A Wild and Lively Keep It Wild Event

This month’s Keep It Wild volunteer day, co-hosted by Laguna Canyon Foundation and OC Parks, must have broken a record for attendance with 62 volunteers participating! In fact, we had so many participants that we had to divide the event into two projects to maximize the effectiveness of our generous labor force.

One group of 23 volunteers helped break up and reseed an old, unauthorized trail in the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park. This was arduous, challenging work, but everyone rose to the occasion. All of the volunteers carried tools or 6-foot wattles up this steep canyon trail. One crew dug up 1300 feet of trail using only picks. Once the packed soil was loosened, other crews raked, seeded, and tamped the seeds into the soil. With a little rain, this old trail will transform into wildlife-friendly chaparral habitat.

Our other group of 38 volunteers worked on restoring part of large meadow in Laguna Canyon that has been heavily invaded by non-native grasses and other weeds. Volunteers removed weeds including mustard, hemlock, thistle, and cheeseweed. They also planted several oak trees. In the near future, we hope this weedy meadow will return to the mixture of oak woodland and coastal sage scrub habitat that existed there prior to disturbances such as cattle grazing.

This was a great demonstration of the positive collaboration between LCF and O.C. Parks. Altogether four OC Parks staff, three LCF staff, and four LCF volunteers helped to coordinate and manage these activities. We look forward to many more opportunities to work alongside community members in restoring our beautiful canyon habitats. Thank you to EVERYONE who came out and joined us!