Jan. 18, 2010

CSUMB plays major role in Steinbeck Center exhibit

An exhibition at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas tells the story of a local watershed, and the story of California State University, Monterey Bay's community engagement.

"The Creeks of Salinas: The Gabilan Watershed Experience" runs from Feb. 5 through April 25 with several special events scheduled during that time.

Jennifer Colby, exhibit curator, community artist and lecturer in Liberal Studies at CSUMB, tells the story of how the watershed has been transformed as a result of 15 years of work done by the Return of the Natives (RON) at the university's Watershed Institute.

"This is a California story," Dr. Colby said. "The watershed has been home to the Mutsen Ohlone and waves of immigrants, some whose stories John Steinbeck told. Today's story is of hope in the center of a city brought by the restoration of the natural waterways – a community action made possible by CSUMB's vision of service learning and by many, many hands who cleaned, planted, and tended the heart of the Gabilan."

When CSUMB was founded, marine scientists realized the importance of watersheds to the health of the ocean – the water that flows into the Pacific from coastal streams has a major impact. RON was born to restore these creeks to health through restoration with native plants.

"We have focused the eyes of the community on the watershed. We have changed the perception. Now people realize that this watershed is something natural and not just a drainage ditch," said Laura Lee Lienk, co-director of the Watershed Institute.

The exhibition tells how this was done –from the planting of seeds in greenhouses by school children to the transformation of polluted and abandoned creeks to vibrant parks in the center of Salinas – through years of service learning and engaging the community in cleaning and planting.

Hundreds of CSUMB students and thousands of K-12 students have participated. Natividad Creek Park and Upper Carr Lake have been restored. Dreams for the future include an ambitious plan to restore the original Carr Lake wetland in the center of Salinas into a natural habitat and park.

To tell this story and the larger story of the Gabilan watershed, Dr. Colby was awarded a $10,000 California Stories Grant from the California Council for the Humanities. The grant was used to produce two community art projects: "My Place in the Watershed," an installation of maps and prints created by six Salinas and Castroville area schools, and "The River of Photos," a 24-inch by 200-foot montage of photos created with the Watershed Experience MMPublishing Team.

The community art projects highlight each section of this watershed and professional artists reflect on its past, present and future in their paintings, photography and sculpture.

An installation of a mini watershed includes a mural by local artist Jose Ortiz and youth group Hijos del Sol.

During the exhibition, the public is invited to receptions on the first Friday evening of each month, and a family Watershed Day on March 20, which features workshops in poetry, drama and hands-on art and science.

The exhibit closes with an Earth Day celebration April 25.

The Arts Council for Monterey County, the California Department of Education's Learn and Serve program and the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services provided additional funding.

IF YOU GO****What: "The Creeks of Salinas: The Gabilan Watershed Experience"

Where: National Steinbeck Center, 1 Main St., Salinas

When: Feb. 5-April 25, 2010

Information: www.steinbeck.org