Stream Spirit Rising

Jennifer Murphy

Los Angeles has lost the vast majority of its historical wetlands, streams riparian and aquatic habitat. In Highland Park, the North Branch of the Arroyo Seco used to connect springs, hills and meadows to the Arroyo Seco, providing a home for fish, amphibians, birds, and small mammals. Many of these species have now disappeared from the area. Today the stream is a storm drain, running beneath streets and local housing.

But a small stretch of the North Branch could be brought back to life to be- home again for egrets and tree frogs, as well as a place for people to enjoy. The Stream Spirit Rising art and education workshops and the Creek Celebration were created as the first step in building public support for the daylighting of the North Branch. The hope is to activate a corps of wetland stewards who will advocate, restore and care for the creek.

I was invited by Jessica Hall of North East Trees to collaborate on this month long series of events as an artist and teacher. We also worked with Jeff Chapman, teacher naturalist at the Audubon Center, and later, Renee Dominique, actress and drama teacher.

The three Saturday workshops included:
- Paper mache mask and puppet making of Stream Spirits
- Nature hike down a streambed
- Educational slide show and historical maps
- Interactive drama games
- Storytellers sharing personal and family stories of the Arroyo

On the final weekend of March, we held a Creek Celebration. This included a parade down part of an old creek bed, wearing our Stream Spirit masks carrying our big Stream Spirit Dragon Puppet. We wound our way into Sycamore Grove Park where artists had set up installations, local environmental groups had info booths, and speakers, storytellers and bands entertained us from the band shell assisted by a solar energy sound system.

Stream Spirit Rising was funded by lots of volunteer power and a small grant from the Wetlands Recovery Project, a coalition of state, federal and local agencies that have a stake in wetlands restoration.