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Deike Peters, associate professor of environmental planning and practice, spent her sabbatical last year researching the proposed ecological restoration of the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve, the last remaining wetland in Los Angeles and second-largest open space within city limits after Griffith Park. Originally called “Guashna” by the native Gabrielino-Tongva peoples, this marsh area has undergone many human-made changes, from being filled with soil to support cattle ranching to being reshaped by the construction of the Ballona Creek channel, Marina del Rey Harbor, and the nearby community of Playa Vista.

Peters’ research inspired her Learning Cluster, “Geo-storytelling Ballona,” which took a small group of undergraduate students to the Ballona Wetlands for hands-on learning experiences in environmental studies. The students presented their work at “Listening to Ballona: A Conservatory Event Dedicated to LA’s Last Wetland,” a symposium hosted by the Pacific Basin Research Center on Feb. 7. The event featured panels on various social and environmental issues as well as a 24-hour installation by sound artist Daniel Rothman of audio recorded at the Ballona Wetlands. (For a full list of panels and contributor information, please visit the .)

Peters shared her reflections on her research, as well as how her Learning Cluster and the “Listening to Ballona” symposium tie into SUA’s founding principle of fostering leaders for the creative coexistence of nature and humanity.

What drew you to the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve as a subject of research to pursue during your sabbatical?

I live close to the Ballona Wetlands, and I’m there all the time. This is a place where a major environmental battle was won in 1990 when environmentalists were able to protect this last piece of wetlands from development. But after it became an official ecological reserve, stakeholders started fighting over how it should be ecologically reenhanced. This area hasn’t been a fully functioning wetland in a long time, and people disagree about which version of nature we actually want to restore here. It’s a microcosm of major questions in environmental urban studies and ecological restoration.

My idea was always to compare what’s happening with the Ballona Wetlands to the recently completed, 30-year renaturalization of the Emscher River in my hometown in Germany. I come from an old industrial region, the Ruhr Valley, and this very polluted river was where all the industrial and residential waste went. But not anymore — the renaturing project was deemed a success. This comparative thinking was the original motivation for my sabbatical research.

Why is protecting the Ballona Wetlands crucial to both the local ecosystem and the environmental health and safety of Los Angeles?

It’s important because we need to repair our environment and prepare for rising sea levels in the future. In Los Angeles, we’ve lost over 95% of our coastal wetlands, which protect us from storm surges and rising sea levels. Wetlands also regulate the local ecology. Restoring the Ballona Wetlands could allow it to function as what people call a “nature-based infrastructure.” Wetlands perform a cleaning function by filtering pollution, and they regulate wildlife. A renaturalized Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve could be an immensely important open space. Planners also envision new hiking and biking trails for recreation. But it’s also critical to get the restoration right, so there isn’t an easy solution.

Why is there disagreement among environmental groups, scientists, and other local stakeholders about how to restore the wetlands?

Everybody recognized that the Ballona Wetlands shouldn’t be completely paved over, but there hasn’t been the same consensus going into the future vision. When the California Department of Fish and Wildlife designed the official restoration master plan between 2017 and 2019, several of the alternatives proposed or preferred by various ecologists and environmental groups were dismissed. Some stakeholders felt that they had not been listened to, and the conflict became increasingly fraught.

If we reconnect the wetlands to the ocean, as proposed by the official master plan, we will get a salt marsh environment with a particular ecology that benefits certain birds and other species. But some ecologists claim that, historically, there was more of a freshwater ecology present at this site, which would have supported other kinds of species. And the stakes to get this right are high, as the plan proposes to spend millions of dollars to remove dumped soil, clean things up, change berms, and uncase a section of concrete channel to let Ballona Creek flow again.

A series of lawsuits have been filed, which may open another window of opportunity for rethinking. That’s where things are at right now. Talking about the future of the Ballona Wetlands is possible again, which is why we wanted to have the “Listening to Ballona” symposium.

Although the big picture is complicated, has your research revealed any measures or methods that you think should be part of the solution?

As a planner, I understand the conundrum of megaproject decision-making. Just by virtue of it being a very big solution, smaller scale, multi-step solutions may get overlooked. I have some concerns about the massive earth moving, bulldozing, and the complete upheaval of reshaping the space on a grand scale. My instinct is to listen to the arguments for gentler solutions. But the problem with any planning for big or small solutions, however, is that it’s always a case-by-case call. You have to know the details of the case particularly well. People argue over costs and benefits over very long time scales.

There are a lot of immediate things that can be improved: smaller-scale restoration at some of the subsites, better use of these sites for educational purposes, and better public access. There is actually consensus around many of these things. But interim improvements won’t happen if people think whatever they’re improving will be completely ripped out.

Can you describe your Learning Cluster, “Geo-storytelling Ballona”? What was this course about, and what exactly is geo-storytelling?

The Learning Cluster was about using a place that I know very well to teach how we communicate ideas about the environment in compelling ways. Social scientists and urban planners often have to mediate and explain conflicts and decisions. There are very advanced and useful digital tools, like ArcGIS StoryMaps, that enable multilayered storytelling. You can create a map, but you can also include photographs, text, audio, video, and historical artifacts. You can bring the heart of a place to life in a digital way.

I thought using ArcGIS StoryMaps for geo-storytelling about the Ballona Wetlands was perfect as a learning moment for environmental studies undergraduates. I actually had never used this particular software before, but I strongly believe that I should be learning with and alongside the students in a Learning Cluster. We wanted to explore how these new multimedia and mapping tools could enhance our ability to tell the story of the Ballona Wetlands and strengthen our capacity to communicate their science effectively. How do we ignite a passion for a place?

Another aim was to leverage the students’ passion for storytelling and bring it back to the community. Students became investigators with very fresh, unclouded eyes. We talked to some of the stakeholders that have fundamental disagreements about how Ballona should be restored. Students found that the stakeholders were incredibly unified in their love for the place and the wildlife, and they wondered why these opposing camps couldn’t all come together over a solution. The spirit of a Learning Cluster is very much about learning by doing and finding ways in which students can answer their own questions together.

What were the goals of the “Listening to Ballona” symposium?

We wanted to bring together some of the stakeholders that normally wouldn’t talk to each other. It was also for the benefit of the students and the community here at SUA. We made it an event not only about the Ballona Wetlands, but also about demonstrating positive communication. We took the word “listening” very seriously. And it was a way to show students that their learning is celebrated and can give something back to the community. On the event web page, from the Learning Cluster is just one click away so that their efforts and their bringing together of knowledge can be a continuous way of reenergizing the conversation.

What do you hope attendees took away from the symposium?

Hopefully, a renewed sense of connectedness to nature even in very urban contexts. And a sense of empowerment in being creative and trusting your own creativity to be a valid starting point for investigation. The Learning Cluster students, for example, used writing from the perspective of a native bird, or of something in the bird’s immediate environment, as an entry point to learn more about a specific bird species in the Ballona Wetlands. They started from an empathetic viewpoint. Their writing was then linked to an entry on that species of bird on the Friends of Ballona Wetlands webpage, which also directs you to resources like the eBird and Merlin Bird ID apps and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where you can learn scientific facts about the bird.

How can someone get involved in urban and environmental planning issues in their own community?

The local news media do a fantastic job of covering urban and environmental news. If you’re based in LA, you might want to follow LAist or KCET. NPR affiliate stations often feature local environmental organizations and interview them on the radio. Our local journalists are really good at highlighting environmental and urban planning issues that you might have right on your doorstep.