Halfway through 2025, our Long Beach Chapter has held 3 volunteer-powered Ocean Friendly Garden workdays to transform the Alamitos Bay Marina. In collaboration with Long Beach City's Parks, Rec, and Marine Department and Long Beach Utilities, 6400 sq ft of grass lawn has been replaced with rainwater retention features, over 500 native plants and trees, and water-efficient irrigation. A total of 120 volunteers have rolled up their sleeves to dig, plant, and mulch these Ocean Friendly Gardens, and we are so proud to see them grow and thrive!
Rainwater retention features
Each panel includes a rainwater retention feature that increases the garden's capacity to hold and soak in water. Simple trenches planted with native plants create "bioswales" and the soil removed from these low points is mounded up to create berms or small hills. These simple contours go a long way to slow the flow of water, redirecting it into the soil instead of flowing off as pollution.
Native plants and trees
With a total of over 500 native plants and trees, these panels have been transformed into havens for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife. There are over a dozen species of California native plants represented in the projects, including a variety of buckwheats, native bunch grasses, yarrow, and Santa Cruz Island Ironwood trees. The deep roots of these plants will help naturally filter runoff and soak up water during the rainy season, preventing pollution from entering the bay.
Community collaboration
These projects wouldn't be possible without our awesome volunteers and the hardworking people from Parks, Rec, and Marine, Long Beach Utilities, and the Conservation Corps of Long Beach. Together we are able to combine our efforts to create a new vision for Long Beach's waterfront!
Why remove non-functional grass areas?
The public parking lot of the Alamitos Bay Marina is flanked by ornamental sections of grass that (like all underutilized grass lawns) waste valuable fresh water, create stormwater runoff, and do not support climate resilience or biodiversity. These grass panels are flat and sloped toward the Marina, directing any runoff from sprinklers or rain directly into the Alamitos Bay.
Recent California legislation, AB 1572, mandates that drinking water cannot be used to water grass areas that are solely used for decoration, and not used by humans for recreation or gathering. This affects commercial properties like businesses, industrial buildings like warehouses, and institutional places like campuses and city properties. Picnic areas, parks, soccer fields are all allowed under this legislation because they serve a purpose and value to the community.
We spend a lot of money, energy, and emissions to transport water to dry Southern California and clean it to drinking water standards. The effects of climate change are making water conservation an increasingly urgent issue, and can be a way to motivate transformation not only to less grass, but also to more climate-resilient, ocean-friendly landscapes.
Pollution problems in the bay
Alamitos Bay is a destination for paddle boarders, kayakers, rowers, swimmers, and boaters to enjoy the water and the scenic waterways of Long Beach. Just across the water from our projects, Mother's Beach is packed throughout the summer with young kids and families who prefer the calm, protected waters in the Bay.
But Alamitos Bay has suffered from pollution and poor water quality, especially after storm events. There are many storm drains that flow directly into the Bay, and heavy metals, high bacteria levels, and trash are problematic after it rains.
Large asphalt parking lots and rip-rap rocks flank most of the Bay and Marine Stadium, which historically was part of the Los Cerritos Wetlands ecosystem. Much of this area was channelized and developed for rowing and diving competitions for the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, oil drilling operations, and the creation of Naples Island. The loss of wetlands plants was more than just a loss of wildlife habitat; these areas also function as natural buffers for pollution and water filtration between the watershed and the ocean.
So what can we do to help protect clean water and restore balance in Alamitos Bay?
We can use Ocean Friendly Gardens as nature based solutions to stormwater runoff, adding bioswales, berms, and other features to slow the flow of rainwater, sinking more of it back into the ground. Adding climate-adapted native plants and trees not only conserves freshwater, but their deep root systems also absorb extra nutrients and create healthy, spongy soil that is ready to soak up extra water.
Upstream, the Colorado Lagoon is being restored with native plants, toxic sediments have been removed, and storm drains have been routed away from this sensitive water body. The open channel project will also help restore water circulation and connectivity with Alamitos Bay! These Ocean Friendly Gardens projects work synergistically with larger habitat restoration projects like the Los Cerritos Wetlands and Colorado Lagoon, supporting biodiversity by bridging habitat gaps for bird and pollinator populations.
At home, you can avoid using store-bought fertilizers and pesticides that flow downstream, and add rainwater retention and native plants to your yard! Learn more in our free Getting Started with Ocean Friendly Gardens beginner's guide.
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