By Clare Schumann
For ERA’s first ecological restoration of the new year, we made a trip to the LAX Dunes - which The Bay Foundation states to be “the largest remaining representation of coastal dune community within Southern California”. However, in the past century, the dunes have had more occupants than just plants and animals.
Pictured: Volunteers from The Bay Foundation and ERA at the LAX Dunes
According to Zoe Alexander (in her article on the history of the LAX dunes), in the 1920s, housing developers built lavish, Spanish-styled homes on the dunes overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The mansions that once dominated Playa Del Rey’s dunes resided within a neighborhood called Surfridge at the time. The separation of Surfridge from other houses attracted many film stars and wealthy residents. However, as the airplane industry grew steadily in the 1950s, Surfridge and other neighborhoods near LAX airport began to suffer from effects including loud noise disturbances and air pollution. As a result, starting in 1961 and ending in around 1981, Los Angeles began to prepare for expansion and carried out eminent domain over neighborhoods near airports or under the paths of planes.
This action forced residents of neighborhoods like Surfridge to vacate, causing much controversy and contempt among these residents, many of whom lost money in the process of appraising their old houses and relocating. By the 1980s, Surfridge was closed to public entry and many viewed the empty land as a sad memory of a community that once thrived.
In 1986, the Dunes Restoration Plan was enforced by LAX airport in an effort to restore native species to the land - organisms that shared the area before places like Surfridge existed. One such creature that has benefited from this Restoration Plan is the rare El Segundo Blue Butterfly, which now lives off of vegetation found in the unused land near LAX (more information about the butterfly and other species native to the dunes can be found in our previous LAX Dunes blog post).
Organized by the Bay Foundation, this restoration event at the dunes gave us the opportunity to help get rid of invasive plants in the area before rain encourages their further growth. We focused on getting rid of Broadleaf Filaree (Erodium botrys), an annual plant of the geranium family (Geraniaceae) native to southern Europe, northern Africa, and various islands.
Pictured: Michael removing the invasive Erodium botrys from the sand
Nick Pilaud, The Bay Foundation’s Watershed Programs Field Technician, shared that this plant disperses its seed with a spiral cone that allows the seeds to be launched as far as 10 feet. Thus, it was important for us to collect as much of the Broadleaf Filaree and its spiral components from the dune’s sand to limit its growth in the coming year.
Pictured: Clare holding Erodium botrys and its seed dispersal component
This winter and spring quarter, we will be sure to participate in more restorations at the LAX Dunes and other locations, so be sure to stay tuned into our website and social media accounts to join us in our next picturesque restoration!
Pictured: Members of ERA at the LAX Dunes after some good work removing invasives
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