Our usual walk is around a flood basin/ nature preserve in our town. Here’s a little info:
The 63-acre basin in Upland not only provides flood protection, it serves an ecological purpose, letting water seep into the ground for later use and attracting multiple species of birds and ducks.
More than two miles of hiking trails turned the area into a public park with seven scenic overlooks and nine trailheads where walkers and joggers can access the trails.
Some 7,700 trees and 88,000 shrubs were planted around the basin to create wildlife habitat. The native plants include willows and sycamore trees, cattails and other riparian plants line the waterways, and alluvial fan sage scrub remains on the upper reaches.
A series of ponds let sediment filter out of the water, which picks up oxygen as it bubbles over a rocky inlet.
The trees and bushes attract flocks of red-wing blackbirds, ducks, cranes, hummingbirds and butterflies.
