The Tongva Springs is a magical place where people can connect with nature. The people working there are trying to restore it to the place it was when the indigenous Tongva community lived there. We will talk about the animals, plants, and spring.
The volunteers are trying to bring in the plants and animals that lived there when the Tongva did. In order to do this they have to move the plants and animals that don't belong there so the native plants and animals have room to grow and thrive.
The spring is home to many plants and animals (cattails, fish, etc.) but some aren't native and don't belong there. The crawfish are invasive (read: they aren't native) and are eating the native animals' food. Thankfully, they are being removed with traps (don't worry—no killing traps). They also have a medicine garden that has some of the many herbs the Tongva used. The property is full of trees, both native and not.
The spring runs through the middle of the property. It produces so much water that the volunteers use the water to water the plants! You can also drink the water from the sprinklers. It's very fresh. You can see the water that comes up from the spring, so it looks as if the sand is bubbling up into the water.
The Tongva Springs in West L.A. is open on the first Saturday of each month from 10 am to 3 pm, and welcomes volunteers to help out with restoring it. You can also visit the Kuruvungna Village Springs & Cultural Center located in the middle of the park. • GRAY C.
