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Note, Native Plants Journal requested that I not print the article in
it's finished state for copyright issues. Here is a copy with my
photographs and a wonderful plant chart removed (and some copy
alterations). Please refer to your news stands or
http://nativeplants.for.uidaho.edu/journal/published.asp
for
the entire text.
NATIVE PLANTS | SUMMER 2006
Native plants, contemporary art, and environmental stewardship
were integrated to design a trolley station for the
San Diego Light Rail Transit System. In this paper I
describe the process used to develop the station and
the plant management plan, as well as provide insight
on the lessons learned during the process. I include a
checklist that may be helpful for similar projects.
The San Diego light rail trolley
service has been operating since
1981. Over 25 years of service, the
system had expanded to a 77-km (48-
mi) network serving the San Diego
region. In 2005, the Mission Valley East
(MVE) trolley line extension (the Green
Line) completed a 9.4-km (5.9-mi) gap
and provided commuters with
increased mobility within the busy
Interstate 8 corridor. The MVE extension
included 4 new stations and is
expected to generate more than 11,000
new trolley trips a day, as people are
encouraged to use public transit whenever
possible. Each of the four new stations
has a selection of site-specific
public art. I designed the 70th Street
Station in La Mesa, focusing on environmental
stewardship and using native
plants to support this theme.
T R A N S F O R O N
ARTWORK AND
BACKGROUND GOALS
Because a call for work in a public station
falls in the category of public art and not
landscape design, there was a competition
process of RFQ (request for qualifications)
for a public art piece. After an
interview process I was chosen from a
pool of artists. The 70th Street Station
involved a 7-y commitment on my part
and required 2 y to actually complete
construction. The site is adjacent to the La
Mesa segment of Alvarado Creek and
required a thorough assessment of
archaeological relevance and environmental
impact. Tasks included a re-routing
of the creek, salvage of native cobble
stones, and installation of a new culvert.
As mitigation for every acre of riparian
habitat disrupted by construction, 3 new
acres were created.
T Many concepts were put forth by the
design team, which consisted of myself,
architect Kathryn Lim from Mission Valley
Designers, and landscape architect
Kim Wiley of KTU+A Landscape Architecture.
First, every decision needed to be
based on good environmental practices. I
wanted elements to be beautiful and
inspiring to others, particularly in terms
of future activities. For example, I
wanted to encourage people to go to the
trouble of recycling glass bottles after
seeing how glass can be reused. By using
native plants, the viewer would immediately
recognize their aesthetic value. I
required that natural materials from the
site be utilized in the design. For example,
I had the construction crew save
cobble stones from the creek to use in
the benches and walls. The benches were
made of a high quality recycled plastic
lumber as well. The light installation
that points out the creek uses energy efficient
bulbs. Thus, each decision
revolved around this theme, so that a
viewer can attach and connect meaning
to all elements of the station.
Second, consideration was given to the
people who would be waiting, engaging
them with a comfortable green place to
just sit and contemplate or with many
objects to investigate and appreciate.
Commuters would be returning and they
would appreciate lots of stimulation for
curious encounters. The platform has 36
sandblasted quotes on the base of the light
poles. Some are philosophical, some are
factual, while others are unusual or pose a
question that relates to the theme (Figure
1). A map case contains descriptions of
American Indian villages that historically
were along these same roads.
The art centerpiece is entitled ?rain-
Like Apparatus?and is made of an old
switcher mechanism that, when someone
moves the handle, rotates a wheel that
moves on a metate stone that was found
on the project site (Figure 2). On the
switcher, the red warning disc was painted
to show how Alvarado Creek may have
looked 100 years ago. This sculpture is not
displayed openly in the manner of other
sculptures, but is hidden among arroyo
willows waiting to be discovered. With all
these things that one can look at during
the 12-min wait between trolleys, surely
one would want to come back. I wanted
travelers to feel good about public transportation;
to make that a choice rather
than a necessity.
Adding unique beauty and depth to
the platform, a design element of pure
recycled glass diagonal lines that add
movement to the concrete platform was
incorporated. We used
tiny, recycled glass chips embedded into
the concrete to provide a subtle sparkle to
the platform.
ARTWORK CONNECTION
TO THE PLANTS
Southern California, and the San Diego
area in particular, is home to an amazingly
diverse native flora. I selected the native
species in the design based on several criteria:
local nativity, plant community (in this
case riparian), availability, and ethnobotanical
uses that I could convey on the
plaques without potential legal repercussion
(for example, dye and basket plants
rather than medicinal plants)
I wanted the plaques to have something
intriguing to say in addition to just
the name of the plant. Thinking about the
aesthetics of the plaques, I decided they
would be handmade rather than machine
made. My hope was that the handmadeness
of them would have the feeling of a
spoken word, something passed down
and not something from a textbook. I
made the ?attern?for the plaques out of
oil clay. Next, a mold was made from the
clay and then a ?ositive?from the mold
in plaster. I brought the ?ositive?to a
foundry that did the sand-cast process.
