Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Hahamongna

When I think of Hahamongna I think of the flora and fauna that are a part of the arroyo. It is a regional treasure that is home to creatures like this bird. It so impressed President Teddy Roosevelt that some serious conversation about its becoming a National Park ensued following his visit to the area. Not quite sure why that didn't happen, but when I walk in the arroyo I'm not surprised that there was such a conversation.

Keeping the land as open as possible and as pristine as possible is ideal. All of this is very logical if you are a trained naturalist, birder, or a person with friends in the Sierra Club. Not everyone has this benefit.
While talking with James I was reminded that the open areas are a place where folks who live in the more urban areas can go and that they serve as an introduction to nature. It is by their being in a place like Hahamongna they can begin to learn, with their friends, about the beauty of our natural environment.

This group of young folks were photographed by James as they were exploring the arroyo. Had they been there only for soccer their focus would have been on the game and not on the environment.

We hear about celebrating the greening of our city; included in that should be keeping our natural areas green.
Today several local bloggers are sharing their concern that there is serious talk about adding soccer fields to Hahamongna. Each of us has a different focus for our blogs. Each of us will write from a different perspective. Each of us wants to keep Hahamongna as it is.

The list of those writing about this follows.
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8 comments:

  1. Pasadena AdjacentJuly 7, 2010 at 2:05 PM

    Teddy R's talk of a national park eventually led to the Pasadena Parkway. In Los Angeles, connecting nature, real estate and commerce is king....and it's a shame

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  2. Latino HeritageJuly 7, 2010 at 2:53 PM

    Ah, but Monday will be an opportunity for those of us who appreciate these gifts of nature to make our voices heard. Having so many folks blogging about this issue is a good thing. I hope that someone was able to incorporate issues that relate to review of conditions that have changed since the fires of last year.

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  3. AnonymousJuly 7, 2010 at 6:20 PM

    Did you take that beautiful bird photo? Sigh.

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  4. Latino HeritageJuly 7, 2010 at 6:30 PM

    Somehow a post from Altadenahiker drifted off into Internetherland. She asked if I took the picture of the bird. The answer is "no", James the Gifted, took both pictures. He is the hiker, picture taker in the family.

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  5. Latino HeritageJuly 7, 2010 at 6:31 PM

    Well now I know that there is at least a 10 minute delay between clicking "publish post" and its being posted. LOL.

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  6. Petrea BurchardJuly 7, 2010 at 8:08 PM

    Such a great post, Roberta. Kids get a lot out of Hahamongna--I know the Tom Sawyer camps and the riding classes use locations all over the park. PCC biology classes learn there. Occidental runners train there on the trails. It's a great learning center.

    Someone did talk about how conditions have changed since 2003 but I don't remember who! So many excellent posts today.

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  7. MargaretJuly 8, 2010 at 10:26 AM

    Great post. I didn't know that about Roosevelt. It makes the issue seem even more heartfelt.

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  8. Latino HeritageJuly 8, 2010 at 11:21 AM

    Charles Lummis and President were friends from their time at Harvard. There were many men and women in the area who were not only involved with what we would think of as environmental interests, but were also concerned that the culture and the peoples of the Southwest should be better understood by those living on the East Coast.
    Both Roosevelt and Taft visited Pasadena during their term in office.

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