The Big Sur Land Trust is inviting all community members to participate in a landscape design project to create a vision for a Carmel River Parkway, a network of existing parklands at the mouth of Carmel Valley. The Vision Plan will blend landscape design principles with new ideas from community members to create a master plan for parkland and trails. The creation of the professional landscape design plan is being led by a design team of faculty and graduate students from the Department of Landscape Architecture at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, through their 606 Studio program.

On April 1st and 2nd, community members are invited to participate in the planning process through a series of sessions being held at the Carmel Mission Inn. The sessions will be held at:

• Friday, April 1, 10:00am – 12:30pm
• Saturday, April 2, 10:00am – 12:30pm
• Saturday, April 2, 2:00pm – 4:30pm

Space is limited, so those interested in attending should RSVP to Jo Lynn Rosbach, (831) 625-5523, ext.100.

Additionally, in coming weeks local school groups will be invited to participate in the design process in sessions coordinated through their faculty. Children of various ages will be engaged in creative idea generation, providing a unique perspective on how they would like to experience and learn about the natural resources in the area.

The concept of river parkways, which may be unfamiliar locally, is an increasingly popular method of connecting people with the lands and waters of the community they live in. Many successful parkways, which are also referred to as greenways, have been launched nationwide in the past twenty years. In California, successful examples of parkways can be found along the Kern, Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers.

By initiating the vision plan for a parkway, The Big Sur Land Trust is pursuing goals and values implicit in its new strategic plan, led by Executive Director Bill Leahy. “In our vision for the future, we see our communities celebrating the unique character, scenic landscapes, and rich natural resources that make them unique. To achieve that vision, collaborative partnerships among various groups must be both a goal, and a fundamental practice,” explained Leahy.

Another key strategic direction for the Land Trust is community-based conservation. Through community involvement and support, BSLT seeks to cultivate a personal connection between people and the lands and waters that define their communities. In this river parkway project, community members will be actively involved in planning meetings, helping to generate creative ideas and design of a vision plan, which together will punctuate the value of healthy lands and waters as central to our communities and our way of life.

During March the Land Trust began this community-based process by gathering ideas and input from adjacent land and business owners, and met with public agencies and conservation organizations actively involved with managing natural resources and public safety at the mouth of the valley.

As step two in the process, all community members are being invited to consider potential elements of a parkway vision plan with the design team, including restored natural places, access ways, quality trails, recreation, and educational experiences at the mouth of the valley and the gateway to Big Sur. The boundaries of the Vision Plan will extend as far north as Jacks Peak, and as far south as Point Lobos, and will extend from Carmel State Beach inland along the Carmel River.

“The potential for restoring these parklands and connecting them with a trails network is an outdoor showcase of nature where the best of the rich and diverse natural resources that grace the mouth of the river can be walked, experienced and enjoyed”, explained Cynthia Holmsky, General Manager at the Land Trust.

A parkway plan of this scale involves many collaborative partnerships including public and private organizations. The majority of existing parklands in the project area are currently managed by the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District, California State Parks, and Monterey County Parks. Additionally, Mission Trails Park is managed by the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea. “State Parks is keenly interested in this collaborative process to create a Vision Plan for a Carmel River Parkway. The time and resources spent to develop a plan, now, will hopefully be a blueprint for the future of these magnificent parkland and trails,” said State Parks spokesman Dave Schaechtele.

Many of these parklands are walking distance to commercial centers, farmland, schools and neighborhoods. “Our objective for now is to conduct an academic planning exercise that involves all facets of our community. If the community supports the plan that emerges, we will begin to consider possible implementation. But for now, our scope is limited to planning that explores and defines what is possible”, explains Bill Leahy.

Funding for the planning process is provided by the Cal Poly Pomona Foundation and through private donations to The Big Sur Land Trust.