Mujeres de la Tierra

Gibson Mariposa Park
Mosaic Art Project, El Monte  

Shipser Elementary School
Mosaic Art Workshop

Mujeres de la Tierra has been working in the El Monte community for the past six years.  We began our work with the outreach engagement campaign with the design development for Gibson Mariposa Park in collaboration with Amigos de los Rios.

Funded with a $25,000 grant from the California Community Foundation, the project involved getting the El Monte and surrounding communities engaged in designing and creating mosaic art pieces for the new neighborhood park - Gibson Mariposa Park.

 Northeast Los Angeles Open Space Project, Paradise Hill

The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy partnered with Mujeres de la Tierra in an unprecedented effort to engage the residents of Lincoln Heights and find innovative ways to preserve, protect and restore the safe green open space known as Paradise Hill.

Through direct action, the alliance supported the building of a healthier and more sustainable community, which will branch out to the many diverse neighborhoods of the greater Los Angeles area.

Residents of the neighborhood and stakeholders in the surrounding Paradise Hill neighborhood where engaged.  The project objective was to listen to their opinions, concerns and dreams  for the future of Paradise Hill and present the communities' ideas and desires to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy so that they may incorporate the will of local residents in their development plans for this historic open space project.

Located in the foothills of Lincoln Heights adjacent to both El Sereno and Montecito Heights. According to the most recent census, these three communities combined have a population of approximately 100,000. In Lincoln Heights , the ratio of acres of open space per 1000 people is less than 2. This is a very park poor area. For this reason alone, it is worth investigating the preservation of Paradise Hill as open space.

Although the topography of the 30 acre site may be somewhat limiting for certain activities, there is ample opportunity for passive recreational use. Also, due to its direct proximity to Lincoln High School, there is the possibility of educational usages. Over the years, this hillside has been almost completely denuded of vegetation, making it something of a potential ecological disaster. Visual blight, dysfunctional habitat, erosion and fire are but some of the issues at stake here.

While recently exploring the site, however, Jeff Chapman of the Arroyo Seco Foundation was able to locate some remaining pioneer native plant species. These would include Jimson Weed, Narrow Leaf Milkweed, and Stinky Gourd. There are also some remaining stands of Black Walnut and Elderberry found on steeper slopes. Accompanying insects and birds were also observed. Over all, this site has potential for habitat restoration, watershed improvement, educational function, and much needed recreational uses.

Severely denuded of native vegetation, as a result of fire and brush clearance, Paradise Hill does offer some habitat needs. Some large non-native trees along Sierra St. These trees could provide nesting habitat for large birds, such as common ravens and red-tailed hawks. On central ridge, several Southern California black walnut (Juncas californica var. californica) trees were observed, also Mexican elderberry (Sambucus mexicana). Along central road discing, early successional plants were noted. These included narrow-leaf milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis) and cliff-aster (Malacothrix saxatilis var. tenuifolia). Also observed was Calabazilla (Cucurbita foetidissima), a gourd whose root structure allows for survival after fires and clearance. Red-tailed hawks, Botta’s pocket gopher, Western fence lizard, common raven, northern mockingbird, western scrub jay were seen.

See Location

Useful Web Sites

• Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy: http://www.smmc.ca.gov

• North East LA Open Space Coalition: http://www.nelaopenspace.org

LA River and Aliso Creek Confluence Project, Reseda

History
The Los Angeles River is approximately 51 miles long, beginning in Canoga Park, stretching through the San Fernando Valley, downtown Los Angeles and numerous other cities before reaching the Pacific Ocean in Long Beach. Along its path, the River is joined by several tributaries including Aliso Creek. The River was once free-flowing, varying its annual path by miles across its vast floodplain. When floods in the early 1900s damaged homes and took lives, decisions were made to encase the River in a concrete channel. In the late 1930s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the channelization of the River and it remains in that state today.

Today and Tomorrow: Future Possibilities
In 2002, the City of Los Angeles formed a committee to identify ways to revitalize the River and in 2005 the City started work on the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan (LARRMP). The LARRMP is a 25-50 year vision for the River that includes a wide-range of improvements, including parks, trails, bike paths, wildlife habitat, and the restoration of ecological functions.

The LARRMP calls for implementation of projects along the first 32-miles of the River (between Canoga Park and downtown Los Angeles) which will improve the quality-of-life for residents while also improving the environmental health of the watershed. For more information or to read the LARRMP, visit the website at www.lariver.org. To read the

County of Los Angeles Los Angeles River Master Plan visit the website at http://ladwp.org/wmd/watershed/LA/LA_River_Plan.cfm.

How does this affect you and your neighborhood?
The stretch of the Los Angeles River that flows through Reseda offers important opportunities to implement the goals of the LARRMP. The River in this area has wide easement spaces that can be developed into trails and bike paths. The River offers pleasing views both upstream and downstream. The confluence area provides an opportunity to create green connections to existing community amenities, including homes, parks, schools, and the YMCA. Adding a bike path to the River in this area will help link people to their homes and jobs.

Your participation in the design of this River project is critical because it will ensure that the results reflect your neighborhood. Design elements, such as passive and active recreation, or enhancing access along the banks of the River, will be based on input received from you and your neighbors. Project boundaries are Vanowen Street to the north, Victory Boulevard to the south, Wilbur Avenue to the west and Reseda Boulevard to the east.

