Adobe Creek Restoration Celebrated

Gardner Bullis students, Los Altos Hills volunteers, officials and staff, and the Santa Clara County Water District celebrated the completion of a $83,000 restoration project of Adobe Creek Tuesday in Edith Park.

The town sought and received a $83,960 environmental enhancement grant from the Santa Clara Valley Water District to restore a 240-foot section of Adobe Creek to native riparian habitat and provide an educational opportunity for students. This included removing invasive plant species and replacing them with native varieties that increase the plant diversity.

Students from two sixth-grade classes from Gardner Bullis school planted more than 600 native species plants in two days. The town also contributed $36,200 in cash and in-kind contributions to the project.

On a perfect February afternoon, Mayor Gary Waldeck, Council members Courtenay C. Corrigan and John Harpootlian, along with former Council member Jean Mordo, were on hand for the festivities. One of the two Gardner Bullis classes came out to take a bow for the group's handiwork on the banks of the Adobe Creek.

Waldeck recognized water district members Patrick Kwok and Brian Schmidt for their support of the grant, which draws its funds from the Clean, Safe Creeks and Natural Flood Protection Program, approved by voters in 2000. He also recognized the town's Open Space committee for identifying the grant program and getting the project started. 

Staff members Debbie Pedro, the town's planning director, and Jon Laslett, the project manager of the Santa Cruz company, Ecological Concerns, Inc., were also recognized for working to secure the grant. ECI also provided planting demonstrations and ecology lessons, which culminated in the two classes planting on the banks of Adobe Creek.

Los Altos Hills resident Jitze Couperus, whose photos are showcased in this article, said the work complements the 2009 restoration that was done on the other side of the bridge in a section that is called Reach 5 (all creeks are divided in segments, beginning from the Bay with Reach 1).

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