After a 2 year hiatus from having in-person events in Ballona Discovery Park, Friends of Ballona Wetlands held their 6th annual Migration Celebration in the Park and Freshwater Marsh, on Saturday, May 21, with CURes staff tabling the event with information about our projects – especially Coyotes!
Close to 700 people came through the Park to learn about and purchase native plants, look at critters under microscopes and in a portable marine tide pool, go bird watching, participate in face-painting, watch a marionette show, better understand biodiversity and habitat loss while learning how to use Tongva rattles and razzes under the expert direction of Tongva Elder Robert Dorame and Family.
Robert also donated a beautiful coyote skin to Dr. Strauss to be used for educational purposes. The pelt was a big hit at the CURes table, where folks asked about all of the CURes projects: Ballona Discovery Park medicinal and native plants, tree canopy work throughout Southern California, Restorative Justice workshops, coyote and hummingbird studies, and our deepening relationship with the indigenous people who historically have called Ballona their home. Our Center strives to reconnect those ties through storytelling in the Park and the Wetlands during educational tours for students and visitors alike.
LMU students also showcased their research in the Ballona Wetlands at the event, and we were delighted to be part of the celebration of their accomplishments.
Thanks to the ongoing partnership of the Park’s project partners, Friends of Ballona Wetlands, LMU, and the community of Playa Vista, the rich history of the Ballona Wetlands is revealed and celebrated in the Park, now going on its eleventh year of providing educational projects and research opportunities to the community.
