 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(April 2021) |
| Long Beach Greenbelt | |
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| Location | Belmont Heights, Long Beach, California |
| Coordinates | 33°46′34″N118°8′39″W / 33.77611°N 118.14417°W |
The Long Beach Greenbelt is an open space habitat for California native plants and pathway in Belmont Heights, Long Beach, California. The abandoned railroad right of way was transformed by community activists after it was slated to become a block of self-storage units.
The site served for over half a century as a portion of the Pacific Electric Railway Balboa Line, linking Orange County to downtown Los Angeles. A mural on a garage wall facing the Greenbelt depicts the Red Car. Varying factors caused the closure of the Los Angeles - Long Beach route in 1961; and the site sat mostly vacant until approximately 1999. It was described by an EPA website as "a weed strewn and derelict vacant area". A group of local residents and environmental activists staunchly opposed the conversion of the site to a gated community of single family homes on one portion and self-storage units on another, citing Long Beach's lack of per capita open space land (3.11 acres per 1,000 population).
Uniting as the Long Beach Greenbelt Committee in March 1998, they successfully lobbied to have the entire 11 acres (45,000 m2) of the abandoned Red Car right-of-way remain open space. This preserved an almost 1-mile (1.6 km) pathway from a densely populated portion of the city directly to the park surrounding the Colorado Lagoon. [1] Organizing grants, donations and volunteers the Committee cleared a 2.75-acre (11,100 m2) portion of the site of non-native plants, spread mulch over the entire property by hand and planted over 2000 native plants during 2 "Plant-ins", each attended by over 150 community volunteers. Clearing, site design and planting assistance was provided by Department of Fish and Game botanist John Ekhoff.
Now, almost ten years later, the site is a viable habitat for urban wildlife. Coast live oaks, walnut trees, holly berries, atroplexes, sage, buckwheat, deer weed, and Golden Bushes provide examples of the approximately 40 native plant species on the site. Urban wildlife observed on the site includes raccoons, possums, rabbits, skunks, rodents, grasshoppers, butterflies, moths, and lizards. Birds include large birds of prey to hummingbirds. Tree mulch is spread on the ground to recycle plant matter, suppress weeds, retain moisture, and provide an attractive appearance.
Street parking is generally available on any of the streets surrounding the site, including Bennett, Roswell, Belmont, and Termino Avenues. Local residents access the site by bicycle or foot, often accompanied by their pet dogs. The hard-packed soil along the paths is suitable for bicycle travel when it is dry, although the bumpy terrain is likely not suited for lightweight or road bikes.
In the early 2000s, the property was rezoned as parkland. As with many volunteer efforts, community energy moved on to more immediate and critical environmental issues. The Greenbelt Committee was disbanded, but the City did not continue to maintain the park. Although intended to re-create a native habitat, the site requires maintenance for the sake of safety and meeting community needs in an urban setting. Plant overgrowth, substance abuse activity, trash, and homeless camps contributed to the general decay of the site. Arson fires set on the Greenbelt upset homeowners and ultimately forced the City to hire the Los Cerritos Wetlands Stewards (LCWS), local contractors already maintaining several other of the City's environmentally sensitive sites, including Sims' Pond, Golden Shore, the Colorado Lagoon, and the Los Cerritos Wetlands.
By August 2004, the Greenbelt was in a degraded condition. Under their contract with the City, the LCWS removed trash and trimmed the plants utilizing the biomass as mulch. Many plants were trimmed or removed and the site was landscaped to increase the open feel and safety/visibility factors of the site. A dispenser for dog waste bags was installed, along with trashcans.
In 2009-2011, The Long Beach Greenbelt was the site for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works project known as the "Termino Avenue Storm Drain". The project ran directly through the native plantings on the Greenbelt. All plantings were removed, with the oak trees placed in containers for later replanting. As of May 2012 [update] only the oak trees have been replanted, with the rest of the park consisting of open dirt and weeds.
In 2016, Long Beach Councilwoman Suzie Price, unveiled a new plan for the Greenbelt. As of 2016 [update] , over $800,000 has been set aside for the improvement project. [2]
A mulch is a layer of material applied to the surface of soil. Reasons for applying mulch include conservation of soil moisture, improving fertility and health of the soil, reducing weed growth, and enhancing the visual appeal of the area.
Puckey's Estate Reserve is a coastal nature reserve in North Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is mainly she-oak forest, but also has sand dune and wetland areas, including areas along Para Creek. It is located in the suburb of Fairy Meadow and is bounded by Fairy Meadow Beach to the east, Squires Way to the west, Elliotts Road to the north and Fairy Lagoon to the south.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum is a teaching and research facility of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the site of historic research in ecological restoration. In addition to its 1,260 acres (5 km2) in Madison, Wisconsin, the Arboretum also manages 520 acres (210 ha) of remnant forests and prairies throughout Wisconsin. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2021, in recognition for its role as a pioneer in the field of ecological restoration.
