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Mountain View News Satuurday, September 26, 2026 FOOD & DRINK & SURVIVING 88 
Mountain View News Satuurday, September 26, 2026 FOOD & DRINK & SURVIVING 
CHRISTOPHER Nyerges 

[Nyerges is the author of “How to Survive Anywhere,” “Extreme Simplicity,” “Til 
Death Do Us Part?” and other books. He can be reached at www.SchoolofSelfReliance.
com or Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA 90041] 

THE ARROYO SECO FOUNDATION NURSERY 
OPENS FOR THE SEASON IN THE FOOTSTEPS 
OF CHARLES LUMMIS 

On September 19, the Pasadena-based Arroyo Seco Foundation nursery, the Hahamongna Native PlantNursery, seasonally re-opened for the public to come and purchase native plants. 

I’ve been going to Panda Inn in Pasadena for more than 30years. I know the restaurant, I know the food, and over theyears I’ve gotten to know founder Andrew Cherng. 
So when I started seeing protesters standing outside thePanda Inn on Foothill Boulevard, naturally I was curious.
And they weren’t there for a weekend. 
They’ve been out there for months. 
You’ve probably seen them yourself: people standing alongFoothill with a very large banner and a QR code. I’m notgoing to reproduce the banner here because some of the allegations on it are serious, andI’m a restaurant writer, not an investigative reporter. 
But I am curious. 
So I did something pretty simple. I stopped and talked to some of the protesters.
I’m a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, so I had my press credentials ready andexpected someone might ask who I was or why I was asking questions. 
Nobody did. 
I asked what they were protesting and why they were there. A few told me they were beingpaid to be on site, but when I asked about the specifics behind the protest, they couldn’t tellme very much. 
I had my credentials ready. Turns out I didn’t need them. 
That struck me as odd. 
So I scanned the QR code. 
That raised another question. The information I saw referenced an allegation involving foodpoisoning in Glendale, along with another allegation concerning how someone had beentreated. 
Glendale? 
I was standing in Pasadena. 
Now my curiosity was really going. 
I also spoke with Andrew Cherng, founder of Panda Inn and Panda Express. Andrew and Ihave known each other for years, so readers should know that up front. I asked him about 
the protesters. 
He didn’t duck the question, become defensive or tell me not to write about it. He simplydidn’t have much to say about it. Fair enough. 
I’m not going to decide the merits of allegations I haven’t independently investigated, andI’m certainly not going to declare who’s right and who’s wrong. 
But I can tell you what I saw and what I was told. 
There are people protesting outside the Pasadena Panda Inn. Some of the protesters I spokewith told me they are being paid. They couldn’t explain much about the dispute when I 
asked them about it. And at least some of the material I saw referenced something allegedto have happened in Glendale. 
So why protest in Pasadena? I don’t know. 
Maybe it’s simply visibility. Foothill Boulevard is busy, Panda Inn is well known, and thatbig banner certainly gets your attention. It got mine. 
And I know what some of you are thinking: Peter, you know everybody. That’s all you foundout? Pretty much. 
Sorry, but sometimes “I don’t know” is the most accurate answer a writer can give you. Iasked the people holding the signs. I asked Andrew Cherng. I scanned the QR code. I foundenough to satisfy my curiosity, but not enough to start pretending I’m Joe Friday. 
After more than 30 years of eating at Panda Inn, I’m going to continue doing what I’vealways done: judge a restaurant by what happens when I walk through the door.
Is the restaurant clean? Is the service good? Is the food prepared properly? Is hot food hotand cold food cold? 
Those are questions I know how to answer. As for what’s happening on the sidewalk?
Now at least you know why I was curious, too. 
Peter Dills 
By Peter Dills 
WHAT'S GOING ON OUTSIDE 
PANDA INN? 
The Arroyo Seco Foundation(ASF) is a century-old nonprofitorganization originally foundedby Charles Lummis in 1905.
After a long dormant period,
it was revived in 1989 byPasadena resident Tim Brick,
who eventually established thenative plant nursery at the siteof the old Forest Service tree 
planting site. Various managerran Hahamongna Native PlantNursery, including NicholasHummingbird, and then ParkerDavis and Portia Besocke, whowent on to start their own 
Hardy Californians nursery. 

