What’s CIR doing that I can actually see? (Or, thanks Doug, this is a great place for a date!) A lot! CIR has gotten a reputation of working in places most people don’t regularly get to, we’re sort of like ‘Restoration Hotshots’. We are usually working so far off the beaten path that it takes some logistical effort to see us in action. Well, that is no longer the case in Santa Barbara at Elings Park!

What follows is a brief auto tour and includes an easy walk to see some of CIR’s awesomeness. It is a great place to take a date, a dog, and a snack. It would all be best during a late afternoon because the tour ends in an epic sunset view!

(Disclaimer: You’ll be driving, in a car, so pay attention to what you are doing. Even though what you will see is so awesome you might want to take the drive a few times. I recommend switching drivers so both of you can gawk better.)

The tour begins at the intersection of Los Positas and Modoc Road. Head south toward the beach and for the entire 2.5 miles to the roundabout on the west side of the road, you will see a CIR managed ‘Native Landscaping’ project nicely located along the new bike path.

Generally, this is not the kind of project that CIR seeks, but this one was included in a package deal of several other mitigation projects much more suited to our specific niche. There is another mile or so along Modoc heading West so if you are coming from Goleta you will see 74 Coast Live Oaks and more native landscaping.

Once at the roundabout, you will be next to Mesa Creek, where the ‘CIR Hotshots’ will be removing invasive plants, along about a mile of a riparian mitigation site associated with the bike path construction. You will not be able to see this work area without risk of a serious poison oak exposure so do not stop and stay in your car.

Go all the way around and head back north on Los Positas to the new traffic signal at Jerry Harwin drive, the entrance to Elings Park. (On weekends and special occasions there may be restricted access but I would totally recommend you check the website below and you might see a concert!)

There are very good maps of the park at www.elingspark.org. Head up the hill into the park to pull off and park a minute near the entrance to the large soccer field on the north side of the drive. This is a wonderful place for your dog to socialize off a leash. Be sure to purchase an EPDOG Membership to support the park and keep this awesome dog social area open.

I have never met so many well-behaved dogs in one place in my life, they obviously know this is a special place for dogs and respect the privilege. Looking across the field to the northeast you will see on the highest hillside our restoration site peppered with colorful pin flags and literally thousands of new native Coastal Sage Scrub plants installed by CIR in 2022.

Compare this hillside to the area below it, which is filled with invasive plants and non-native annuals, and you can get an idea of what our restoration site looked like before we began work. A short walk up the drive and across the street puts you at the Sierra Club Trailhead.

A short 200 meter hike will put you under the canopy of mature Island Oaks. Look up and you will see two red barn owl nesting boxes, built and installed by CIR early last year. Be sure to let us know if you see any baby owls! (We haven’t yet, but owls like to wait a few years to move in). There is a super cool video of the installation produced by the teenage daughter of the Elings Park Executive Director on our website.

After getting back in your car, continue up the drive to George Bliss Drive and turn left heading up a steep hill to the parking area.

*A CIR Field Technician hard at work on one of the restoration sites at Eling’s Park.*

To your West you will see benches and dedicated trees along the top of our restoration site. This is a very steep hill with loose footing, so do not venture down the slope. It is bad for the plants and may embarrass you when you have to explain to the ER staff how you got hurt falling in a very safe park. This will also not impress your date.

Each pin flag color or combination designates a species of Coastal Sage Scrub plant. There was a guide created by local high school kids to help understand what you are looking at, but the plants are now thriving so most of you will know what is in there.

If you time it right, the sun will be low in the western sky and the long shadows will be filling the Godric Grove of mature oak trees. You will walk past dozens of dedication plaques, take a moment to read them and know that this is indeed a very treasured place for many people of the past and present.

As you follow the concrete path down some gentle stairs you may see to the North where we installed 104 baby Island Oak trees, grown from acorns we collected onsite. This area is shaded and protected by the ‘Grand Mother’ oaks still thriving there and we figured that would be an excellent nursery for our new generation of baby oaks to grow.

As you follow the concrete path down you enter the area known as the “Veterans Walk.” This also places you between our restoration site uphill from you and the unaltered area you viewed from the road, that is full of non-native and invasive plants below you.

I personally like this juxtaposed view as it gives a good practical example of the power and beauty of what native plants can bring to an area. You do not have to be a biologist to see the dramatic increase in animals living in the restored area, especially pollinators. Continue walking South along the Veterans Walk and then back to your car. Grab your snacks and sit on a park bench to watch the sunset from one of the

best locations around town. If you ‘forget’ to bring a jacket I guarantee your date will snuggle against you in the darkening chill.

Elings Park Tour In Santa Barbara