Transforming Elings Park | One Year Later

In the fall of 2023, the Garden started a habitat creation, experimental science, and community-building project on the mesa at Elings Park, a collective effort only made possible with the help of volunteers and Channel Islands Restoration. Now, with a year of effort and growth behind us, we wanted to share some early findings and hopefully leave you inspired to get involved and join us on the Mesa.

Worth the Visit

If you haven’t been there recently, I encourage you to plan your next visit! The Garden’s experimental one-acre plot at Elings Park is looking really good. Even after the summer’s heat spells, the plants are looking vibrant, and many were still flowering just a few weeks back – including California fuchsia (Epilobium canum), California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), and gumplant (Grindelia camporum), and bladderpod (Peritoma arborea). It’s also exciting to share that many interesting birds have been sighted using the restoration site, including horned larks, vesper sparrows, loggerhead shrikes, American kestrels, sage thrashers, and even rare burrowing owls. A more formal bird monitoring session will happen in the spring, so stay tuned.

In the first few weeks of November 2024, the Garden is beginning a sampling of soil invertebrates. Soil from the site was collected and placed in a contraption called a Berlese funnel, shown in the photo below. This “funnel” uses heat lamps to encourage the bugs to move down and away from the warmth into a collection chamber. This process will allow us to study all the beetles, ants, springtails, mites, and more in our lab to learn more about the soil’s health. Isn’t science fun?

Ready to Get Involved?

To keep this area looking great, we need your help! We’re also planning to add more native plants to this plot. So, if you’re ready to get involved, this is a great time to connect with us. We’ll consistently host volunteer days through spring on the second Saturday and third Thursday of each month. Shifts are from 9 a.m. to noon or 1 to 3 p.m.

Whether you’re a new volunteer or already a seasoned pro, everyone is welcome. To access a full calendar of dates, visit the Garden’s calendar of events.

There will be plenty of work for us to accomplish together – from tackling the invasive bindweed that wants to strangle our native plants to adding fresh mulch to the plots. We also have a few lower-impact activities where we could use help, too! With many park visitors passing by as we work, we need help greeting everyone and sharing more about this transformation project so we can continue to grow our community of native plant lovers! We’re also always looking for help keeping our volunteers hydrated or even taking a few pictures!

Explore Elings Park’s Ecosystem With Us

Beyond caring for our transformation site, there are also opportunities for you to join us on one of our monthly Nature Walks led by Garden scientists and staff. To learn more about our walks through the park, please visit the Garden’s calendar of events here. This page will continue to be updated as new walks get scheduled, so be sure to check back.

Follow the link below to learn more about the Garden’s work to restore habitat across California’s central coast, including our science-based Landscape Transformation work at Elings Park, Alice Keck Park, and in the Cuyama Valley.