STORMWATER WORKSHOP #1
Rainbow Canyon Test Plot
DATE: December 07 2025
An Oral History by USC Students in Arch546
“This event felt genuinely healing and grounding for me. The mix of tired muscles, dirt on our hands from pulling weeds, and easy conversations with people who’d been strangers a few minutes earlier made being outside feel quietly joyful in a way I didn’t expect. It was really lovely to see Rainbow Canyon so alive. I also got to put my architecture school education to use by building a birdhouse with friends. It took all three of us, which felt both grounding and humbling, and I really hope the birds end up loving its slightly crooked, handmade charm.”
“Presenting our check dam proposal at the Test Plot community event on Sunday was one of the highlights of my semester. After weeks of finals and studio deadlines, it felt refreshing to step outside the classroom and talk with people who actually live near Rainbow Canyon. I enjoyed explaining our ideas and hearing how residents experience flooding, erosion, and changes in the landscape firsthand. Their reactions were thoughtful and encouraging, and it was exciting to see that people were genuinely interested in how design could improve the canyon. The experience reminded me why architecture and landscape design matter beyond drawings and models̶they can become part of real conversations and real places. It was also a nice break from academic pressure to engage with the community in a relaxed, open setting and see our work spark curiosity and discussion.”
“What a long and fruitful day. I had such a great experience not only being able to see our map sign-in board with the diversity of visitors from areas around LA, SoCal, and internationally, but to get my hands dirty and meet new people. The best moments were when I’d see an untouched pile of dirt and a plant besides it, signifying it needed to be planted. Someone else would be planting nearby, and I asked how they heard about the event. I learned about people who were friends with my classmates, people who attended last December’s workshop and kept up to date with the Testplot instagram, and people who came because their friend lived in the neighborhood and also came to volunteer. These were just beginnings of conversations until I got to meet two costume designers who appreciated spending time with people passionate about the outdoors and a recent grad in the California Climate Action Corps. The event was an opportunity to connect with people over a shared process of planting. For fun, if the day was named after a Spotify playlist, it’d be Beaming Grind Community Sunday Afternoon.”
“During the activities, the flood simulation felt really meaningful, and the mapping exercise was just as important. Marking where everyone came from helped me see how different perspectives shape the way we understand the site. Over the semester I watched Rainbow Canyon slowly grow from barren land into an ecosystem. and it added another layer of meaning to the work we did throughout the day. The tree-planting activity was also memorable—especially having to wrap the plant bases with netting to keep the roots from getting damaged. Building the birdhouses was probably the most fun, and it helped me understand structure in a very hands-on way. And since I worked in digital modeling and integrating information, seeing water move through the physical model made me realize how valuable real, tactile experience is for understanding flood patterns and the site itself.”
“I loved expanding the existing plots with new plants. We’ve been learning what’s growing well and what hs taken longer to etablish. We currently have 7 mini plots that focus on different microclimates and purposes: Two fire buffer plots alongside the homes that border the lower plots contain evergreen species and species that have a low leaf burn rate (see Las Pilitas for data), a riparian plot, two walnut woodland understory plots and two hillside plots that will stabilize the steep access point that connects to Ave 44. In total we planted over 240 native plants donated from Community Nature Connection and Chaminaude Nursery. I’m particularly excited to see how the Canyon Sunflower (Venegasia carpoides) does in the woodland plots as it seems like it should be right at home in this shady, protected canyon. It will add much needed color and brightness.”
SITE SENSORY EVENT, AN ORAL HISTORY
Rainbow Canyon Test Plot
DATE: October 04 2025
During the process of introducing students to the canyon I led them on a few site sensory exercises. These ranged from basic meditation, that we call “Look and Listen”, to measuring exercises, like soil analysis. These were fun, relaxing, and enlightening, so we decided we should share these with the community. In the end, the students conceived of, and prepared, twelve site sensory exercises. These were enacted on Saturday morning on October 4th, 2025 with a great group of volunteers, including a contingent of high school students brought by Community Nature Connection. In the morning, before everything started, a local young birder from the neighborhood, Surya, led a well attended birdwatching walk. The day was sweet and beautiful. Everyone was a bit surprised how much they enjoyed it. After spending most days working in the canyon, it was a treat to spend time just tuning into the place.
— Alexander Robinson
I did a 2:30 hour bird walk through the canyon while practicing deep listening through birding. One thing I noticed was around the end people were more quiet and we found more birds. This shows how listening and focusing on the environment can help you notice more. I also showed the importance of citizen science by submitting a list of the birds seen to a database.
— Surya Jeevanjee
I helped people discover their cognitive preferences with sun versus shade measuring. I expected people to have a preference towards the heat, but it was largely voted for the shaded area as it gave a more calming sensation. I expected to not be able to form a general analysis of temperature preferences, but I noticed while repeating in other spots, there would be a general shift in how long people would want to stay in a shaded v. sunny spot, which was interesting. People seem to prefer a counter temperature to an environment they were raised in (So-Cal heat).
