Colorado Lagoon

I suppose I should talk a bit about the Colorado Lagoon considering I spend a lot of my time there. That sentence sounds like it is torturous; it really isn’t, I am very fond of the place. The Lagoon is a small tidal (although muted tidal) wetland in East Long Beach. That means it is as salty as salty gets and every animal in Alamitos Bay that can fit through the big steel bars in front of the opening to the 1000 foot underground culvert in Marine Stadium is in the Colorado Lagoon. This surprises a lot of people, especially the many people who swim there in the summer and call it a pond. The kids will come out of the water with a big smile on their face and when we get to talk about the sting rays that live there the smile transforms. Most kids drop their jaws and open their eyes wide but it is always great to see the adventurous ones: their smile grows larger.

That is what I hang out at the Lagoon and try to do – frighten little children. I joke. I work with the Friends of Colorado Lagoon (FOCL), a non profit designed to help the Lagoon, and get to talk to kids, and whoever shows up, about the Lagoon and the many creatures that inhabit the marine environment. We play games, engage with nature displays and books and explore. Exploring the Lagoon is one of the favorites for the children running around. I give them a bucket and a net, some rules about keeping the specimens they find alive and let them find what they can. They bring back the creatures to a small aquarium and we all get to talk about it. Win-win considering I can’t catch fish for the life of me and they are the ones who need to be getting dirty and acting like the Crocodile Hunter anyway. The point is to facilitate a constructive relationship with nature and I believe this is a good start.

Anyway, Science Shack hours are 2-7pm Thursday-Sunday until Labor Day. Everyone is welcome and it is free. We are on the Appian Way side of the Colorado Lagoon in the pretty painted building called the Wetlands and Marine Science Education Center (WAMSEC). Come on by, we’ll play some Ultimate Frisbee and talk about birds.

Oh and the Colorado Lagoon is also in the draft EIR (Environmental Impact Report) portion of a multi-million dollar restoration. It is massive and I don’t want to write about it here – it is very complex. But you can come down to the Lagoon during the Science Shack hours and talk to me about it. You can also check out the EIR site to read the entire document and this site to learn about the Lagoon. And you can contact this guy:craig_chalfant@longbeach.gov if you want to make comments on it, officially, before July 11th.

Enjoy,

Taylor