Like most of Carmel-by-the-Sea’s physical assets, the Sunset Center campus has been severely impacted by budget cutbacks following COVID-19. Even prior, the landscaping was run-down, plants were dying and paint peeling from windows and metal railings around the block. Weeds were sometimes multiple feet high and leaves were piling up on stairways. Since this campus and the San Carlos corridor is either the first or last thing most visitors see when visiting and neighbors see every day, we decided to make this one of our focus areas and made it a Carmel Cares Project.
This is a big area
Sunset Center used to be Carmel’s grade school and many of the locals went to school there back in the day. It was converted into an internationally acclaimed concert hall back in 2010 by a passionate group led by Bill and Nancy Doolittle at a cost of over $20 million. There are outstanding bonds of over $5 million which were just refinanced by the City. It isn’t our job to get involved in the Sunset Center’s business but it is clear that, even with the City’s over $500,000 investment every year, there aren’t funds available to properly maintain this property. The focus is on areas inside the campus that are frequented by those attending events.
Our initial interest and goal was only what you see when you walk or drive by. Having lived in the area, Janie Marchman and Dale Byrne became passionate about rejuvenating the entire block and were cleaning up things here and there even before we organized a work party in May of 2020. We finally got around the block in September and even though that was just the first round, based on the comments we get from neighbors, our efforts are paying off!
What we found
Like many places in Carmel, weeds had taken over many areas. They were up to 4 feet tall in places. Smaller ones lined the sidewalks, weeds were growing in the gutter and in cracks in the sidewalk and many plants had died due to lack of water. Most areas of Carmel do not have operable irrigation systems at this point and it is impossible to water everything by hand. So, the first thing we needed to do was to eliminate dead plants. It has taken probably 60 or more large contractor bags to remove all the weeds we ran into as we moved around the block.
Janie talked to neighbor who live on San Carlos and their landscaping companies. They agreed to clean up their easements and those on either side of their property. Little by little, San Carlos became weed free and ready for the next step.
What’s happening now?
As we were working our way around the block and cleaning things up, we ran into neighbors. They are ecstatic! They have a refreshed neighborhood that they feel good about and are encouraging us to continue. Of course, this motivates us to keep going so we will. We had received plant donations of agapanthus and succulents from neighbors and our own yards and had stored them by the yoga center. When the yoga center was rented recently the new owners showed interest in developing the plot outside their window. So, being enterprising, they claimed all our agapanthus and planted all of them! It will be beautiful when they bloom next. So, we are off looking for more plants to use along San Carlos.
How Can You Help?
You can help by donating excess plants. Drought tolerant and succulents are great. The next time your gardener “culls the herd” and thins out your plants, save them and give us a call. We’ll pick them up and store them until we plant them around town. It will be fun for you to see your plants making a difference in the huge garden we call Carmel-by-the-Sea. You can even help us plant if you are ambitious! Our new water vehicle will make sure they are taken care of unit they can survive on their own!
