Among the first in the world
I recently learned something new and fascinating about one of my favorite places to go here in Los Angeles. It turns out that the South Coast Botanic Garden was developed right on top of a sanitary landfill.
Many, many years ago, the area was completely submerged in the Pacific Ocean. In those days, the area was absolutely overrun by innumerable single cell algae known as diatoms. The dead diatoms would sink to the bottom of the ocean where they would settle and for a sediment called diatomaceous earth.
Fast forward to the early 1900s, a time when diatomaceous earth was known to have a ton of uses. A corporation called the Decalite Company began mining the sediment, but it was mostly just scraping the stuff off of the top.
It wasn't until around 1929 that they began doing open pit mining. Between 1944 and 1956 heavy mining continued until the whole thing kind of cooled off. During this time, the many acres of land were owned by the Great Lakes Carbon Company who decided to sell the site to the county of Los Angeles.
Apparently Los Angeles had planned to "utilize the best possible technology to reclaim the land for best possible use", but decided to make it a landfill in the meantime. I don't know about you, but that sounds dumb as hell to me; but I digress.
Private Citizens to the Rescue
In 1961 a group of people, led by Frances Young, got together and lobbied the County Board of Supervisors to turn the landfill into a massive botanic garden. A few months later work began!
Over 40,000 plants and trees were donated and planted around area.
Since then the garden has added over 200,000 new plants, trees and shrubs. There is a vast array of plant life from all around the world spread throughout the 87 acres.
As you are walking around you would never guess that you were standing on top of what was essentially a giant trash heap. Although it is an amazing feat, it does make you wonder what kind of crap is under your feet. I wonder what they did with it. Did they just blend it all up? Was more dirt piled on top?
I don't know. Perhaps I am better off not knowing! Whatever the case, I am grateful that they did it!
Well! Los Angeles is a very nice place so to say but wasn't aware such thing exist there. It is a nice write up. Keep it up. Another great thing about Los Angeles is their men football club ,I always wanted to watch them play on ESPN tv network. Take car Buddy.
Happy Xmas in advance dear friend hope you are getting prepared, @nuthman
We are all ready for Christmas! Have a wonderful holiday season, Toby.
Thanks my dear friend @nuthman
Beautiful botanic garden! Thanks for sharing the photos, @nuthman.
Thanks for looking! We love it there.
Beautiful place and amazing photos thank you for sharing post 🙏🌹🙏🌹🙏🌹
That's great that they were able to make something beautiful out of a landfill. I guess they didn't have things like disposable diapers back then, but, yeah... you still wonder what's down there.
Yeah, on the upside it was converted way before the 80s, so at least it wasn't 90% plastic! Thanks for stopping in! ✋
I like to butt into this conversation and mention Butchart Gardens in Victoria, BC, which was a limestone quarry before.
Great story - the reclamation of land. It is not unusual - possibly safer to do this as a park and rec area, rather than residential. Mind you, where I live in my district of Floridsdorf in Vienna, they built a large hospital on top of a former industrial site where toxic chemicals had leaked into the soil (a former railway area).
But similar also in the city where I lived in Canada: a railyard reclaimed (I actually worked there prior to it moving out of town) where among other stuff also creosote leaked into the ground - now there is a shopping center and also a health clinic on those grounds (the former station was rebuilt for the health clinic)!
Back to my story about the hospital in Vienna: they actually paid an esoteric consultant to "bless" the area by building a "energy ring" against negative energy.
This from the municipal government - the same government that now spearheads the fight against Corona with one of the most draconian measures of all of Europe!
From my more recent posts (quite a few are in German only) you might deduct that I had given up on the sanity of politicians. There is indeed a brain virus going around, and has for some time, it didn't start with Corona!
Oh wow, that seems like not the best place to put sick people.
It's interesting how many health buildings are put on top of toxic waste. I guess they know enough to consider it not risky.
But you know how it is, in the end it is often a case of money/profit over human well being and safety.
It is a large area, it was either that or a residential complex. Lots of industrial land is reclaimed as industries are moved out of the city altogether. Having worked in Canada for a couple of decades in Lethbridge (railyards) I know what's in the soil, lol. Particularly in the area of the former roundhouse, but that is largely a shopping center now - ironically the almost exact spot is Kids R Us. The repurposed station for a health center is not that bad. Last thing that once happened there was a large derailment (also involved tank cars) just past where the building is - for which I was responsible, in a way, since I was the switch-foreman that night. Long story ......
It definitely proves that something can be done with the other landfills. Just think, instead of a public health risk and eyesore, the world could have another garden!
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STOPI would guess that is probably the perfect place to make a garden like that. What with all the decomposition and stuff, there is likely a lot of really rich soil. There is probably a lot of toxic crap too... Maybe they took soil samples before they started conversion on it. Great Lakes Carbon Company. That sounds like it would be from my neck of the woods!
Yeah, Great Lakes Carbon sounds like it's from up there.
I am guessing that they must have checked the soil pretty good because there is a section where they grow edible veggies that they sell. I would hope that they are not contaminated!
Oh wow, that is interesting about the veggies! Very cool!
They don't have anything this time of year, but next time they do I will post some pics
This place look beautiful, but it looks old, well done my tourist @nuthman
Thanks man!
You are welcome do have a wonderful weekend @nuthman
That's a great capture from you @nuthman. Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful day ahead.
Thanks! Have a great weekend.