Work is well underway by the Santa Clara Valley Water District on a creekside project in Gilroy with tremendous environmental benefits. You’ll see crews out along Highway 101 planting a variety of crops and plants that will breathe new life into a previously neglected area.
The Tick Creek Riparian Enhancement project will establish much needed creek side vegetation. How does this benefit the environment?
- Helps to prevent erosion and conserve soil, a precious commodity where high quality topsoil is essential for growing crops.
- Vegetative roots will help filter storm water and agricultural runoff, improving the water quality.
- The presence of native vegetation and the density in which it is planted at this site serves a weed management function by excluding problematic invasive weeds like poison hemlock, which is common in such drainages.
Not only will the natural environment be enhanced through the planting of native riparian vegetation, but the nearby farms will also benefit because of the types of plants the water district has selected.
- Row crops directly adjacent to the planting area include both certified organic and conventional fields, both of which benefit from plant species that attract beneficial insects.
- Organic crops, in particular, rely upon natural pest management which depends on populations of predatory beneficial insects that feed upon pest insects and their larvae.
- California native plants, highly regarded for their ability to attract beneficial insects, create sequential blooming periods, providing habitat for these “good” bugs by supplying nectar and/or pollen throughout the year.
The ecological benefits don’t stop there. These same plants attract butterflies, birds and even native bumblebees which pollinate orchards and other flowering crops.
The project will enhance a reach of the creek approximately 1500 feet long along Highway 101 between Highway 25 on the north and Betabel and Y Road on the south and should be visible to those driving by. Surrounded by agricultural lands, this reach of the creek was once occupied by farm roads and row crops and has been almost completely devoid of vegetation since then.
Funded by the Clean, Safe Creeks & Natural Flood Protection Plan, a ballot measure that received strong support from Santa Clara County voters in Nov. 2000, the project will help the water district meet one of the promised outcomes of the plan, that healthy creek and bay ecosystems are protected, enhanced or restored.