The Historical Whereabouts of Copeland Creek

By Camille Mariner:

An Afternoon Stroll through History

On September 7^th, Wendy St. John and I went on a walkabout through the outskirts of Copeland creek nearest to the community garden of SSU. We began a conversation about the history of the creek, where the headwaters were, recent projects and the controversy of the term invasive species.

It’s fascinating to hear that this creek wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for agriculture and human action, when we think of the actual restoration of this “natural” ecosystem.

What is Natural?

The Headwaters, which is abundant with water all year long, remain as it was some years ago around the Fairfield Osborn Preserve. The current nature of the creek at lower elevations is intermittent, but was not always  as we see it today.

Before European settlers arrived in this area, the surrounding areas were a floodplain. The desire to use the land for agriculture and other types of development led to the channelization of Copeland creek. We see in the photo below the “un-natural” straightness of the creek through campus. This poses a question for future restoration projects wanting to restore the creek to its natural state. Would the safety of the newly populated land be at risk reverting the creek back to its natural state?

This would be highly impossible as it poses that we take the creek out and create the floodplain that was once dominating the land. With the campus and surrounding community, including agricultural lands, this is not a valid option.

Native and non-native: A controversy for the ages

Another problem arises with restoration in the terms of removing the invasive plants in order to promote native species.

Take Himalayan Blackberries for instance. They are widely seen as a problem, which in many cases they are. Invasive species, just like people are trying to live their lives and can’t be blamed or ridiculed for being introduced to a place that isn’t their original home.

On the ecological standpoint, the introduction of the dreaded blackberry has served as food and shelter for many of the creek critters, as well as for people who live in the area.

In the course of restoration efforts over the past few years, we’ve found that removing Himalayan blackberry can allow more growth of our native species, the California blackberry. We have also had some early success with the restoration technique of stacking succession, which introduces  new native species quickly by simultaneously planting the understory with native grasses as well as later successional shrubs and trees.

The Takeaway:

We can take what we learned about the history and construction of the Copeland creek to understand what restoration is needed for future projects.

We can use Copeland creek as an example to teach people that we do have a lot of power to change a natural landscape, even if we can not revert it back to its “natural state” due to ecological and safety reasons. We also have the power to restore and rebuild areas of the creek that have fallen ill from agriculture runoff, climate change and human disturbances by reintroducing native species and controlling the invasive species.

Next time you’re thinking of stepping out of your dorm, or class room to get a glimpse of history, just walk down to the Copeland creek on campus, right at our fingertips.