Elings Park “Nature Walk” Led by SB Botanic Garden

The public is invited to enjoy a series of eight free Nature Walks to explore the biodiversity of the 230-acre Elings Park as part of a new collaboration between the Park and Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. Each hike has a different natural history focus, such as plants, pollinators, or birds, and are led by Garden experts.

The first event, held Thursday, May 11 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, is a “Bioblitz” of the Park led by Denise Knapp, Ph.D., the Garden’s director of conservation and research, and Annie Ayers, herbarium technician. After a brief tutorial, participants use the iNaturalist app on smartphones to record the pollinators, birds, bugs, plants, and more that they discover on the walk. No reservations are required. Meet at the parking lot adjacent to the park administration building. Participants should download and log in to iNaturalist (www.inaturalist.org) before the walk.

The data gathered on this walk will be used as part of a larger collaborative effort between the two partners and the public to transform a section of the Park from invasive to native plants and document the effects. Future walks are scheduled, once a month, through the end of 2023. For more information, visit www.SBBotanicGarden.org/calendar.

Elings Park opened in 1985 as the result of a community campaign to turn the former landfill into a public park. First encompassing 90 acres, the Park expanded to 230 acres in 1994 with the purchase of an adjacent property. Approximately 75% of the Park is undeveloped. Nine miles of trails traverse shady oak groves and sunny, ocean-facing hillsides covered with chaparral. Nonnative plants, which have encroached on the natural landscapes, have been the target of the Park’s recent efforts at habitat restoration. Over the past two years, more than 250 California native oaks have been planted, plus hundreds of native grasses and shrubs. For the past three springs, a flock of sheep have been brought in for eco-friendly weed removal and fire prevention. 

FUTURE NATURE WALKS

Saturday, June 24, 9 to 10 a.m. – Elings Park and its Plants, led by Denise Knapp, Ph.D., the Garden’s Director of Conservation and Research, and Annie Ayers, Herbarium Technician

Saturday, July 15, 9 to 10 a.m. – Pollinators, led by Sarah Cusser, Ph.D., the Garden’s Terrestrial Invertebrate Conservation Ecologist, and Kylie Etter, Conservation Technician

Saturday, August 19, 9 to 10 a.m. – Invasive Plants, led by Denise Knapp, Ph.D., the Garden’s Director of Conservation and Research, and Jorge Renteria Bustamante, Ph.D., Applied Ecologist

Saturday, September 16, 9 to 10 a.m. – Pollinators, led by Sarah Cusser, Ph.D., the Garden’s Terrestrial Invertebrate Conservation Ecologist, and Kylie Etter, Conservation Technician.

Saturday, October 21, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. – Birds, led by Scot Pipkin, the Garden’s Director of Education, and Zach Philips, Ph.D., Terrestrial Invertebrate Conservation Ecologist

Saturday, November 18, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. – Plants and Bugs, led by Zach Philips, Ph.D., the Garden’s Terrestrial Invertebrate Conservation Ecologist, and José Flores, Conservation Technician

Saturday, December 16, 9 to 10 a.m. – Birds, led by Scot Pipkin, the Garden’s Director of Education, and Zach Philips, Ph.D., Terrestrial Invertebrate Conservation Ecologist