Neighborhood oasis: green art

Although done by a well-known artist and the recipient of a national award for public art, I've yet to meet a citizen fan of "Bus Home" the sculpture installed at the bus transfer station north of the Pacific View Mall. It often is cited as a prime example of city waste and stupidity. I won't argue. If it is the worst mistake made in the last ten years by Ventura City government, we aren't doing too badly.

On the other hand, it is hard not to be proud of the Pepper Tree Demonstration Garden on the north side of Poli, just east of Ventura High School. On Saturday, local neighbors pitched in with planting native shrubs and groundcover as part of a unique public art improvement to the little oasis.

The lot is the site of a water pump booster station that keeps up water pressure to customers up the hill. Years ago, the surroundings were landscaped to make a small neighborhood pocket park. Years of wear and tear, including by the local high schoolers, have not been entirely kind to the park.

So using part of the 2% public art set aside from the water fund, two "environmental artists" were called in to help. They designed a new entry and a nicer and more environmentally-friendly drainage basin. They collected up the loose boulders and sculpted them into benches under the shade of the graceful oak. And they relandscaped a berm in the middle of the park with local native plants that use very little water, once established.

A modest project. No one will curse it as an eyesore. All too few will notice. But in many ways, this project is much more typical of Ventura's vision of becoming "California's New Art City." The 2005 General Plan sets the goal of "weaving art into everyday life." With the enthusiastic participation of local families, there is no better example than the Pepper Tree Garden.