Ballona Waachnga Project

The Ballona Waachnga Project takes its name from the Ballona Wetlands, Los Angeles’s last remaining wetland, existing on Gabrielino-Tongva lands they called Waachnga.  It is a complex ecosystem, home to more than 150 species of resident and migrating birds, and the life in the salt and freshwater marshes that live and grow there.  As a threatened urban environment, our project has deployed long-term bioacoustic monitors and uses visual and anecdotal documentation in cooperation with local environmental, arts, and youth organizations to create installations that merge art, science, and public interest.  In September 2022 The Ballona Waachnga Project was featured at 18th Street Art Center (Santa Monica) for its participation in the Fulcrum Festival for Arts and Sciences (Los Angeles).  Among other opportunities, the project has been invited to present at Floating University Berlin in fall 2023.