Del Playa Open Space
9/25/22 - The Fire
Connor Forest Byrne: “It's probably 11 a.m. I saw smoke by a car, and I thought maybe it was the car because someone was standing next to the car. He was like talking a little bit, so I can assume that he was checking out his car and then like he called out to some other guy who was walking by as the smoke started getting bigger, and then it was big enough that I was like yeah I should grab a fire extinguisher.”
Upon closer examination, the bushfire was spreading from under the powerline to engulf the Vernal Pool, still very dry at this time of year. Connor, with the wind blowing in his beard and cheers from the neighbors echoing in his ears, extinguished the fire, saving the fragile Vernal pool ecosystem from what could have been a disaster.
Connor has a theory about how the fire started.
"One day, a homie (A well re-known IV lobster) came over with a fishing pole, and at the end of the fishing pole was a dildo that he through over the powerline and dropped on people as they were walking by. You know how you can drop the line down of a fishing rod (to make the dildo fly), it might have been some friction happening on the wire, I'm not sure if a fishing line can cut through wires, but there's a lot of rubbing there, anyway, we did that for like a few hours it's really fun. Later my neighbors across the street noticed that they had some problems with their power wasn't working as well as it usually did. The morning of the fire, some friends and I were walking by the power line when I heard this weird electrical noise, and someone said: “oh my god, there are sparks."
I have connected the dots that maybe it was the dildo that did what took us to to the fire. So the dildo started the fire.”
10/18/22 - The Facts
I had the pleasure of speaking with Nick Norman, who answered some questions I had about the Vernal Pool:
1. Are there any plans for the park regarding upkeep, preservation, or maintenance?
The parcel known as the 6800 Open Space on Del Playa Drive is one of several vernal pools in IVRPD’s park network which is subject to a specific habitat management plant that aims to preserve native flora and fauna while eliminating invasive species such as Rumux Crispis, also commonly known as curly dock weed. IVRPD has been working to develop a comprehensive habitat management plan that once finalized would include a comprehensive annual maintenance schedule for the 6800 Open Space vernal pool, as well as those located at Camino Del Sol and Camino Corto Open Spaces.
As a tax-funded government agency, Isla Vista Recreation and Park District (IVRPD) and its parks are subject to the California Parks Protection Policy which prohibits the sale of public park land.
3. Is there any regular maintenance or upkeep done on the property?
IVRPD has a team of 4 Grounds Staff Members that performs routine and deferred maintenance at all of its 25 parks and open spaces, including the 6800 Del Playa Open Space. This includes weed abatement, litter and trash removal, safety hazard mitigation, irrigation repair, access and egress, and infrastructural improvements.
4. Is there any research being done on the park?
There is no research currently being conducted at the 6800 Del Playa Open Space. However, IVRPD is currently partnering with CCBER and UCSB Graduate Student Joanna Tang to perform an in-depth study of the vernal pools. This study includes habitat restoration.
5. The wooden bench, Where does it come from? What's its significance?
The wooden bench was installed in 2018 as a passive recreation feature for cliff walkers to sit and enjoy the views of the ocean during sunset. It was carved from a fallen cypress tree by a former Grounds worker who has since moved on from IVRPD.
6. Lastly, The sign is very much degraded, is there any possibility of restoring the information panel on-site?
IVRPD is actively working to identify funding sources within its limited budget that can be allocated towards supporting the improvement of various park amenities, including educational signage. IVRPD intends on hosting a forthcoming Bike Tour with its Board of Directors to receive feedback and seek direction on how to improve amenities within its park network.
11/29/22 - The Bronco
The day was a strange one. Something peculiar along the rapidly eroding Isla Vista Bluff. Home to the daily sunset exodus where hundreds of young residents flock to the shoreline to watch the sun fall below the horizon. A forest green post 2020 Ford Bronco crept along the path alongside the pedestrians up to the cliff of Del Playa Open Space. I yelled at him to get off the dirt patch I've grown to love so much and finally he did. Leaving only his tire tracks as a remembrance of this illegal, slightly dangerous but luxurious sunset viewing.
1/9/23 - The Rain
It's a new year, and it's been dumping. The vernal pool depression is nearly as full as it gets. The soft croak of frogs echoes along the cliff, and signs of native life such as the Fairy Shrimp, Clam Shrimp, and Tiger Salamanders are apparent as all sorts of avian hunters sit among the trees and powerlines waiting to strike. Recently there's been finches, herons, doves, hawks, and species of waterfowl I don't recognize that probably got blown down in the storm. The grass is thick and green, and the potential for a beautiful flower bloom in a few months is excellent. I only hope this is not the only rain of the year and the vernal (spring) season doesn't come early, because surviving the drought is becoming increasingly difficult for the fragile ecosytem that is a vernal pool.
1/18/23 - Creator Chris
UC Berkely graduate, Creator Chris rides the bus to stand on the bluff in front of Del Playa Open Space (DPOC) most mornings for an hour or more. After seeing and speaking with him multiple times, I asked him to record a conversation. I asked a few questions, but he genuinely had a lot to say. And some of his ideas were very convincing, others I was not ready to comprehend. Sometimes the simplest beauty inspires the most creative innovation.