Gregg Industries, El Monte

Mujeres de la Tierra salutes and applauds the workers of Gregg Industries. Our focus and commitment is and will be always the trabajadores and their families. 

Balancing good paying jobs with community health and clean air are values important to us. It is not an "either or" approach practiced by many traditional environmentalists-it is Environmental Equity.

Mujeres wishes them
all buena suerte.

El Monte Iron Works Face Uncertain Future

By Rebecca Kimitch, Staff Writer Posted: 03/29/2009 10:04:54 PM PDT

EL MONTE - In one month, the iron foundry that has operated on Arden Drive and Hickson Street for 60 years will be closed for good. And more than 200 men and women will be out of work.

But a walk through Gregg Industries' facilities last week gives no indication of this coming fate. Behind the factory's walls, men continue to heat iron to temperatures that are one-third the sun's to create dense iron parts for heavy machinery. They work in tandem with the machines - removing smoking-hot resin cores, pouring molten iron, and shaking finished parts free of their molds.

Rather than slowing down, business at Gregg has been booming. The foundry has been racing to provide customers with enough parts to hold them over while they look for new suppliers.

Despite their full workload, in a few weeks the foundry's employees - many who have been there for a decade or more - will find themselves visiting unemployment offices, filling out applications, or signing up for job training workshops.

"I have to look for a job in whatever I can. In anything. What else can I do?" said Pio Martinez, a core room operator who has been working at Gregg for 32 years.

Martinezechoes the worries of many of his coworkers that, despite being experienced journeymen, they will have a hard time finding a job in their trade.

"Where are they going to give me work, there are many young people looking and the only work I have known is working here," said furnace operator Ricardo Garcia, 54.

Tony Medina has been a mechanic at the foundry for 16 years. Though his skills may be more transferable, at 56 he knows it's going to be tough.

"They think I only have a few years left to work, who wants that?" he said.

Medinawas planning on retiring in three years. The decimation of his 401(k) by the financial markets have shot any thought of retiring early.

"Now I don't know what to do. At my age the insurance gets higher. I would try to live off unemployment for a while, but I can't afford insurance," Medina said.

Forklift operator Mark Pettus, who has been at Gregg for nearly a decade, sees things differently.

"It's awful that 300 people are losing their jobs," he said. "But I am going to jump all over this. I am going back to school."

Pettus, 49, plans to study hydraulics and electronics at Los Angeles Trade Tech College.

"This is God talking to me ... getting an education is a battle, most people are thinking about getting the next meal on the table. But I am going to make this happen," he said.

Pettus will have the time. He may also get the money.

Gregg Industries has applied for federal assistance for its employees through the Trade Adjustment Act - which provides benefits and aid to workers who have lost their jobs because of shifts in production to other countries.

Gregg workers could get money for school and job training programs, as well as assistance and funds for job searches and tax credits for health insurance.

The Department of Labor is still reviewing Greggs' application, but general manager Jeff Hillier says they have a good case. The company received a major blow last year when one of its major customers, Honeywell, decided to buy its parts from Mexico and China - representing a $5 million blow to Gregg, Hillier said.

The iron foundry business in the United States has been shrinking for decades, according to Nancy Sidhu, chief economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation. In addition to increased competition from abroad, iron products are in less demand, she said.

Air quality standards here have also made operation of iron foundries more challenging, she said. Gregg has faced this reality head-on.

A strong sour and smoky smell reminiscent of fireworks pervades the area of the factory where the resin mold cores are made. Some neighbors have complained that this smell escapes the facilities to the surrounding community. The complaints resulted in a $4.7 million settlement with the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

The foundry industry's struggle has been compounded by the economic crisis. In the comparable steel industry, companies are operating at 50 percent capacity - the worst rate since 1982, Sidhu said.

Considering this reality, where are Martinez, Medina and Garcia to turn for future employment, if not back to school like Pettus?

Some will find work at one of the city's remaining foundries - that is where plant operations manager Efren Huerta plans to go. And he hopes to take as many of his men with him as he can.

"If a foundry is looking for the skills we have, they'll get snatched up. These guys are hard workers ... and they are going out with dignity," Hillier said. "But with the economy the way it is, it's going to be tough for those unable to travel far."

Sidhu agrees.

"When people get laid off under these conditions, finding a new job is going to be tough," she said. "This is going to be an individual issue for each and every one one of those workers."

rebecca.kimitch@sgvn.com

(626) 962-8811 ext. 2105

Image Gallery

Duck Farm, La Puente

Until a few years ago, thousands of ducks were raised on a farm which stretched for two miles along the San Gabriel River. The property, wedged between the San Gabriel River and the 605 Freeway, is located in the unincorporated community of Basset, north of the 60 Freeway and south of the 10 Freeway. 

The duck farming operation was moved to the Central Valley, and the property was acquired by the Watershed Conservation Authority (WCA)* in December 2004. The total purchase price was $4.017 million. Prop 13 grant funds in the amount of $3 million were augmented by Prop 40 grant funds from the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy (RMC) in the amount of $1.017 million. 
     The Watershed Conservation Authority (WCA) has started the process of transforming the 57-acre site into a publicly owned open space. Click to learn more about the Duck Farm Site Concept Plan.

Mujeres de la Tierra is working in collaboration with the WCA and the RMC to renew the outreach efforts for the project.

*The Watershed Conservation Authority (WCA) is a joint powers entity of the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy (RMC) and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District (LACFCD).