The Wash: Uncovering Pomona College's Hidden Landscape

• Main Authors: Vorva, Madison G, McAllister, Nia P, Pettis, Maria R
• Published: Scholarship @ Claremont 2017
• Subjects: The Wash; Pomona College; Blanchard Park; Cultural History; Geographic Information Sciences; Natural Resources and Conservation
• Online Access: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/pomona_theses/180; http://claremont.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=22676f736f6c455ba4754ced5c797256

The purpose of this capstone project is to tell a place-based story about an often forgotten part of campus: the Wash. Beginning as a likely Tongvan campsite, the Wash, after donation to Pomona College as “Blanchard Park” underwent a series of land-use changes. Originally, a designated green space, its present-day composition includes athletic fields, the organic farm and the historic remnant oak grove. Throughout time the value of the Wash changed with its differing caretakers and inhabitants. To bring attention to this evolving landscape and to inform more sustainable and equitable land use in the future, our project aims to acknowledge past narratives about this place, take stock of its present ecological significance and recommend best practices going forward. We accomplished this by putting together a history of the Wash using indigenous knowledge, archival information, biological surveys and GIS.