From Lot to Spot

If there is one valuable thing I learned in our struggle in Hawthorne (well I actually learned about 101 valuable things) was that my community was part of this thing called the Dominguez Watershed. The Dominguez què? The Dominguez Watershed! I learned about this awesome watershed that was home to little hidden creeks, marshes and channels. I learned that there were people living in the area who could still remember playing in features of old streambeds! And I thought how cool, how come I have never heard of this watershed?

And then I learned that absolutely nothing was going on in the Dominguez Watershed. few resources, no funding, no awareness. Now, this may upset some as one can reference the Gardena Willows and the Madrona Marsh in Torrance as wonderful examples of multi-benefit watershed projects .

But in comparison to the other three highly urbanized watersheds in Los Angeles County (Los Angeles River, Ballona Creek and the San Gabriel River) the Dominguez Watershed has fallen short in activities, projects, expenditures and overall awareness.

Why? Why has the Dominguez Watershed been largely ignored?

Is it that there is no need for watershed management or urban stream renewal in these areas? Are the Cities of Inglewood, Gardena, Hawthorne, Lawndale and communities in Lennox, Wilmington and Harbor City affluent communities in no need of watershed renewal, open space and opportunities for recreation?

I think we all know that answer.
So I beg the question simply, why?

I surely do not have the answer and I do not know if anyone can answer this question.

What can be answered is this call to remedy this problem; to bring awareness and resources to the communities in the Dominguez Watershed.

I introduce you to: the Friends/Amigos of the Dominguez Watershed!

I am so happy to meet like-minded individuals who asked the same questions about the Dominguez Watershed but who also share a passion for action-oriented solutions for urban renewal and restoration. We are setting up a website to be your one-stop shop for all things Dominguez Watershed. Stay tuned as it develops.

I invite you over the coming months to learn more about the Dominguez Watershed, its rich history and the multitude of opportunities that lie hidden in this gem of a place.

I personally want to thank all my homies in water who schooled me on watershed issues over the last year. Shout outs to Miguel Luna, the homegirl Jessica Hall and Mr. Alex Kenefick!

I look forward to starting this exploratory journey along with you!

Students from the Spaces of Blight (SOB) course at Environmental Charter High School (ECHS) voted to revitalize a space that was neglected and left for debris collection over the years. The space is a swale located at the edge of the campus, located on 163rd Street in the City of Lawndale. In addition to this space, the students have been working with the City in order to plant trees in abandoned tree wells adjacent to the swale that will compliment the riparian habitat they are proposing. See pictures below.
Students are currently assembled into five teams:

Community Team
Design Team
Finance Team
Green Ambassador Team
Maintenance Team

Each team is responsible for creating a plan for their respective duties in order to complete the project.
The Design Team is currently working on conceptual design. We would like to thank Robert R. Coffee, Architect & Associates for their generous support in proving design guidelines.

We look forward to starting the physical transformation this month with a completion scheduled for January 2009.

As part of the Spaces of Blight project, students were assigned to identify 3 spaces of blight , or SOBs, in their communities. Needless to say, they were not hard to find and some students went beyond the minimum requirements. Inner city-students often traverse these types of spaces while on their way to school or home. This is not an environment that is conducive to learning, to growing or even a healthy quality of life. We teach students that in order to change this reality, they must be part of the solution.

The following map documents the students SOBs in their communities. Students documented SOB's from the neighborhoods in South LA to Gardena to Wilmington.
Click on placemarks to see pictures and descriptions of SOBs in their communities. (Note: you may need to zoom out to view all placemarks)

Based on criteria they have identified , students will vote on one space to revitalize and create a space of light or "SOL".
Stayed tuned for voting results in early November!

**Note: Because not all students own digital cameras, only some placemarks have photos.

View Larger Map

Thank you to Kiralee Hayashi for taking the time to document this event and create this wonderful video!
On September 19, 2008 students from Environmental Charter High School in FLTS Spaces of Blight Project transformed an ordinary parking space into a park! Thank you to ParkingDay LA advocates and leaders!

Music Featured:
Feed the Tree
by Belly

"Greenspace activists congregate to fight ... a parking problem"
From the September 20, 2008 Daily Breeze. Click on the following link to read the full story.

http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_10514457?IADID=Search-www.dailybreeze.com-...