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PARK HISTORY
In 1994 the city of Salinas Park Planner Ed Piper proposed having community involvement in the planning and creation of a new park at Natividad Creek.
Over the years the creek bed had turned into a trash laden flood control ditch. After adopting his idea, Salinas city engineers rerouted Natividad Creek back to its natural streambed and established the Return of the Natives program, which is part of the Watershed Institute at CSUMB. It is involved with native plant projects with schools in the Salinas area and so were a natural choice to team up with the city to implement the project, supervised by the Watershed Institute, Return of the Natives, the City of Salinas, and The Moss Landing Marine Institute.
 Before planting could begin the area had to be graded to a more natural shape. Trash was picked up at community events and plantings followed. Maintenance included mulching, weeding, and watering. The plan involved teaching students how to grow the native plants to be used, and then plant them with the help of community volunteers. Its greatest feature is its link to its local community and the surrounding low-and middle-income housing. The plan involved local schools where six greenhouses were built for students to grow 18,000 plants transplanting to the park.
Recreational areas were installed, including barbeque and picnic areas, an amphitheater, basketball courts, and a popular skate park. Over the past ten years the project Return of the Natives has replanted 17 acres of Natividad Creek Park with over 20,000 native plants, funded by a $160,000 grant from California Department of Resources and local nurseries, built nature trails, and installed the Children’s Discovery Garden. The once trash laden flood control ditch is now a beautiful riparian corridor.
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