Marketplace Marsh is an amazing watery feature of Los Cerritos Wetlands. Check it out for yourself. It’s springtime so there should be water within Marketplace Marsh, as well as lots of interesting plants and animals to learn about along the way. Our tour is led by our partners, biologists and environmental educators from Tidal Influence who will lead participants on a walking tour that will take us to Marketplace Marsh on the City of Long Beach’s wetlands and over to the San Gabriel River on property held by the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority.
During this 2-mile urban hike, you will learn about the history of land acquisitions in Los Cerritos Wetlands, and leaders will show us some freshwater marsh habitats that few people have ever viewed.We will likely come across great blue herons, as well as egrets and other water-loving wildlife. Participants will get a behind-the-scenes look at how wetlands and oil operations co-exist at Los Cerritos Wetlands.
WHAT: Nature walk of the Marketplace Marsh at Los Cerritos Wetlands.
WHEN: Saturday, May 5th, 2018, at 8:00AM. Parking lot gate will open at 7:45AM and close at 8:10AM. No late-comers can be admitted for the tour, and all participants must stay for the entire tour, which will end by 10:00AM.
Close-toed shoes are required to attend the walk, and kids under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
For more information or to rsvp, email elizabeth@lcwlandtrust.org.
The City Council voted to ban most polystyrene products within the City of Long Beach. Polystyrene is most frequently found in take-out containers or thick styrofoam drink cups. It breaks down into super small pieces that fragile species can mistake for food, lasts a really long time, and clutters up our local beaches and wetlands. A study authored by Algalita Marine Research and Education found roughly 4 million bits of styrofoam in just a 2 mile stretch of Long Beach coastline. Polystyrene is a threat to Los Cerritos Wetlands, which is why we voted to endorse the ban and sent in this letter of support to help eliminate this undeniably harmful product.
Three cheers for our allies: Surfrider Foundation-Long Beach Chapter, The Sierra Club, Algalita Marine Research, Don’t Waste Long Beach, and other environmental groups, who worked so hard to bring this issue to the City Council and advocate for it passage.
Three cheers for the City Council who, after a lively and in-depth discussion, voted unanimously to finalize the ban on polystyrene within the City of Long Beach, with extra protections for helping small businesses make the transition to an ocean friendly, foam-free way of working. And extra loud cheers for the three City Council sponsors of the measure, Lena Gonzales, Jeannine Pearce and Roberto Uranga.
Here’s to a cleaner, safer future for our children, our children’s children and the fragile blue planet that we call home.
Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust is a formal endorser of Proposition 68, the California Clean Water and Safe Parks Act. In endorsing we join other local wetlands protection groups like the Bolsa Chica Land Trust and Banning Ranch Conservancy as well as impressive statewide and national environmental protection organizations like the Sierra Club and Audubon Society.
We support Proposition 68 because of the myriad of good things it will do for California open space and our local wetlands.
California faces growing challenges to our water supplies and natural resources due to a changing climate that has put us and our environment in jeopardy as we face increasingly intense wildfires, droughts, and floods. But there is much that we can do to prepare California’s natural resources, and local wetlands, for the future. Now is the time to invest in clean water, safe parks and natural areas, to protect our economy and public health, and to safeguard California’s unique resources for the next generation.
Prop 68 will help California deal with droughts and wildfires that could become more frequent and severe. It takes a smart, efficient approach, recycling more water locally, and making local water systems more effective with proven cost-saving solutions.
Prop 68 will also keep toxic pollutants out of our water supplies, clean up groundwater, and protect land around the rivers, lakes, and streams that are the sources of our drinking water.
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- $540 million to ensuring safe drinking water
- $180 million to increase water supplies with groundwater cleanup and water recycling
- $550 million to protect local communities from flooding
- $367 million to protect and restore our rivers, lakes, and streams
We encourage you to learn more about this comprehensive and meaningful investment in California’s natural resources and join us in voting for Proposition 68.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, we hope the City Council will finalize a ban on most polystyrene products within the City of Long Beach. Polystyrene is most frequently found in take-out containers or thick styrofoam drink cups. It breaks down into super small pieces that fragile species can mistake as food, lasts a really long time, and clutters up our local beaches and wetlands.
A study authored by Algalita Marine Research and Education found roughly 4 million bits of styrofoam in just a 2 mile stretch of Long Beach coastline. Polystyrene is a threat to Los Cerritos Wetlands, which is why we voted to endorse the ban and send in this letter of support to help eliminate this undeniably harmful product.
Therefore we hope you will join us and our allies: Surfrider Foundation – Long Beach Chapter, The Sierra Club, Algalita Marine Research, Don’t Waste Long Beach, and other environmental groups, in support of the Long Beach City Council’s vote on the drafted ordinance.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
1. Sign Up to ATTEND City Council’s April 17th Meeting
2. Wear Green Shirts to show your support at the City Council meeting
3. Call or Email your Councilmember about your support for the item.
For more information, contact Cory Allen at 562-570-6919 or cory.allen@longbeach.gov
Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) is hosting its seventh annual Green Generation Mixer and Sustainability Project Showcase as part of Earth Week on April 19th at Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden.
RSVP via Eventbrite
It will be a fun and a fascinating event where you can check out interesting projects, created by students and faculty, that explore a wide variety of sustainability topics and solutions such as solar energy, research related to public policy or business issues, and artwork.
According to CSULB’s sustainability coordinator, The Green Generation Mixer is unique because it highlights academic projects from so many different and seemingly unrelated disciplines. The unifying theme is “sustainability,” both concepts and solutions, and will feature more than 50 sustainability-related student projects from departments and student organizations such as those pertaining to geography, food science, fine art and fashion merchandising.
We are excited to be a part of the event along with our fellow local community organizations and green businesses.
The event will also include a performance of Global Water Dances by Vannia Ibarguen Dance Arts, as well as live entertainment and sustainable food and beverages.
The Green Generation Mixer will be held from 4:00PM to 7:00PM. The event is free and open to the public. RSVP via Eventbrite. Paid parking is required, which is available in Lot 16, adjacent lots, or in student spaces by purchasing a permit from one of the gray permit machines in the parking lots.
Sierra Club founder John Muir famously said, “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.”
Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, “It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one destiny, affects all indirectly.”
That link between economic justice and social justice is one we agree with, which is one of the reasons we are proud supporters of the “Don’t Waste Long Beach” campaign. After all, waste that is diverted before it reaches the landfill is not only good for human needs, but also for the environment because it means less waste that can drift into local waterways and wetlands.
Being a part of the “Don’t Waste Long Beach Coalition” means we have made some new friends and allies, and we are eager to learn more and do more about this important issue.
A great way to learn more is to attend the “Don’t Waste Long Beach” event honoring
Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy as a human rights advocate but also as someone who saw the need to advocate for environmental justice. Details are below and we hope to see you there!
Cassandra Davis of the Aquarium of the Pacific’s Sea Turtle Monitoring Project will be our keynote speaker. Photo: Aquarium of the Pacific
The Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust is pleased to invite you to a special community presentation on Tuesday evening, March 27th, featuring candidates for Long Beach’s 3rd Council District, as well as candidates for our own Board of Directors, and a special presentation about the Aquarium of the Pacific’s Citizens Sea Turtle Monitoring Project.
Our annual member meeting will begin with brief statements from 3rd District council candidates Gordana Kajer, Suzie Price, and Rob Savin, followed by our featured speaker, Cassandra Davis, who manages the Citizens Sea Turtle Monitoring Project for the Aquarium of the Pacific.
Did you know that the San Gabriel river is the northernmost known home to these unusual creatures? Working with governmental and non-profit partners, the Aquarium of the Pacific is learning more about this population of green sea turtles.
Citizen scientists with the Aquarium of the Pacific collect data on the sea turtles through monitoring and observation. The data collected is recorded and used to understand better how the sea turtles live and thrive in the San Gabriel River.
This data helps with tracking, protection, and monitoring efforts for this compelling species.
In addition to this presentation, we will also be using this occasion to conduct our Annual Board of Directors election, with four of our sitting directors seeking renewed terms. Before the featured presentation, all our Board candidates will take a moment to speak with us about their continuing commitment to Los Cerritos Wetlands, and members eligible to vote can cast ballots.
We hope you will join us for this occasion.
