MaFe Gonzalez, member of BASE, leads the Salinas River Project. A project that began as her master’s thesis and is now part of BASE’s portfolio. The project seeks

to redesign the river’s borders, offering opportunities to establish reciprocal relationships between the river and the people.

 

The design problem of this project is the tension between nature and society, which has caused the environmental degradation of the river and the overexploitation of vulnerable resources and communities. This tension is evident along the Salinas River: a highly modified and controlled river, a “working river” with no intrinsic value associated with it. MaFe has been working on visions of the river, redrawing its edges to give more space to the river - to its dynamics and processes, to its capacity to restore itself - and to present different possibilities, as scenarios or strategies, where river and people can flourish together.

 

As part of these visions, BASE organizes annually under “Latino

Conservation Week” the Salinas River Day Celebration, an educational

event that seeks to reconnect local people with the river. The organization of this celebration has become a partnership with multiple organizations, including Big Sur Land Trust, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Southwest Regional Office - Salinas River National Wildlife Refuge, Building Healthy Communities Monterey County, Visionary Arts Studio, Open Space Studio, Monterey Waterkeeper and the San Luis Obispo Beaver Brigade. The intention of these events are to celebrate the Salinas River and invite the community to relate with it, immersing themselves in its nature, showcasing the Salinas River as a biological and cultural landscape. We invite participants to embrace their role as stewards of public lands, protecting and caring for the river.