In early June, Topanga Canyon’s main coastal route reopened three months ahead of schedule. The initial closure was the result of a massive spring landslide that had disrupted traffic and businesses. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) trucked most of the debris to disposal sites in Malibu and Port Hueneme. However, a significant portion of the hillside took an unexpected journey to downtown Los Angeles. At its new destination, it will contribute to revitalizing a historic park and become part of a unique environmental art project.
This innovative project is the brainchild of environmental artist Lauren Bon. Her goal is to establish a “new normal” where creatives and government agencies collaborate to address significant issues concerning natural resource management.
“What if disturbances in ecology create abundance? What if we were to retrieve this material instead of discard it?” asks Bon.
From Catastrophe to Creation
The hillside above Topanga Canyon Boulevard collapsed onto the roadway on March 9 due to heavy rainfall, creating a significant obstacle. Despite the initial inconvenience and fear, Bon, a longtime resident of Topanga Canyon and daughter of philanthropist Wallis Annenberg, saw potential in the chaos. Her organization, Metabolic Studio, an extension of the family’s foundation, collaborated with various government agencies and engineers to test the soil and secure necessary permissions for its transportation and storage.
A New Home for Clean Soil
Clean soil is a valuable resource. However, finding space for it on short notice was a challenge. California State Parks Los Angeles District Superintendent Richard Fink II found the project exciting, describing it as a “full circle opportunity.” The soil from the Santa Monica Mountains and Topanga State Park area could be reused in Los Angeles, particularly in the Los Angeles State Historic Park.
Fifty truckloads of the soil will be distributed to four undeveloped acres of the park. The remaining 100 truckloads of soil have been integrated into Bon’s Metabolic Studio. Bon views the acquisition of the landslide material as an adoption. “It’s not like we’re just placing a dispossessed landscape from a slid mountain to someplace else,” Bon explained. “We’re now taking care of it.”
Environmental Experimentation
Part of the landslide material has been relocated to “The Moon,” an environmental experimentation lab situated on Pasadena Avenue along the L.A. River. This project, named “Moving Mountains,” will explore the potential of the soil. One idea is to use the landslide soil to create new ecosystems in areas along the L.A. River that were previously covered in concrete. This builds on Bon’s ongoing efforts to reconnect the L.A. River to its floodplain—a project requiring over 75 permits from various agencies.
Bon acknowledges the challenges of this effort but also emphasizes the broader impact of her work. “If you just work within a social organization that’s very similar to you where you feel accepted, you may not allow the work to reach the largest capacity it has to do work in the world,” Bon said. “I want to be doing work that has applications on a larger scale than I can realize on my own. I want to see systemic changes happen.”
Through this project, Bon and her team are transforming a natural disaster into an opportunity for creative and environmental renewal, demonstrating how innovative thinking can turn problems into solutions.