WHAT: Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust Board of Directors Election and Annual Meeting
WHEN: Tuesday, March 27 at 7:00pm
WHERE: Kettering Elementary Auditorium, 550 Silvera Ave, Long Beach, CA 90803
For more information or to RSVP for the meeting, email elizabeth@lcwlandtrust.org
The Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority (LCWA) will host the first public workshop for the next phase of restoration planning for Los Cerritos Wetlands at 6: 00pm on March 28 at the Mary Wilson Library in Seal Beach.
This workshop will build on the previous work completed for the Conceptual Restoration Plan and will culminate in a Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
This Program EIR is the next step in the LCWA’s efforts to provide a comprehensive restoration framework for the Los Cerritos Wetlands. Past work completed by the LCWA includes identification of existing opportunities and constraints for restoration, public access and interpretation, and the Los Cerritos Wetlands Conceptual Restoration Plan (LCW CRP). The Final LCW CRP was adopted by the LCWA Board of Directors in August 2015.
Using information contained in the Final LCW CRP, this current exercise will design an optimized restoration design for the entire Los Cerritos Wetlands complex. This alternative will be studied, and potential impacts analyzed in the Program EIR.
What: Public Workshop for Los Cerritos Wetlands Restoration Plan
Where: Mary Wilson Library – 707 Electric Ave, Seal Beach, CA 90740
When: Wednesday, March 28, 6:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Attend this workshop to learn and share your knowledge about this exciting process toward restoring the Los Cerritos Wetlands. This workshop is about wetlands and community, so be sure to invite your friends and neighbors.
Beginning at 6 p.m., the LCWA’s consulting team, spearheaded by Environmental Science Associates (ESA), will lead the public through a workshop intended to provide a refresher of previous efforts and an overview of the steps ahead.
The Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority is a joint powers authority composed of the City of Seal Beach, the City of Long Beach, the State Coastal Conservancy and the Lower Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers and Mountains Conservancy. The ESA consulting team is composed of Altman Environmental Consulting and Coastal Restoration Consultants.
Winter is on it’s way out and spring is on it’s way in. It’s a great time to get out and enjoy the outdoors. Join us and our partners, biologists and environmental educators from the environmental consulting firm Tidal Influence, on a wonderful hike at Los Cerritos Wetlands on Saturday, April 7th
Our walk will begin with a brief orientation to our wetlands. We will stroll through heritage coastal sage scrub and historic dredge spoils, while looking for raptors (birds of prey) and a number of other species that nest in the area. As we pass the salt flats, we may see tiger beetles and coyote tracks before hiking up to the Heron Pointe Cultural trail to discuss how tidal circulation shapes our local wetlands.
We will complete our walk by heading back along the access to the parking. Bring binoculars, if you have them; we will observe many different kinds of interesting wildlife.
WHAT: Raptor Ramble on the Hellman Portion of Los Cerritos Wetlands.
WHEN: Saturday, April 7th, 2018, at 8: 00 am sharp! Parking lot gate will open at 7: 45 am and close at 8: 10 am. No late-comers can be admitted for the tour, and all participants must stay for the entire tour, which will end by 10: 00 am.
WHERE: Meet in the driveway/parking area at the corner of 1st Street and PCH inSeal Beach
Close-toed shoes required and kids under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
For more information or to RSVP for the meeting, email elizabeth@lcwlandtrust.org
A man wades into Ballona Lagoon, Los Angeles, California, circa 1902 Pierce Photography Collection, USC Libraries
It’s quite something to view these historic photos of Los Angeles wetlands.
Early Los Angeles wetlands provided a vast expanse of critical habitat, now lost forever because coastal Southern California grew and developed in the early 20th century as a place to live. All of this development happened many years before the public and our leaders realized the value of wetlands and the need to protect them. I’m happy to say that the tide seems to be turning and here locally, the shift towards supporting, protecting and restoring Los Cerritos Wetlands has truly been remarkable. We couldn’t do it without you, and for that we say “thank you”!
We encourage you to check out the Los Cerritos Wetlands on one of our monthly nature walks(always the first Saturday of the month) or join a wetlands restoration or trash clean-up event.
Details about these activities, and more, can be found here.
Perhaps the restoration of our local wetlands isn’t happening as fast as we would like but it is happening, and some day Los Cerritos Wetlands will be a fully restored and high functioning wetlands complex that will serve as a great resource for the community and fragile species alike.
We know we can’t bring back most the historic wetlands of Los Angeles County but we can help make those that remain robust and viable, not only for ourselves but also for future generations to enjoy.
