Reclaiming the San Lorenzo River

On one of Santa Cruz’s many bridges, sits a very still woman overlooking the San Lorenzo River.

Her creator, artist Geoffrey Nelson, keeps a careful watch.

“I traditionally work as a photographer, but for the past two years, I’ve been making sculptures,” Nelson said.

He made a sculpture of an Ohlone woman for a new event in Santa Cruz called Ebb and Flow. She glows at nighttime.

“I thought it would be great to do something that was about the original people that enjoyed the river,” Nelson said.

It’s one of about a dozen installations, artwork that aims to draw people to the river and the Riverwalk, which is an important, but neglected resource.

“This river is absolutely critical to Santa Cruz,” Santa Cruz City Council Member Cynthia Chase said. “It’s critical in terms of a resource, because we get a majority of our water from the river. But also, it is this amazing resource in terms of an open space that’s stunning.”

With art in the scenery, people are curious, and coming down. Those who showed up on Saturday got to see a parade along the Riverwalk.

But for Geoffrey Nelson, the best part of Ebb and Flow is shifting the view that the area is unsafe.

Part of his sculpture was actually destroyed, a male Ohlone counterpart, but he’s not letting that get in his way.

“In a way, I felt the man that got destroyed was sort of a fallen hero in the battle to reclaim the river,” Nelson said.

A battle the community is winning.

Most of the artwork along the river will stay up for the rest of the month.

Ebb and Flow, hosted by the Arts Council of Santa Cruz, Coastal Watershed Council, and Santa Cruz First Friday, continues Sunday.