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At the Valleyheart Greenway dedication ceremony: Left to right: Don Wolfe (LA County Dept. of Public Works), Charlie Ellis (student, conceived snake wall), Melanie Winter (director of The River Project), Michael Harris (student, conceived Great Toad Gate), Zev Yaroslavsky (LA County Supervisor), Lahni Baruck (artist for The River Project, designed Great Toad Gate).

Valleyheart Greenway

As part of our Valleyheart Greenway Design and Educational Program, 4th grade and 5th grade students at Carpenter Elementary School not only worked with us to create the landscape design, they also created conceptual designs for various amenities on the Greenway. The County funded implementation of the project’s south bank, which was completed in June 2004.

A design for the project's entrance gate on Laurel Canyon Blvd. was created by student Michael Harris. We brought in local artist Lahni Baruck, who translated Michael's concept into reality, respecting Michael's inspiration and creating a functional structure that draws attention to the greenway and remind people that toads once called the Los Angeles River home.

Other amenities include the Butterfly Bench, Snake Wall, Butterfly and Hummingbird Gardens and the Story Fence. The Butterfly Bench is inscribed with a quote from Thoreau and the stones on the snake wall are engraved with the names of children who participated in the design of the park.

The Butterfly Bench, Snake Wall and Butterfly and Hummingbird Gardens are completed; the Story Fence is in development and should be completed in early 2005.