Everyone knows about the revitalization of the LA River.
Less well known, but also compelling, is the Westwood Greenway, a two-acre ecological oasis providing an island of native habitat for birds, butterflies, and other animals next to one of the nation’s busiest light rail lines.
The Greenway is in West Los Angeles, alongside the Metro E Line between Westwood Boulevard and Overland Avenue. You can hop off at the Westwood/Rancho Park Metro Station, and the site is also easily accessible by car, bike, or foot.
Through its innovative and thoughtful design, the Greenway cleans water while offering walking paths and native plant habitats, making for an altogether tranquil retreat amid LA’s urban hubbub.
In 1944, when developers laid out the Westwood Gardens subdivision, they gave the City of Los Angeles 50-foot-wide parcels north and south of the railroad’s 100-foot-wide right of way for sewers and future streets.
The concept of a green corridor that involved restoring habitat, diverting the Overland storm drain, and creating an artificial stream that would run next to the train was almost 30 years in the making. You can read about the history and creation of the project, and the many community members who offered their blood, sweat, and tears, at the Greenway’s website.
Suffice it to say that “Parks, not parking,” was the rallying cry of the neighborhood homeowners and activists who spearheaded the project.
Construction began on Sept. 24, 2019, and was substantially completed in October 2020.
Through the iNaturalist Project, visitors can join in documenting and celebrating the unique wildlife to be found in the Greenway, which includes great blue herons, egrets, hummingbirds, Wilson’s Snipe, Marine Blue butterflies, Three-Lined Potato Beetles, native Buckwheats, and so much more.
Docent-led tours for individuals or groups are available by reservation.
Mary Bomba, longtime Angelus supporter, volunteers at the Greenway.
Tell a bit about yourself, and what drew you to volunteer.
I’m a resident of West Los Angeles and a member of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Community. Three years ago, a parishioner who’s a Master Gardener told me about the Westwood Greenway and mentioned that they were looking for volunteers to help keep down the weeds. I’ve been volunteering ever since.
What makes the Westwood Greenway so unique? That area is so busy, with UCLA nearby — could people easily drive by and miss it? Can you see it from Westwood Boulevard?
Good question. The Greenway is tucked beside the Metro E Line tracks between Westwood Boulevard and Overland Avenue. You could easily drive by and miss the pedestrian gates at either end, on the north side of the tracks, but they’re unlocked and open to the public seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
What can people expect to find there? What walks can they take?
The first thing you experience when you pass through the gate is a feeling of wildness. A decomposed granite path takes you alongside a stream whose source is the storm drain below. Water from the storm drain is cleansed by the action of sunlight, soil, and native plants, first on one side of the E Line tracks and then on the other; then it returns underground and flows to the ocean. The information panels along the path tell you how it works — and introduce you to some of the native flora and fauna you’ll be seeing along the way.
What do you like best about volunteering there? What do your duties consist of?
Weeding at the Greenway takes place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on the second Saturday and the fourth Sunday of the month. First thing I do when I arrive is to check in with the volunteer coordinator and her husband. They volunteer much of their own time to weeding and to supervising the students — from middle school to university — who earn service hours at the Greenway.
Then I settle down to a patch of weeds, usually by myself because I enjoy the solitude and quiet, but sometimes in the company of other volunteers. If I’m weeding Bermuda grass out of a cluster of milkweed, I might be rewarded by the visit of a Monarch butterfly. Or I’ll brush up against the leaves of a sage and get a whiff of its startlingly beautiful fragrance. Or I’ll look up from trying to get a dandelion out by its root and see a California sycamore, planted as a sapling but now well on its way to reaching a hundred feet tall.
Tell an anecdote about the delight/surprise experienced by visitors.
When I first started volunteering at the Greenway I would often see an elderly woman with a walker coming along the path. I learned that she lived in the neighborhood and was very grateful for the Greenway and its volunteers. Later I thought about how limited the opportunities are for older people to be in nature and how blessed this woman was to live near the Greenway.
Is there a spiritual component to volunteering at the Westwood Greenway?
Yes, definitely! Quite apart from the experience of being in nature, weeding at the Greenway is an exercise in patience and hope. We need more volunteers, and sometimes the weeds seem out of control. But inspired by the coordinators, we keep at it and gradually there appear areas where the native plants are weed-free, able to spread their roots and take in the sun and do their amazing work of cleaning the water and delighting the visitors. Now that’s spiritual.
