Tuesday October 1, 2024
Santa Barbara Independent —
Right now, Santa Barbara’s Mission Creek is dry and fenced off. Stones and dirt are exposed, and evidence of construction lies all around it. But with winter and spring rains, water and life will course through the creek once again.
It might even look like it’s celebrating, following the completion of the Mission Creek Restoration project.
The project, which started in August, spans an 1,800-foot section of Mission Creek at Oak Park, which has been degraded over time due to previous construction of hardened banks and a modified creek bed.
For Santa Barbara’s 25th annual Creek Week, the city’s Creeks Division hosted a tour of the project on Wednesday. Attendees met at the Mission Creek bridge while the park around them bustled with the noise of happy families, kids playing with RC cars, and teenagers practicing a dance routine.