Begin Quote, Creator Chris.
I know a ton of songs, and I like to sing. I've been coming here to the bluff (at DPOC) to wait for the princess, and as I pray for her, I sing many redemption songs.
Just to establish universally that life is worth living, just to have a core principle that we can all relate to, I guess redemption of the whole world.
Honestly, I think I am christ, not Jesus. I think that religion equals delusion. I think that I am here to be the prince and help lead a revolution I think that we're all immortal and were all born to live. One of my original songs is We are Immortal. We have a lot to live for.
I coined it the baby rights movement. We can reconfigure our own lives and rectify the past to reconcile our immortality. We can't teach children about war.
For the constant progression of life, we can't impress upon babies any negative history. So in the dawning of the golden age of humanity, we make history. We still have all the conceptualization of life since a spontaneous generation or existence since the big bang. All that information ties through healthcare to making life feel more and more positive.
I think the Isla vista community is an excellent center for the transformation we're going through.
As we eliminate fossil fuels and pollution, we can have these intellectual centers, and the youth of Isla vista has a significant portion of people that have shared the idea that we are immortal. I think there is less doubt and more belief and constituent way amongst college students.
A lot of this comes from an honor for all people.
This is our one chance to make a world that we know in our heart is possible.
One love
I think that it's a huge change of opinion and a unifying of beliefs among people we keep all the legends of the past to help us make decisions for the future none of us have lost innocence. Innocence is a character of life, so it fits naturally for us.
I’ve designed a non-profit alternative to Facebook or google. Ecomedia is a server for all people that gathers all the best tools of the internet and puts them into a user-friendly platform. I have 22 job positions that I made descriptions for, and I want to build our offices on this lot; it would fit as a one-story building right here. I know you're a fan of the vernal pools... so... we got this huge 900-block (6900 Del Playa) vernal pool right over there.
I think that's just a small part of why I want to wait here for the princess. I sing stairway to heaven a lot, staring at the staircase right there, thinking maybe she'll come up.
To tell you a little more about the communist revolution we were on the brink of. I think that we start a sustainable monetary system. I propose the monetary system in a paper called Ecoin Monetary System Proposal. Our data and our transactions form a dimension that is utility. We're taking this quantum leap forward to establish money as the unit of utility.
It’s the communist revolution because nothing else can really manage our communication as we embark. To start this global union, it takes the bourgeoisie forfeiting their riches for the working class to get paid well. And I think that we start a world democracy. There is so much value in peace, and world peace is natural, so we just got a bit of work to do.
The plan is 19 years to start a nonstop party. The communist revolution is the first half then we work into a socialist government to do what's best for society.
At this point i got distracted by the monster swell and commented.
”oh my god, I just watched somebody get a huge wave”
To which he replied.
I like surfing deep at the point because when you get the right wave, it just goes all the way down.
you got that long paddle out though
“there's a dude on a longboard that's heavy.”
Then we went back to the revolution...
So we have a transition and a transformation the transformation is to heaven, and the transition is the communist revolution. We got to give restitution to all the previous actions with the new currency, then give restitutions that were made during the transition revolution. Afterward, its a straight-up utility.
There is not so much that tears us apart. We got to get over the corruption and see ourselves as people, equal people. I got that song as an original “Equal People.” I got a lot of work to do to become a better musician before I put it out, though.
1/5/23 - The Mower
This man appeared today with a lawn mower. He rode parallel to the paths cutting the fresh grass that lined the mud walkway. I watched and waited for him to drive deeper into the pool, prompting me to run out and stop him, but it never happened. I was curious to watch the man proceed out into Del Playa open space and make numerous observations indicated by a point of a hand as if counting or making notes of various locations. My theory is that he was mowing the path for people to walk around mud puddles that occur when it rains. This leads me to a harmonic existence with nature proposal. Of the small amount of land like this space left alone to grow naturally, humans must have a path where we can walk keeping our shoes clean. The grass along the vernal pool path is a barrier for seasonal species to be protected from the outside world. The tall grass begs to be left alone, concealing the micro critters within.
Shoes protect our feet but are painfully difficult to clean. Feet, on the other hand, need protecting because a lifetime of coddling has made them too weak to even walk a dirt path. A dirt path that turns to mud, that can be traversed easily with bare feet that rinse quicker you can say vernal pool.
2/10/2023 - The Hawk
This big bird which I believe to be a Accipiter cooperii or Coopers Hawk whom I've named Xerxes after my favorite Hawk in modern media, has been making frequent visits to Del Playa Open Space where adjacent homes frolic with joy at his arrival under the assumption that he will hunt and feast on the many rats and mice that scurry through our walls at night. It was to my surprise when I watched Xeres swoop out of the sky straight into a small gray dove. It was only a small tussle before Xeres flew away with his prize.
I hate watching animals die as much as the next person. But there is something magical about watching the top of the food chain in action. Without hawks like Xerxes to keep populations steady, the doves and finchs who flock to Del Playa Open Space when Xerxes is not around would devour seeds, eggs and insects that have already begun their long journey to survive until the next rain.
