The public was invited by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to a summer solstice gathering on Saturday, June 21, to mark the change-over of seasons at the Chatsworth Nature Preserve — and more than 1,000 people showed up.
The LADWP owns and manages the Chatsworth Nature Preserve, the only nature preserve in the city of Los Angeles and rarely open to the public.
The event opened with a traditional blessing ceremony led by Dennis Garcia, chair of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians Elders Council.
The four-hour event celebrating the first full day of summer (the solstice was actually at 7:42 p.m. PDT on June 20, according to the Griffith Observatory) included guided nature hikes, live animal exhibits, music and storytelling. The LADWP offered guests water conservation tips, electric safety information and, for job seekers, information about careers with the department.
Speakers included Anselmo Collins, LADWP senior assistant general manager; Nurit Katz, Los Angeles Board of Water and Power commissioners; Los Angeles City Councilmember John Lee; and John Luker, Sky Valley Volunteers.
The event was co-hosted by the Santa Susana Mountain Park Association, Sky Valley Volunteers, and the Herp Connection.
The preserve is the former site of the Chatsworth Reservoir, created as a LADWP water-retention basin in 1919. The reservoir was drained in 1972.
The Chatsworth Nature Preserve itself was created in 1994 after the Los Angeles City Council passed Ordinance 169723 and in addition restricted the property to educational, historic and scientific purposes.
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