For the most part, the nurserywas open to the public year round. Then, in 2024, the ASF Board of Directors decided to operate the retail 
sales yard of Hahamongna Nursery on a seasonal basis, through the September through May growing 
season. They now close during the summer. 

Hahamongna Nursery is located within the Arroyo Seco watershed, in the northwest corner of Pasadena’sHahamongna Watershed Park, at 4550 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena. The hours are 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. everySaturday. 

The Nursery is staffed by all volunteers, people who are passionate about promoting, growing, and 
distributing California native plants. They are dedicated to promoting pollinator and wildlife habitat 
growth for restoration projects, businesses, and residential yards. 

According to the director of operations, Matthew Karanian, “Our focus is on California native plants. Andour specialty is plants that are found in the Arroyo Seco watershed. Our nursery has a wide variety of sageplants, all native to the region, which grow exceptionally well.” 

The nursery also offers some uncommonly available native plants, such as Great Valley Gumweed, Mugwort,
Telegraph Weed, Brittlebush, and Yerba Mansa. These aren’t rare or uncommon plants, but they are not 
commonly sold in nurseries. 

“And we are big advocates for installing native Narrow Leaf Milkweed in any available open spot in yourgarden,” adds Karanian. 

THE EFFECTS OF GROWING NATIVES 
According to Karanian, “If every resident replaced just 15 percent of their yard with native plants,
the results would be a game changer for ecology and for reduction in water use, which would yieldnumerous environmental benefits, as our climate warms. Introducing native plants, even at a 15 percentlevel, would also help educate our communities about the beauty and desirability of native plants. Webelieve that many people don’t install native plants simply because they are not aware of how desirableand beneficial—and beautiful—they are. If they could see, and smell, these plants in their neighbors’ 
yards, we are certain that they would want some of them, too.” 

Additionally, points out Karanian, native plants require little maintenance compared to grass lawns. 
There’s no mowing, no leaf blowing, and there’s often no irrigation needed, either. An average gardenin Southern California can use up to 80 percent less irrigation water with native plants, than with lawnsand non-natives. And natives are generally more fire resilient, too. 

The staff at the Hahamongna Nursery advise visitors on which plants would be best for their individualsituations. 

The Nursery also hosts community events featuring tours and workshops about California native plants.
In the fall, they will have author lectures, as well as events on native plants and the benefits to the 
ecology, water conservation, and fire resiliency. 

Besides selling native plants, the Nursery sells a limited number of ethnobotanical books, and thingslike mugs and t-shirts. 

Aside from the nursery, ASF works on a number of other programs, such as the “Trout Scouts.” Followingthe Bobcat Fire of 2020, about 400 rainbow trout were relocated to the Upper Arroyo Seco. ASF has beenmonitoring the trout population, evaluating their habitat, and measuring water quality parameters. 

ASF’s Environmental Scientists regularly lead volunteers and citizen scientists on hikes up the canyonstream to monitor trout presence, number, size, and to observe whether their adipose fin has beenclipped, which indicates they have been tagged as part of the stock of trout that were relocated after theBobcat Fire. 

The survey also consists of measuring stream water quality parameters including temperature, dissolvedoxygen, and turbidity. Monitoring the water quality provides valuable information regarding habitat andsurvivability. According to Karanian, “We developed a database geographical information system (GIS)
to map and evaluated the rivers system. We have plans to map the native vegetation in the watershed,
as well.” 

Updates are posted on their Instagram account @Hahamongna.
“We hope to continue propagating plants and operating the nursery on City of Pasadena property in theHahamongna Watershed Park into perpetuity,” says Karanian. 

Web: www.ArroyoSecoFoundation.org Instagram: @Hahamongna @ArroyoSecoFoundation 
LinkedIn: @ArroyoSecoFoundation 

Director of Operations, Matthew Karanian, showing the many pottednative plants available. 


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com