Ferndell’s Fading Fauna and Flora
The Land Ethic Begins at Home
Vibrant koi fish, clusters of tadpoles, carefree turtles, and camouflaging crawfish breathed life into the creek and small streams scattered along the Ferndell Nature Trail. The tree canopy that veiled the majority of the trail felt like a botanical embrace with the occasional sun rays seeping through the redwood, ash, and sycamore trees. The sweet scent of rich soil and greenery lingered in the atmosphere with birds and butterflies adding a serene soundtrack and a splash of color to the idyllic scene. This green oasis located near a Griffith Park entrance attracted crowds of families, hikers, and locals from Los Angeles in the early 2000s. I was around 7 when Ferndell was a bustling trail that made me feel like I stepped into a mystical forest-like realm in contrast to the concrete jungle I lived in.
Over a decade later, I traversed the Ferndell trail again after countless trips over the years and the once green and lush Ferndell trail has lost its spark. On the warm Sunday afternoon, I expected to see dozens of families, couples, and hikers but was instead met with an eerie silence and a gloomy ambiance. It did not help that at that moment I remembered that a dead body was found here back in 2017. The overgrown thickets, murky water, damp scent, and overall stillness of Ferndell contributed to its liminal aura. It was only when I saw a lone young woman sitting on an orange bench a few steps further down that I relaxed a bit. Small ponds and trickling water could no longer be a suitable habitat for the koi fish that once swam through the clear stream. The neon graffiti on the railings stood out in stark contrast to the piles of dull, old leaves and branches scattered all over the trail. The only quality that never seems to change about Ferndell is the shade people seek during the summer heat.
Back in 2012, The Cultural Landscape Foundation declared Ferndell as one of the 12 most threatened landscapes in America. The water shut-off of Ferndell, which was once fed from a natural spring as well as California’s drought, has contributed to the gradual deterioration of the ravine. The diverse collection of native plants such as the maidenhair fern and lady fern to non-native plants such as elephant-ear plants and climbing English ivy are part of Ferndell’s resilient ecosystem.
Despite the neglect Ferndell has faced, it is a beloved space for Angelenos looking for a light, half-mile round trip walk or as a starting point before walking up to the Griffith Observatory. According to the Natural History Museum, Gabrielino/Tongva had villages in what is now Ferndell and Griffith Park. In 1896, Colonel Griffith J. Griffith donated Griffith Park to the City of Los Angeles because of his belief that the lack of nature in the city could be harmful to people, especially the poor.
Griffith declared, “Public parks are a safety valve of great cities . . . and should be accessible and attractive, where neither race, creed nor color should be excluded.”
Griffith’s vision indeed came to life with countless visitors walking the grounds of Griffith Park daily. Ferndell takes up 20 of Griffith Park’s 4,210 acres and it started to develop in the early 1910s when the Superintendent of Parks, Frank Shearer, brought in a variety of native and imported ferns to create a fern garden. Over the next two decades, faux bois structures were introduced to Ferndell as well as bridges and a rumored “fountain of youth” that supposedly had healing abilities.
As part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal Program, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built benches, terraced pools, rustic-style railings, and other man-made features that still exist in Ferndell today. While it was regularly maintained afterward, that changed in the 1970s when maintenance workers were laid off and Ferndell started to decline.
According to the Los Angeles Times, “The city has lopped its Recreation and Parks budget by a quarter since 2008.” According to the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks report, the 2022–2023 budget was $317.7M, a $18.97M increase from Fiscal Year 2021–2022. It also states that 22.47% of the budget ($71,393,676) was invested in land maintenance. A more recent report that provides an overview of the 2023–2024 budget states that $338.9M is allocated for the operations of the Department of Recreation and Parks (RAP), which is an increase of $21.2M from the previous fiscal year budget.
With this budget in mind, why is Ferndell still in need of maintenance? Well, it could be that it has been overlooked by the city when considering that several other parts of Griffith Park also need maintenance. In 2023, The Eastsider reported that “…Congressman Adam Schiff set aside $4.5 million for Griffith Park improvements… That includes $2 million to start improving the Riverside strip…” The main three issues the city council aims to redevelop is “Getting a new space for the Griffith Park Adult Community Center. Figuring out what to do eventually with the land now occupied by the Bridge Home housing shelter. [And] securing money soon to fix, repair, and reopen the Griffith Park Pool.”
This is not to say that Ferndell has not received any tending to in the past. The non-profit group Friends of Griffith Park has often led restoration services such as in 2015 when they helped organize a rehabilitation project with the assistance of the Office of Historic Resources, the Los Angeles Conservancy, the L.A. office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and biologists to study Ferndell. This project was made possible by the Griffith J. Griffith Charitable Trust, the Oaks Homeowners Association, and private donors who contributed to the Fern Dell Fund.
Additionally, the community that surrounds Ferndell has taken restoration into their own hands by taking part in tree-mulching events in Ferndell. Friends of Griffith Park along with elderly folk, John Marshall High School teens, families, and locals gathered to mulch Ferndell’s trees in 2016. According to Laura Howe, the Vice President of Volunteer Services, many of Ferndell’s trees were over 100 years old and the lack of water contributes to stress which weakens the trees. The article posted on the Friends of Griffith Park website explains, “…mulch is a protective covering that, among other things, helps reduce evaporation, maintain even soil temperature, prevent erosion, control weeds and enrich the soil. It can also improve soil fertility as it decomposes.”
“When we begin to see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”
— Aldo Leopold
The Friends of Griffith Park and the locals who have united in efforts to conserve the nature around us embody Aldo Leopold’s fire and philosophy of Land Ethic. Leopold, a philosopher and conservationist among other things, believed in the importance of understanding the interconnectedness between humans and the life that surrounds us. It is when we accept this philosophy that we begin to transform our perspective on the biotic community on this planet. Even so, that would be the first step before putting that philosophy into practice and keeping the golden rule in mind to reciprocate the gentleness and beauty that nature shares with us. Thus, it is up to us to join hands together to preserve the integrity and lifeblood of this earth.
It is reassuring to see the community coming together to care for our local green spaces but it is evident that Ferndell, like many other green spaces, needs more attention and funding. Perhaps Ferndell needs a real fountain of youth to revitalize the flora and fauna. Hopefully, the heavy rain that poured in Los Angeles these past few days will help Ferndell reclaim its essence, even if it is just a bit.
