Watershed Education And Sustainable Trails
Initiative
The purpose of the Sustainable Trails project, begun
in February, 2004, was to introduce ecologically based
practices of landscape maintenance on public trails
throughout Contra Costa County. Using the short section
of the Iron Horse Corridor between Del Amigo and Love
Lane we piloted a program of weed control that substituted
mulching and growing native plants for a conventional
approach that used herbicides and mowing. Our premise
was that such an approach not only offered numerous
environmental and human health benefits, but would
prove to be more economical for the County.
The concept was simple. We mulched with
wood chips delivered by a local tree service company
on both sides of the paved trail while leaving the soft
trail clear for joggers and cyclists. We removed nonnative
invasive plants, disposed of garbage, encouraged the
growth of existing native plants and planted additional
site-specific California natives.
Why? How we maintain our landscapes
affects the health of streams.
Use of herbicides produces runoff into
the storm drain system which takes untreated water into
the creek system, Polluted water here harms wildlife
from the smallest microorganismas to aquatic invertebrates
and to animals higher up the food chain. The practice
of mowing weeds wastes fuel, produces air and noise
pollution and damages native shrubs and trees.
We believe we can significantly reduce
our impact on the environment while restoring habitat
through restoration projects like this one. A side benefit
of all of this is that we are helping cities meet the
state mandate for substantial waste reduction. Our program
diverts huge amounts of organic waste from landfills
and enhances soils at the same time. We think this is
a WIN-WIN Program. Let us know what you think.
Other LifeGarden Projects
Habitat Gardening Demonstration Site
City Creeks Environmental Education Programs
for Middle School Students. Please download
the
City Creek Ad (pdf file, 1 page)
Watershed Walks with the Walnut Creek
Historical Society
Library featuring books on ecology,
horticulture, gardening, nature, eco-landscaping,
nutrition and other related topics.
Learning to Live in California Outings
Farm Tours and other Special Events for Members
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