strong group of volunteers to help us accomplish all these projects. If you would like to get more involved or have a project idea please reach out to us: info@southbayparks.org.

2021 Highlights:

- Wilderness Park – SBPC is in its fourth year of rewilding Wilderness Park. This year we completed the Coastal Dune area at the southwest corner of the park. With your help, we expanded the habitat area around the second peak in the park with about ¾ of the area rewilded. We also expanded and filled in areas around the former Lower Pond.  The numbers are impressive:

  • Nearly 3000 native plants planted

  • Planted 30 oak and sycamore trees

  • More than 500 volunteers

  • More than 1200 volunteer hours

SBPC’s efforts are beginning to bear fruit. Last year we spotted the first Western bluebird in the restored meadow area. Volunteers installed bluebird houses hoping to encourage nesting pairs and we were successful! There were at least three broods of Western bluebirds identified in the park and some volunteers were lucky enough to observe a Cooper’s hawk perched in a tree above us while we were working on the dune! SBPC is observing many more birds and a larger variety of species of birds, especially during first light and at the end of the day.

The City of Redondo Beach funded most of the new plants in Wilderness Park, and we are grateful for their partnership. This year, the Redondo Beach City Council set aside funding to restore the Lower Pond and improve the Upper Pond. This is very exciting news!  SBPC will be working with the City to ensure a more natural water feature that will integrate with the native habitat we are expanding. With a change in the Director of Recreation and Parks position, the City wanted to establish a formal partnership with SBPC. We recently signed our first formal MOU with the City.

- Esplanade Bluff Garden – SBPC established a joint project with the County of Los Angeles to design, install, and maintain a native plant demonstration garden at the north end of the Esplanade bluff, supported by YOU, our supporters. With formal agreements signed, we began work in May and completed the first phase by mid-June. We installed the County-approved sign in November followed by a Fall planting later that month. Moving forward, we will be going into maintenance mode to ensure the plants continue to thrive.         

SBPC already observed well over 1000 Monarch caterpillars this past summer in the Esplanade Bluff Garden. The garden attracts an amazing array of bees, moths, and butterflies which in turn have attracted lizards and birds. We hope the garden is soon home to the El Segundo blue butterfly, and we look forward to using this garden as a base from which to expand bluff restoration to the south.

- North Redondo Bike Path/ Right of Way Clean Up – SBPC supported the cleanup efforts organized by North Redondo resident Jeff Rowe. We are stepping into a partnership role to help promote and provide more volunteer support.

- Redondo Beach Community Garden – SBPC joined forces with the Redondo Beach Community Garden Committee to initiate the first community garden in Redondo Beach, which will serve as a model for a additional gardens in the future. Our achievements to date include:

  • Attained formal approval from the Redondo Beach City Council to develop the community garden

  • Negotiated an agreement to locate the first community garden in Alta Vista Park

  • Developed detailed plans and budget information for the Alta Vista location

  • Successfully advocated to the City for a budget allocation to support the construction of the community garden

  • Negotiated a draft license agreement and operating procedures for the Alta Vista garden location

  • Grants and donations to seed the start-up once we get final approval

Once the draft agreement with the City is finalized and the City is ready to go, SBPC will begin work to establish this long-overdue community garden. We would be remiss not to recognize the key members of the Community Garden Committee who have helped get us where we are today:  Brianna Egan, Mara Lang, Barbara Epstein, Eileen Kallish, Menya Cole, Stephanie Holst, Nick Jones, Steve Takemoto, and Angela Klipp.

- Beach Life Festival Booth – We were honored to be invited to host a booth at the recent Beach Life Festival. This was a fun event and provided vital outreach to the community. 

 

2022 Forecast 
2022 is shaping up to be SBPC’s biggest year ever. Here is a quick listing of some of the exciting activities we forecast for the upcoming year:

  • Continue work in Wilderness Park, including the new Lower Pond

  • Build the Community Garden at Alta Vista Park and lay the groundwork for a North Redondo community garden

  • Partner with US Fish and Wildlife Service and LA Conservation Corps to expand the Esplanade Bluff native habitat restoration north of Avenue I and maintain the restored areas to the south

  • Partner with LA County and El Camino College to lead the expansion of the native habitat on Alondra Park island

  • Partner with Keep the Esplanade Beautiful to add native plants from the Esplanade “bulb outs” and east into Riviera Village

  • Solidify and execute native habitat restoration along the Green Belt in Hermosa and Manhattan Beach

  • Solidify and execute native habitat restoration projects in Manhattan Beach – potentially Sand Dune park and the El Porto parkette along with other candidate projects

  • Support a new native habitat restoration park under the power lines next to the AES Power Plant. We call it Herondo Park, for now, a concept we pitched to the City and Southern California Edison in 2005. Last year we assisted the City in preparing a winning planning grant for this site and the AES property. SBPC spotted the Western burrowing owl, a species of special concern, on this site.

As you can see, SBPC is building momentum. We could not do it without you and we look forward to an amazing year!

South Bay Parkland Conservancy