Ten years ago the City of Baldwin Park purchased five acres of land from the local school district with the idea that this parcel of land would be designed to represent the natural environment of the area. The park took seven years to complete and was the product of a cooperative effort involving the city, the California Conservation Corps, the City of Baldwin Parks Maintenance Division, Lawerance Moss, ASLA, site planner/ Landscape Architect and Booth Goody, architect. Also involved in the project was the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens and their research teams who were instrumental in bringing this concept together.

Designed as a nature park, these five acres of inner-city land were landscaped with native plant materials, indigenous to the Los Angeles basin, San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains and outlying areas. The result is an excellent example of working with the environment to provide inner-city space that is at once an educational area emphasizing the natural environment, a picnic space for s the family and nearby businesses and an exercise area that blends with the; natural surroundings.

Visitors can take a leisurely walk along the nature trail where the plants are identified, or they can test themselves on the physical conditioning course. The conditioning course consists of several “exercise stations” and progress can be tracked through standard measures provided at the station.

There are shaded picnic areas with barbeques, a children’s play area and a shelter facility with restrooms. The shelter facility will also eventually house a nature center. In the future, the Baldwin Park Recreation Division anticipates providing guided group tours of the nature area and overnight camping, by reservation.

Walnut Creek Nature Park is a tribute to the city of Baldwin Park. Funding for the
Walnut Creek Nature Park was made available through grants from the State Department of Parks and Recreation. Construction labor was provided by the California Conservation Corps and the City of Baldwin Park Maintenance Division. Larry Moss, ASLA provided the site plans and planting list for the park. A great deal of the planting material was contract grown as much of it is not available nursery stock. James Dart, Maintenance Superintendent for the city was primarily in charge of overseeing the installation of the park and his rigid standards ensured the success of the e project.

The park features four different native environments found in Southern California. The mountain forest, the chaparral, the riparian habitat and the oak woodlands.

Mountain Forest

The mountain forest consists mainly of coniferous trees and various scattered shrubs. In the natural environment, the mountain forest starts appearing at an elevation of about 4,000 feet. Plants growing in this community need the cool temperatures and moisture the mountains provide. A number of trees chosen for the park are from local mountain areas that are not as badly affected by the smog. These include the Incense Cedar, Coulter Pine and the Big Cone Spruce. In addition to local coniferous trees, there is also a collection of Mediterranean and South American pines grown in Mexico that are smog tolerant. This was the only plant material used in the park that was not native to Southern California. The pines used were thought to be more tolerant to the local elevation and conditions encountered in Baldwin Park. Many pine trees, especially the Ponderosa Pine, are dying in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains because of air pollution. As the pollution continues to increase and climbs higher into the mountains, more and more native trees will die. Varieties of smog-resistant trees are often replanted by the Forestry Service, but until the air in the Los Angeles basin is cleaned up, the survival of the native trees is in jeoporady.

Chaparral

Often appearing to be one large mass of the same plant, a hillside of chaparral is in reality composed of a variety of different plants growing close together. When conditions become over-crowded, the old plants or brush and the younger plants fight for space. The living plant material is filled with combustible oil which ignites when there is no more room for growth, resulting in a brushfire. If not interfered with by man, the chaparral community would naturally burn every ten to forty years. After a fire, the roots of many plants are still alive and new growth springs up from the burned stumps. There plants that drop seeds around them and actually need the heat of the fire (with temperatures to 1,200 degrees in order to open the seeds, germinate and start new life.

Because much of this plant material is found only in the natural environment, much of it had to be contract grown. The Landscape Architect’s plant list was filled over the seven-year time frame of the job, as it became available. The advantage of this is that upon opening the park, a great deal of the plant material had established itself and was flourishing.

The Riparian Community

Cool shade, gurgling streams and lush vegetation are the main attractions of the riparian community which is found along the bottom of the canyons through the high mountains. The runoff water, along 79 with natural springs, provides many canyons with year-round streams. Even if there are no visible signs of surface water, underground water is usually available.

Because of the water, shade and rich soil found on the canyon floors, many lush plants grow in these raparian communities. Groves of sycamores, alders, cottonwoods and other tall trees provide dense shade for smaller plants, such as ferns, mosses, wild irises and so on. In the fall, these canyons turn yellow and gold, providing Southern California with a full array of the season’s changing colors.

The riparian community has far more animal life within its boundaries than any other community represented at Walnut Creek Nature Park and as the park’s riparian community continues to grow, it will become more like a “typical” canyon. The animals, birds and insects will adopt the park as their new home. Trees will eventually shade the entire canyon, providing a cool refuge for people and animals alike on hot summer days.

Oak Woodland

The oak woodland community is what many people believe is the “typical” California setting. Rolling hills, massive oak trees, fresh new grass, green in the spring turning to gold in summer?EUR??,,????'??+all are scenes from the oak woodlands. Oak woodlands are found throughout California. The community most common in the San Gabriel Valley area is called the southern oak woodlands. It is found along the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and in the hills bordering the valleys to the east and the south.

The Walnut Creek Nature Park is an excellent example of man working with the natural environment to create a viable alternative to the standard park setting. This park allows local residents?EUR??,,????'??+who might not otherwise have an opportunity to view their natural environment?EUR??,,????'??+the chance to learn about their surroundings.

Congratulations to the City of Baldwin Park, Larry Moss, Landscape Architect and all others involved in the development of this park.

The Landscape of the Month is produced by LASN and sponsored by Nightscaping who donates $50.00 to the Landscape Architectural Foundation (LAF) for each feature. Please contact LASN editorial staff before submitting materials for consideration.