We visited Malibu Creek State Park, Placerita Canyon, Temescal Canyon Gateway Park, Franklin Canyon, and Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park. We are definitely looking forward to the trip to Leo Carrillo State Park to check out tide pools and Eaton Canyon. Students got to see the aftermath of Plate Tectonic movement at Vasquez Rocks. They walked on volcanic rock in Malibu Creek State Park, ate lunch in the caves formed by an ancient gas bubble, they walked by the crumbly landslide in the sedimentary rock. The rocks at Placerita displayed more granite. Temescal Canyon featured cretaceous conglomerates which made sense because it was so close to the ocean.
The kids got to see owls and ravens, rattlesnakes and beehives at Placerita Canyon. They heard the woodpeckers in the tree and saw the acorn stash in a tree. They felt how soft the leaves of the sycamore are and why they were so important to the Native People hygiene. They saw plants with little leaves in the desert area and bigger leaves near the ocean. They learned why leaf size is important for plants’ survival.
Students learned to think like a native in order to provide basic necessities such as food and clothing when one of the few plants around is a Yucca.
They walked in a grass hut at Franklin Canyon. There is not much room in there! At Vasquez Rocks, the Tataviams used the slanted rocks and caves for shelter. Some of their pictographs are still visible on the rocks. At Placerita, the kids saw the small Walker cabin with all the restored period tools and instruments. Twelve children were raised in that small area in the 1900’s. The ground was giving white oil pure enough for Model “T” Ford engine and the kids got to see the pump. Specks of gold were found there in 1842, on the roots of an onion, story says.
Environmental and resource preservation was discussed in every park. Franklin Canyon had a period in the 1930s as a water reservoir for the newly formed portions of Los Angeles. There was a small power plant attached to it too. In the 1970’s the area was saved from development by dedicated environmentalists and donated for use by all. Many movies were shot there too. Malibu Creek State Park was for a time a private country club and movie set before it was donated for use by all. Temescal Canyon used to be a church retreat.
Written by: Parent Silvia Darie, a Sierra Club Leader