— Alejandro Vasquez
We practiced embracing imperfection and letting go by making art from dried plants, then intentionally destroying it afterward. I went in expecting most participants to make simple circles or grids with the dried plants they collected. Instead, they gravitated toward sculptural pieces shaped by intuition and background. The architects worked systematically: they started at the center, built a boundary, then stacked, and ended up with something like a primitive hut. The kids were bolder and more instinctive, hauling big logs and leaning them together to “build” what they pictured: a large house or a bridge. High school and college students were playful but liked to test the rules, mostly gathering leaves in different colors and arranging the patterns suggested by the reference images. It was also funny watching kids haul logs taller than they were. Lynden grabbed two huge logs and decided each one, on its own, was his artwork. Watching how personal experience steered each approach, and how many different outcomes emerged, was the best part.
— Anh Bui
The event we have is exactly what I was expecting, it was fun, engaging and it’s nice to see how much attention this site receives from its surrounding community. We met Lynden, an interesting 9th grader from a neighboring high school, he sure have a lot of opinions on things and often be the funniest one in our group.
— Jianjun Xu
The sensory activity was a guided blindfolded walk where participants used hearing, smell, touch, and sight to experience the site. I expected the plan was to have them walk through the site four times, each time focusing on one sense, but after the first group, I found it worked better when they stayed in front of the same object and used each sense on the same project. What interested me most was how different relationships changed the experience. Couples and parents with kids moved smoothly. Friends, on the other hand, kept bumping into things, but they were laughing the whole time and having fun. Everyone said they really enjoyed the activity also for me. At first, it felt strange to only rely on other senses, but once I got used to it, it became really fun. We all felt that everything around us seemed closer and more alive than usual.
— Jianye Wang
The Collaborative Atmosphere Collage slowly came to life as people walked through Rainbow Canyon, pausing to sketch places that felt meaningful to them. Each drawing was added to a line stretched between trees, turning into a quiet collection of impressions shared across the site. When sunlight came through the canyon and touched the papers, it felt like the drawings became part of the landscape. That moment — when everyone stood together, looking at what had been created, with the sketches moving gently in the wind — felt like a small exhibition, briefly held in the land itself.
— Jiya Yuan
I helped people create a contour and flow mapping of the test plot. During my activity, the participants were engaged to a surprising extent. They worked fairly hard to map out the creek's contours, too, which I didn't expect to happen and once I explained things to the participants, they were autonomous. I believe the activity thrives in its simplicity and the immediate tactile and visual feedback it produces. I could see participants holding discussion as they methodically worked sideways through the canyon.
— Josiah Hickman
Stream study was conducted where different participants helped measure depth and width at 3 different points in one area, proceeded by the following group conducting the same activity 10 ft away from the previous spot. Following the measurement participants also gave notes on anything they noticed. One observation that was interesting was the amount of litter that is imbedded into the stream, from bottles to shoe inserts. There was also evidence of asphalt which had some participants questioning if there used to be a road in that segment or if it was runoff from rainfall. Participants had fun and were very invested in the exercise. The exercise felt like it was more efficient and enjoyable when people worked in pairs rather than alone. The best part was seeing how people found out about the event through so many different channels and seeing people from different backgrounds come together for this activity.
— Navid Rodd
My main site sensory activity was tree hugging, while the secondary one was the feedback tree. I was a bit nervous going into the event because I wasn’t sure if people would be highly engaged. There were some kinks in the activity when Richard & I tested it the second time we visited Rainbow Canyon, and then we tested it again and had more edits. I was thankful we were able to work together. We had a high school freshman participate, and his personality and engagement were so fun! I considered Richard and I splitting off to run the exercise with different people separately, but we decided to stay together in groups of three. This enhanced the tree-hugging experience because three people hugged one tree at the same time; as they experienced the comfort (or discomfort) from hugging the tree, there was a greater community aspect in doing it together. I laughed a lot, and it was interesting seeing which tree each person chose at the end that they identified with the most comfort with a circle of red string.
— Sara Eyassu
I instructed people on how to complete 15-minute "look and listen" sessions lying down. Many told me that they felt relaxed and took notice of how quiet the canyon was. One thing that surprised me was how many people said that the contours of the canyon felt good for their back pain. A land stewardess shared that she spends so much time taking care of the land, she never stopped to consider how the land could take care of her.
— Zoelli Ortiz
I ran a soil analysis station at saturday’s workshop, in which i encouraged guests to conduct both pH and qualitative texture tests. most participants were surprised to learn that the soil pH was consistent across the site, despite variation in soil sample colors, textures, or locations!
