Randy Fallows

Ballona Creek has one of the few protected bike lanes in Los Angeles County. It stretches around 7 miles through Culver City to Marina del Ray where it joins up with other bike lanes that go up and down the beach. As I was riding my bike down it the other day, I spotted this assortment of birds and realized the phrase "birds of feather flock together" is actually a lie. I wouldn't have noticed them if I had been in a car or gone to the gym to get exercise, and I wouldn't have had such a lovely bike ride that allowed nature to surprise me.

Ever since I learned about our climate crisis, I have tried to take steps to mitigate my contribution to it. For instance, I gave up my car so I would be more likely to walk, bike, or use public transportation. I have been a vegetarian for decades but have tried to be even more sustainable in my food choices, buying local, minimizing cheese and eggs. I have also tried to reduce the waste I contribute to the landfill by using bulk bins, reusable produce bags, and avoiding single use plastic. Finally, we have made our house and yard more eco-friendly by capturing rain water and installing a smart watering system. I would still like to do more because every year I'm seeing more negative effects of global warming, including out of control fires that wiped out whole communities and threatened UCLA.