Volunteers replanting the past - Bakersfield Californian
In the summer, he does it every day.
“I consider it my weight-training,” joked the 69-year-old retired schoolteacher.
It’s that sort of back-breaking dedication that typifies the work of a handful of volunteers responsible for the Panorama Vista Preserve, about 950 acres on either side of the Kern River beneath the bluffs along Panorama Drive.
The preserve is one of the few places in Bakersfield where the public can still access a piece of the once-prolific riparian forest that existed along the river banks.
And there’s even water in the river.
“We want to make people aware of what a jewel this is here in Bakersfield. It’s peaceful, you can see the bluffs and the mountains ...” said Carolyn Belli, president of the Kern River Corridor and Endowment, the nonprofit owner of the preserve.
As she spoke, two great egrets who’d taken up residence on the preserve foraged in a grassy field behind her.
A COMMUNITY ASSET
The group’s work to protect the space began more than 10 years ago when it first acquired the land. Not wanting to see homes built in the area, it raised $118,000 in private donations to buy a large piece of the land from oil company ARCO.