The positive is pressed into moist clay
sand and hot metal is poured in. Because
the process is so crude, a lot of clean up is
necessary. To carve the words into the oil
clay, I used simple tools and added a few
decorative embellishments and sculptural
massing. It was important to me that a
blind person could run their fingers on
the undulating surface to have an art-like
informational experience.
Some of the plaques are bronze, some are
brass, and others are aluminum. They are
mounted on a sturdy pole attached to a
concrete foot and are placed in close proximity
to the associated plant, so that the
commuter can readily recognize and associate
with them.
After the plants were installed, we
used stabilized decomposed
granite mixed in with cobble stone
mulch to conserve water. We added the stabilizer
to the decomposed granite to
make it difficult to dislodge the cobble
stones from the mulch. We did add soil
amendments to some of the planting
holes, however, we did not add any fertilizer
at time of planting.
PLANT MANAGEMENT PLAN
Native plants are still not the norm for
landscape design in urban areas, so
workers must be trained or have reference
information on how to properly
care for them. I have written a training
manual for the native plantings, to be
used by the San Diego transit maintenance
workers. Las Pilitas Nursery, a
native plant nursery (Escondido, California),
assisted me in the development
of this manual, which describes the
practical horticultural requirements of
the plants. Installers and maintenance
workers need to understand that native
plants are unlike ornamental plants and
their care may differ. They need to be
instructed on how to properly irrigate
the plantings so they receive the right
amount and frequency of water during
initial establishment but are not over watered
thereafter.
Because the budget is extremely limited
for maintenance and upkeep, I am
working to involve local people in the
upkeep of the landscape. Ideally, a group
could adopt the station as an ongoing
project. I am also trying to entice tribal
basket weavers in the San Diego area to do
the pruning. I had taken a basket-making
class from Lorene Sisquoc, a local tribal
basket maker, so I could authentically
make the plaque for deer grass. I found
out that some of the older women were
having a hard time locating stands of deer
grass and other species that had not been
sprayed with pesticides. Immediately, I
decided to plant deer grass and to give
them the address so they could harvest it
safely. Involving the local community
ensures that the last important steps of the process are carried out:
caring for the
plantings and creating the desire in others
to care for the plantings.
SUMMARY
Working on a project like this takes creativity
and fortitude to do things differently.
Here are some important points
to keep in mind when developing and
designing a native plant landscape.
Hire your crew based on their
knowledge of native plants, not
on the lowest bid.
Many city projects have mandated
using the lowest bid, which does not
always yield the most cost savings. All
parties involved in the design process
will benefit from learning about the
species, their growth requirements,
and the necessity of caring for the
plants long after the project has been
completed.
Be clear that you are not gardening
but rather creating an ecological
environment.
This is an important concept to carry
from the initial planning phases to the
ongoing upkeep and maintenance.
Don? mix species with different water
requirements during the design and
planting phases of a project.
Put riparian plants with other riparian
plants and the more xeric requiring
species in another area. Don? let
anyone convince you that a barrier
between them is appropriate either
for the plants or for the visual sense.
Make sure that all specifications
on contracts are written as you
want them.
It is important to give detailed terms
in all project phases, from nursery
stock size and quality to post-planting
upkeep so that contractors know
what is expected and can be held
accountable to contract terms.
Know your plant supplier.
Checks and balances are mandated
on federal projects. Find a nursery
business with your values and use
them as a source.
It? okay not to know something,
as long as you research it and
figure it out.
I was totally outside of my field, yet I
discovered that research can be a lot
of fun.
Know the area?eally.
We were working with a creek area.
We all knew it intellectually. In retrospect,
taking a shovel to the site
before designing the plantings would
have shown standing water was present
in some places. We could have
designed accordingly.
Align yourself politically and build
momentum.
Develop positive working relationships
with all parties involved so they
understand and share your vision to
create an innovative project that
enhances the local community.
Cross disciplines.
Invest some research time with
geologists, ornithologists, photographers,
engineers,musicians, and
basket weavers.
Tell many people what you are doing so
they can love it, too.
Here is a quote from Baba Dioum
that I sandblasted on a light pole base
on the platform. ?n the end we will
conserve only what we love. We love
only what we understand. We will
understand only what we are taught.?REFERENCE
[USDA NRCS] USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Service. 2006. The PLANTS database,
version 3.5. URL: http://plants.usda.gov
(accessed 16 Feb 2006). Baton Rouge (LA):
National Plant Data Center.
Data Center.
AUTHOR INFORMAT ION
Nina Karavasiles
Artist
Warner Springs, CA 92086
www.ninak.info
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