— Haleluya Wondwosen
I worked with Hal. More people joined the soil activity because it was simple and fun to test the soil. The litter mapping started slowly, but after some time, people joined in. The kids were more interested in storytelling and discovery than in cleanup. They preferred to talk and act things out rather than write. I had to ask them again and again to try. One kid named Unni found an old tyre laying around and started making up stories about it. The children liked talking and telling stories more than writing or picking up trash. The adults, on the other hand, were more comfortable participating in both mapping and writing. They engaged once they understood the purpose of the activity. Overall, the litter mapping exercise worked, but it needs to be simpler and more fun — maybe more talking or drawing instead of writing.
— Sai Ravikumar
Walking through the canyon blindfolded meant I had to completely trust Sarah. She guided my hand up towards things to touch and handed me things to smell. I became aware of the gentle slope of the canyon floor, noting I had to pick up my feet more! I liked how the small groups of people chatting became anchors that helped me orient myself. Despite being blindfolded, it felt carefree, like a return to childhood.
— Jen Toy
RAINBOW CANYON KICK-OFF
Rainbow Canyon Test Plot (Mt. Washington neighborhood)
By Tatianna Velicer
USC Student
DATE: Oct 24 2024
Rainbow Canyon Test Plot (Mt. Washington neighborhood)
By Tatianna Velicer
USC Student
DATE: Oct 24 2024
Rainbow Canyon has a homey community feel with beautiful sheltering trees, a riparian area, a scenic viewpoint of the city, and switchback trails. It is a peaceful oasis surrounded by the sounds of lawn work, neighbors out and about, barking dogs, birds chirping, and coyote howls. There is a characteristic rotting pumpkin, a chair with a tire perched on top of it, and lots of forgotten tidbits of plastic and metal.
On our site preparation day on October 26th, we divided and conquered tasks to prepare the area for planting. Volunteers conducted weeding, invasive species removal, trash removal, site maintenance, and debated design options for the new Test Plot. The switchback area was altered to have a longer entrance, a less steep gradient, and logs were added for trail identification. Castor bean and tree-of-heaven were removed. The trash cleanup group found all sorts of treasurers from lego figurines to seemingly ancient cans and bottles. A majority of the cleanup work focused on picking out tiny bits of plastic, glass, and styrofoam scattered in the soils.
We asked each volunteer to place a flag at their favorite place in the Canyon. I retrieved these flags from every corner of the Canyon but many were placed along the riparian area and central gathering spaces. We received feedback with exciting ideas for transforming the space, such as the addition of benches, a bridge, an art installation, a space for classes and events, and educational signage. Volunteers gathered to review potential designs and then had the opportunity to show us with rope where they would add a plot to the space. We received sketches with a Yin and Yang plot formation and a few designs with large central ovular plots.
The most heartwarming aspect of the day was the Mount Washington Community members and all the volunteers who showed up with a smile to help us with these preparation activities. With our volunteers, we were able to not only envision the future of Rainbow Canyon, but hear stories from its past. Rainbow Canyon has a rich history of community advocacy that led to its preservation. It has proven to be a space worth protecting and loving. We even learned that Rainbow Canyon was the venue of a wedding for a local resident. We hope to honor the combined natural and human history of the Canyon with our Test Plot, coming on December 8th, 2024.
On our site preparation day on October 26th, we divided and conquered tasks to prepare the area for planting. Volunteers conducted weeding, invasive species removal, trash removal, site maintenance, and debated design options for the new Test Plot. The switchback area was altered to have a longer entrance, a less steep gradient, and logs were added for trail identification. Castor bean and tree-of-heaven were removed. The trash cleanup group found all sorts of treasurers from lego figurines to seemingly ancient cans and bottles. A majority of the cleanup work focused on picking out tiny bits of plastic, glass, and styrofoam scattered in the soils.
We asked each volunteer to place a flag at their favorite place in the Canyon. I retrieved these flags from every corner of the Canyon but many were placed along the riparian area and central gathering spaces. We received feedback with exciting ideas for transforming the space, such as the addition of benches, a bridge, an art installation, a space for classes and events, and educational signage. Volunteers gathered to review potential designs and then had the opportunity to show us with rope where they would add a plot to the space. We received sketches with a Yin and Yang plot formation and a few designs with large central ovular plots.
The most heartwarming aspect of the day was the Mount Washington Community members and all the volunteers who showed up with a smile to help us with these preparation activities. With our volunteers, we were able to not only envision the future of Rainbow Canyon, but hear stories from its past. Rainbow Canyon has a rich history of community advocacy that led to its preservation. It has proven to be a space worth protecting and loving. We even learned that Rainbow Canyon was the venue of a wedding for a local resident. We hope to honor the combined natural and human history of the Canyon with our Test Plot, coming on December 8th, 2024.