Albany Hill is a prominent hill along the east shore of San Francisco Bay in the city of Albany, California. Geologically, the hill is predominantly Jurassic sandstone, carried to the western edge of North America on the Pacific Plate and scraped off there in the course of subduction. Albany Hill is part of a range of hills uplifted long before today's Berkeley Hills. These hills include Fleming Point and Point Isabel, Brooks Island, the Potrero San Pablo, and the hills across San Pablo Strait.
W. Gordon Belser Arboretum is part of the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina, managed by the Department of Biological Sciences. The arboretum serves as a nature preserve, field laboratory and research site for students and faculty. It is open to the public at a monthly open house. A small botanic garden features shrubs and small trees suitable for Columbia's home landscapes. The remaining landscape features southeast native trees and plant communities and is a certified Palmetto Wildlife Habitat.
A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or livestock. Most noxious weeds have been introduced into an ecosystem by ignorance, mismanagement, or accident. Some noxious weeds are native. Typically they are plants that grow aggressively, multiply quickly without natural controls, and display adverse effects through contact or ingestion. Noxious weeds are a large problem in many parts of the world, greatly affecting areas of agriculture, forest management, nature reserves, parks and other open space.
Colt Creek State Park is a Florida State Park in Central Florida, 16 miles (26 km) north of Lakeland off of State Road 471. This 5,067 acre park nestled within the Green Swamp Wilderness Area and named after one of the tributaries that flows through the property was opened to the public on January 20, 2007. Composed mainly of pine flatwoods, cypress domes and open pasture land, this piece of pristine wilderness is home to many animal species including the American bald eagle, Southern fox squirrel, gopher tortoise, white-tailed deer, wild turkey and bobcat.
A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals. Plants with characteristics that make them hazardous, aesthetically unappealing, difficult to control in managed environments, or otherwise unwanted in farm land, orchards, gardens, lawns, parks, recreational spaces, residential and industrial areas, may all be considered weeds. The concept of weeds is particularly significant in agriculture, where the presence of weeds in fields used to grow crops may cause major losses in yields. Invasive species, plants introduced to an environment where their presence negatively impacts the overall functioning and biodiversity of the ecosystem, may also sometimes be considered weeds.
Glenbrook Lagoon is a fresh water lagoon located in Glenbrook, New South Wales at the foot of the Blue Mountains. It is heritage-listed.
The Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER) is a research center under the Office of Research at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) whose mission is to preserve regional biodiversity and restore ecosystems on campus lands. CCBER has three main functions: curation and preservation of natural history collections, native coastal ecosystem and habitat restoration on campus lands, and education and outreach for both UCSB students and local community schools.
The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County (LCSLO) is a non-profit land trust organization that has been operating in San Luis Obispo County, California since 1984. The LCSLO is dedicated to the voluntary and collaborative preservation and improvement of lands that hold significant scenic, agricultural, habitat, and cultural values. Their work aims to benefit both the local community and wildlife that depends on these lands.
Aiken Canyon Preserve is a 1,621-acre (6.56 km2) Nature Conservancy-managed state property in Colorado. It was first observed and named after Charles Aiken, a 19th-century U.S. surveyor, pioneer, and ornithologist who first surveyed the region in the 1870s and identified more than 75 bird species. The preserve consists of foothills, shrub and woodland ecosystems and is 12.4 miles (20.0 km) southeast from Colorado Springs located on the eastern slope of the Rampart Range which is within a smaller foothill system of the Front Range. The surrounding mountain ranges of the Rampart Range and Palmer Divide created the nature preserves sustainable ecosystem. There is also a four-mile (6 km)-loop hiking trail on the preserve.
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Younger Lagoon Reserve is a 72-acre (28-hectare) University of California Natural Reserve System reserve on the northern shore of Monterey Bay in Santa Cruz County, California. The site is owned by the University of California and managed for teaching and research. It is adjacent to Long Marine Laboratory.
Limeburners Creek National Park is a protected national park on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The 91.2 km national park is located 5 km (3.1 mi) to the north of Port Macquarie and exists across both the Kempsey Shire and Port Macquarie-Hastings Council local government areas, but is chiefly managed by National Parks and Wildlife Service. The area was originally erected as a nature reserve but this reservation was revoked when it became formally recognised as a national park in 2010 under the National Parks and Wildlife Act (1974). Many threatened ecological habitats and species of fauna and flora are found within this park, alongside several heritage sites of cultural significance, particularly to the local Birpai and Dunghutti people upon whose land the park exists. The protected status of this national park is largely owing to the ecological and cultural value of the area, in addition to the value of the ecosystems to further scientific research.
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