Restoration Work at Ormond Beach

Re “This Coastal Jewel Needs Polishing,” Ventura County Perspective, April 25.

As a footnote to this excellent article by Ormond Beach Observers Jean Harris and Roma Armbrust, I would like to add that California Lutheran University has been doing environmental restoration work at Ormond Beach in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Game since September.

Soon after the CLU Coastal Field Lab was set up, two marine biology majors did their semester-long senior research project at the Perkins Road estuary, collecting and analyzing data that can be used for wetland restoration at the site.

This semester, 12 faculty members, four from the sciences and eight from the humanities and social sciences, are incorporating Coastal Field Lab projects into their classes. Six volunteers, primarily retired faculty, are available as well to mentor these projects.

On CLU’s Community Service Day (April 20), approximately 70 students, administrators, and faculty worked to prepare for Earth Day community projects at Ormond and San Buenaventura by eradicating nonnative plants and cleaning up the beaches.

CLU is glad to be a part of a Ventura County community, including the Ormond Beach Observers, which is concerned about coastal wetland restoration.

We are aware that several institutions of learning have done field work at Ormond and can only hope that all of our efforts combined will someday bring the bird, fish and riparian habitat closer to ecological health.

JAN BOWMAN, Professor Emerita, California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks