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Wildlife sanctuaries in the Sepulveda Basin suffer from many diseases that could be expected from natural areas in the middle of the country’s second largest city, including biohazards such as trash and needles discarded from nearby drug use.
However, on Saturday morning, hundreds of volunteers were lit up another perpetrator: Rhamphospermum nigrum is a non-native plant well known as black mustard, which flourished in the 225-acre reserve and the wider Sepulveda Basin Recreation area.
The plants are blooming yellow flowers on all fours, filling the basin meadows and painting idyllic pictures that confirm that it is truly the case. It is an invasive weed that swells of native plants important for basin health, its natural wildlife, and health of the Los Angeles River.
“It looks harmless, but it becomes monolab, and it’s the main enemy of biodiversity,” said Dunmott, an environmental educator with friends on the Los Angeles River who held events with the California Native Plant Society and the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society. “Native species cannot exist here, and all the birds and insects that should be in this area don’t want mustard.”
Grasslands also capture less carbon and are less effective than native species in filtering outflows into the river, he said. The plant is native to North Africa, the temperate regions of Europe and parts of Asia, and is thought to have been introduced hundreds of years ago.
Adrian Sharp and his son Milo (6) will remove invasive mustard weeds to friends who will repair Los Angeles River habitat and celebrate Earth Month on May 24, 2025 at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve.
The Environmental Group has been rehabilitating habitat in the reserve since 2019. This weekend’s event also celebrates Earth Day’s later years after the rain fell on previous events. On Saturday morning, volunteers spent hours pulling up Black Mustard, focusing on the land with five large coastal Live Oaks. The tree grows wild in California and is fire resistant, but not if it is surrounded by thick mustard weed undergrowth.
“If there’s a bundle of invasive species underneath it’s just burning like a bonfire. It overwhelms the tree’s ability to protect itself,” said Mott, who believes that weeds should be almost removed in key areas of the reserve over five years.
Wes Vahradian, 18, who has been volunteering with a friend on the Los Angeles River for four years, worked as a volunteer leader, tracking the amount of habitat being restored using ArcGIS, a web-based mapping software for mobile phones.
Brent Kado passes through invasive mustard weeds that volunteers remove at wildlife sanctuaries in the Sepulveda Basin.
By 10:30am, the app indicated that about a quarter acre had been restored. “We’ve done something pretty solid here. It’s a great way to measure the impact we have. We’ve done it all over the Sepulveda Basin,” he said.
Vahradian enters his fourth grade at Campbell Hall, a private school in Studio City that requires students to engage in community services. Vahradian said he was attracted to the environmental group because he had been fly fishing in the river for a long time.
He said that mustard weeds are regenerating, but progress has been made over the years. “The complete premise is that the Sepulveda Basin is considered a natural ecosystem, where it is when birds are moving to come and take a break.”
The raised black mustard was collected in 30-gallon paper garden bags, then pulled and buried in a landfill. Mott said the goal is to ultimately composting the weeds.
Eamon Wilson passes on another volunteer to dispose of invasive mustard weeds at a wildlife sanctuary in the Sepulveda Basin.
Zia Sheikh, who said her favorite activity was reading, spent the morning with her mother, packed with five bags full of weeds, which were uprooted by her younger brother and cousin.
“I learned that folding weeds really helps you before you put them in because otherwise you’ll get a bite of weed in your face,” she said. “I had weeds in my bag. I didn’t notice how much space was being cleaned up, so I looked up like half an hour later.”
The girl’s mother, Shacade, said it was the second time a Santa Monica family has restored its habitat, but it was her first time for her daughter.
“It felt like it was a really good way to spend the morning, go out and do something that would help nature,” said Sheikh, an adjunct professor at UCLA’s Institute of Environmental Studies and the Institute of Sustainability. “It was a team effort.”
Mottt has no doubt that Habitat’s restoration events usually attract around 150-200 participants, but he is undoubtedly aware that he is in attendance as the January 7 fire devastated Pallisad, Altadena and other communities in the Pacific Ocean.
“I think there was this helpless feeling when the wildfire was happening. You know, we can’t get out there and fight the fire, but this work actually prevents the wildfire from spreading. It’s physical and concrete things we can do to help our community and help the problem,” he said.
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