San Jose Creek begins high in the Santa Ynez Mountains and travels through about 10 miles of urban, suburban and rural land before draining into the Goleta Slough. The watershed is susceptible to periodic fires — such as the 1990 Painted Cave Fire — which destroy vegetation and increased runoff and erosion into the creek.

CEC is one of the principal nonprofits in a County-led assessment of San Jose Creek to determine restoration priorities. In addition, CEC manages restoration projects on six sites along the creek between Cathedral Oaks Road and Calle Real. Working with school groups and Growing Solutions (link to growingsolutions.org), the restoration team is expanding the width of the riparian corridor by removing invasive, non-native vegetation and replacing it with native plant species. Volunteers are also shading and stabilizing the bank, improving the biofiltration capabilities of the riparian buffer, and putting in interpretive signs about the project.

CEC’s Creek Watchers program also uses San Jose Creek as an outdoor classroom. Sixth grade classes from six schools have participated in the two-part program. Students first learn to monitor the creek’s health by conducting field tests, then gain an appreciation of the creek through service learning, such as planting native plants.

For more information about San Jose Creek, call us at (805) 963-0583, ext. 111 or email us.