We canoe, can you canoe?

VIC LEIPZIG AND LOU MURRAY

Storm water overflowed twice last week from the Slater flood control

channel and wreaked havoc on the Shipley Nature Center. The current

washed out trails, scoured dirt away from newly planted shrubs,

knocked over protective cages and uprooted heavy logs that delineated

trail boundaries.

Our crew from the Orange County Conservation Corps had sawed large

logs from downed trees, hauled the logs from the woods to the trail

and half-buried the logs along the upslope side of the trail to

prevent erosion. It was disheartening to see weeks of their hard work

washed away in a matter of hours.

When Blackbird Pond expanded from one acre to about eight acres,

the trail logs washed into a big logjam. Blackbird Pond, which is 11

feet deep, looked like a lumberjack convention gone awry.

Fortunately, there was a solution. All we needed was a boat to

retrieve the logs, so I called Billy Whitford of the Newport Aquatic

Center. With incredible generosity, he offered to bring two canoes to

the nature center at no charge and leave them until we got the mess

cleaned up.

Last Thursday, I gathered my Corps crew together. It was going to

be their last day at Shipley for a while. We had been blessed with a

donation from the Corps of three months of their labor. But because

we had no money to pay them, we were losing them to a paying job

site. I had received permission from the Corps administration to make

the last day’s task retrieving logs from the pond by canoe.

I asked if any of the crew had previous canoeing experience. Two

boys out of my crew of 14 raised their hands. Then I asked how many

would like to go canoeing if they had the opportunity. All hands flew

up with great enthusiasm, just as Billy drove up with the canoes.

The kids carried the two canoes, life jackets and paddles to the

edge of the pond. Billy gave them instruction in how to maneuver the

canoes, provided some safety tips and turned them loose.

The first group of four, with two in each canoe, paddled out into

the pond. With three swift strokes and shouts of dismay, they flew

past the logs they had intended to retrieve and went deep into the

overhanging willows on the other side. Learning to control the canoes

enough to work effectively took some time.

The canoeing experience turned out to be a great opportunity for

the Corps crew members to learn teamwork and cooperation. I had been

worried I wouldn’t find enough boys willing to venture out into the

pond. Silly me. They took to the water like ducks. The biggest

problem was getting them to come back so the next team could learn

this new task.

Moving the logs to shore wasn’t easy. They tried hauling the

heavy, water-soaked logs into the canoes, but that was difficult and

hazardous as the weight of a log plus a leaning person unbalanced the

canoe. The easiest technique turned out to be pushing the logs

shoreward while a land crew hauled them out of the water.

Inexplicably, two boys decided to swap positions in their canoe.

Rather than coming ashore, they thought they could do it while

afloat. Bad idea. They stood up, immediately destabilizing the canoe.

But by coordinating their actions, they managed to stay upright, at

least temporarily. They were in only two feet of water, so I let them

experiment.

They moved to the center of the canoe, and held on to each other

in a dance of balance as they tried to rotate positions. Silly boys.

They tipped the canoe over, dumping themselves into the pond with

joyful screams.

By the end of the workday, all the kids had learned to canoe, and

they had retrieved about two thirds of the logs from the pond.

Although this crew had the most disadvantaged youth-at-risk, it

turned out to be my best crew ever. Vic and I made an extra effort to

take these kids on field trips to other restoration sites. We also

provided additional lessons to help them catch up socially and

academically with others their age. We really bonded with this group.

My Corps kids are dealing successfully with various issues, such

as gang membership, drug and/or alcohol addiction, probation or

poverty. It has been a real pleasure to get to know them.

With the help of the Corps, they’ve turned their lives around and

are headed in a better direction. They work four days a week,

attending classes after work and on Fridays to earn their high school

diplomas. Many of them haven’t had much joy in their young lives, so

it was great to be able to give them an opportunity to have fun as

part of their work.

We’ll keep the canoes at Shipley until mid-March, when we have to

cease work in the wetlands for nesting season. Vic and I paddled out

to do some monitoring tasks that we had been unable to perform from

dry land. We had forgotten how much fun it is to go canoeing.

Unfortunately, recreational canoeing isn’t possible here in the

city’s parks, so we’re going to visit Billy and canoe around Upper

Newport Bay. You can visit their website at https://www.newportaquatic

center.com, or call (949) 646-7725. They have kayaks, outriggers,

racing teams and summer camp programs. They do birthday parties and

corporate team building as well.

Newport Aquatic Center is a nonprofit corporation that does good

things with kids. Go have fun while supporting their good work.

* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and

environmentalists. They can be reached at [email protected].