Lessons Open Other Senses to Trails’ Wonders

We protect what we love. We love what we know. And we know what we are taught.

That was the theme at Tuesday’s dedication of two new trails that are part of the first phase of the Ventura River Estuary Enhancement Project.

And that’s why, after a blessing by Kote and A-Lul-Koy Lotah, ceremonial leaders of the Owl Clan of the Chumash Nation--this area’s first inhabitants--the nearly 50 people attending the project’s unveiling split into two groups for separate environmental lessons along the Ocean’s Edge and River’s Edge trails.

And what lessons they were.

About 20 people spanning three generations and wearing everything from two-piece suits to hiking boots put on blindfolds, held on to a rope and were led down the trail by Wes Chapin, a state parks interpretive specialist.

“Begin to let your other senses become awake and you’ll get a sense of how special this place is,” Chapin said.

Special indeed. Members of the blindfolded group got to smell the plants, touch the fine silt on the ground and hear the rustle of the leaves. They also heard the destructive sounds of storms and floods that periodically run through the area, which Chapin played through a boom box.

“The vegetation here is adapted to this destructive life cycle,” Chapin said. “Life blooms here after it comes under stress.”

After the blindfolds came off, Chapin told his captive audience about the estuary’s diverse food chain and about Arundo donax--the weed from hell.

“This is one of the main reasons volunteers have been breaking their backs,” Chapin said. “It’s like an uninvited guest that doesn’t want to leave.”

One of the main objectives of this phase of the restoration project involved removing eight acres of nonnative plants from the estuary.

“Only a strong ecosystem can defeat the arundo,” Chapin said.

Future phases of the project will include additional replanting of native plants and further restoration of the wetland habitat.

For many of the activists and members of the three agencies involved in the $750,000 restoration project--the city of Ventura, the California Department of Parks and Recreation and the Coastal Commission--Tuesday’s event was the culmination of years of efforts.

“This is where I got started working on environmental causes more than 20 years ago,” said Yvon Chouinard, whose outdoor apparel company, Patagonia, has sponsored many environmental campaigns. “Back then, the government agencies were calling it a dead river. This is a really good beginning.”