By Conor McElyea, The Conservation Alliance
The Conservation Alliance hosted their second Backyard Collective Event of 2024 at Harmon Canyon Preserve with grantee Ventura Land Trust. Harmon Canyon is the largest publicly accessible nature preserve in the City of Ventura, protecting over 2,100 acres of the imperiled coastal sage scrub ecosystem, and hosting about 150,000 visitors each year. The land was acquired by Ventura Land Trust in 2021, and is now open to the public. The property has many features for visitors to enjoy including perennial springs, oak groves, and scenic views of Southern California mountain ranges, coastlines, and Channel Islands National Park. The preserve has 10 miles of multi-use trails for hiking, cycling, running, and exploring the hills and canyons of the property.
About 40 participants from TCA member companies including Teva, Jack Wolfskin, Patagonia, Peak Design, Ruffwear, Toad & Co. joined Ventura Land Trust staff to support the maintenance of an ongoing restoration project in a previously cultivated area of the lower canyon that is impacted by invasive species like crown daisy (Glebionis coronaria), black mustard (Brassica nigra), and annual brome grasses (Bromus spp.).
Volunteer projects like this have a significant impact on the area’s biological and ecological recovery because the laborious and time consuming work is one of the most effective ways to remove invasive species. In about three hours the team succeeded in manually removing almost half an acre of densely growing invasive plants that had been overcrowding a recovering community of native plants like purple nightshade (Solanum xantii), quailbush (Atriplex lentiformis), and California brittlebush (Encelia californica).
The group’s efforts will enhance the biodiversity and ecological recovery of this degraded area at the entrance of the Preserve.
