By KATHERINE MORRIS 

OF THE REGISTER-PAJARONIAN

YouthBuild group participates in re-vegetation day at project site

Who ever thought a seawall project at Pajaro Dunes could benefit so many?

In addition to residents gaining the peace of mind that their homes will be protected by a new 700-foot steel wall, local youth are using the project as a way to learn all about the re-vegetation process and the flora and fauna that are native to neighboring Watsonville Slough.

Even the snowy plover population is enjoying perks such as nesting grounds full of new Pacific dune grass, which is being planted along the wall to mitigate any environmental impacts.

"Our whole mission is to take care of what we call the last mile of Watsonville Slough," said John Vernon, a Pajaro Dunes homeowner and member of the Friends of the Pajaro Dunes. "After all, we are the owners of the land here and have an opportunity and responsibility to be good stewards of that land, too."

On Wednesday, Vernon teamed up with about 15 students from Watsonville's YouthBuild program for one of several re-vegetation days at the project site. The group spent the greater part of the morning digging in the sand and carefully planting delicate dune grass up and down the beach at the southern end of the housing community.

"These guys are fast," Vernon said, motioning to the group. "They've already planted close to 1,400 new plants. I might have to run out and get some more."

Wednesday's planting is the culmination of a five-year project, he said.

"It started after the El Niño years around 1998, after the river wall here completely failed and needed to be replaced," he said. "From there, the homeowners began working with various state and county agencies to come up with a plan. In December, the wall was finally completed."

The "sheet-pile" river wall is nearly 700 feet long and extends down nearly 60 feet below ground. "We're hoping to get at least 50 years out of this one," Vernon said.

Since part of the project required moving the wall 10 feet out onto the beach from its original spot, Pajaro Dunes was asked to make a "land trade" with the state of California in return.

"It was a one-to-one swap," Vernon said. "Basically, we gave the state a sizable portion of land around the slough. We also agreed to revegetate that land and maintain it for years to come, though."

Ruben Reyes, 20, of YouthBuild, said it felt good to do his part in maintaining the local environment.

"It's just nice to help out," Reyes said. "We've been learning about how important the sloughs are for flooding. I hope that the plants we're putting in help out."

YouthBuild, a program run by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development agency, offers young people ages 16 to 24 a chance to learn skills such as carpentry, plumbing, electrical work and landscaping, while helping them to earn their high school diploma. Students spend half of their time learning inside a classroom environment and the other half out in the field, receiving hands-on training.

"The dunes project is great because it ties in with what the students have been learning about the wetlands in their environmental studies class," said Tami Stolzenthaler, environmental education coordinator for YouthBuild. "The kids get to learn about the area's native plants first hand."

YouthBuild student Michelle Martinez, 20, said she liked learning about which plants belong in the area and which do not.

"It's nice to help out in our community," Martinez said. "This project not only helps the environment, but makes it look nice, too."

©Register-Pajaronian 2004