Carpinteria Salt Marsh Herb Walk with Lanny Kaufer

On Sunday, July 14, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Ojai author and naturalist Lanny Kaufer will lead an Herb Walk at the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park. Also known as El Estero, the park is a rare salt wetland in Southern California. Nearly destroyed by development, the remaining estuary was restored in the late 1990s by a group of concerned citizens along with the City of Carpinteria, UCSB, and the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County. Completed in 1997, the 8-acre portion of the marsh owned by the City of Carpinteria was renamed the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park.

The park includes walking trails and interpretive signage. It is home to hundreds of migrating birds and other wildlife, including exotic sharks, rays and native fish when conditions are right. Depending on the tide level, Kaufer’s group may be able to see marine wildlife like the Shovelnose Guitarfish, Round Stingrays, Smoothhound Sharks, or the Leopard Shark shown in Malia Smith’s video from an herb walk there in 2023. (See video in event listing at HerbWalks.com.)

There is a great variety of edible and medicinal plants of the Coastal Strand and Coastal Sage Scrub plant communities to see and learn from. Useful native plants there include Blue Elderberry, California Blackberry, Gumplant (Grindelia), Lemonade Berry, Mugwort, Pickleweed, Wild Rose, and Coastal Sagebrush.

Due to the sensitivity of the habitat, dogs are prohibited. No smoking, please.

In addition to the adult tickets ($35), tickets for students 13-17 ($25) and children 6-12 ($15) are also available. Child 5 and under are free. One supervising adult must accompany each child 12 years of age or younger.

Copies of Kaufer’s book, Medicinal Herbs of California, will be on hand for sale and signing before and after the walk.