Newport Valley Riparian Restoration with Diverse Communities

The proposed project enabled the Tides Center/Marine Education Project to restore one acre of riparian habitat at Newport Valley in Newport Beach, California through use of community member volunteers. The restoration work consisted of installing cuttings (arroyo willow, black willow, mulefat), container plants (elderberry, arrow weed, buckwheat, among others), and a native herbaceous/native grass seed mix. Community members also conducted invasive plant removal in the riparian corridor to rid the area of non-natives, including pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana), Myoporum (Myoporum laetum), black mustard (Brassica nigra), shortpod mustard (Hirschfeldia incana), and tocalote (Centaurea melitensis). The Tides Center’s “Community-Based Restoration and Education Program” has extensive previous experience removing these species by mechanical means with volunteers.