Moon Ditch Mural
The Moon Ditch project will create the longest mural in the State of California and one of the largest public art projects in the nation. Stretching for almost an entire mile, the mural celebrate the delicate ecology and unique wildlife of the Santa Clara river and the communities which live alongside it.
The mural has been designed by Elisa Torres, her vision for the mural is as a long-form visual narrative that reconnects the community to the living systems that sustain them. Read in motion by drivers, passengers, and train riders; the artwork transforms overlooked public infrastructure into an opportunity for environmental education and celebration.
The mural highlights native plants such as tule, insects including red dragonflies and monarch butterflies, birds like egrets and great blue herons, and the waterways that exist alongside daily life yet often go unseen. By presenting the ditch as an ecological corridor in motion, the mural encourages viewers to reconsider their relationship to land and water. Through bold, legible imagery and intentional pacing, the work promotes stewardship, reflection, and shared responsibility for clean waterways, healthy ecosystems, and community well-being. Rooted in place, the mural belongs to the land, the community, and all who pass through it.
You are invited to work alongside professional artists to paint the mural in the Moon Ditch on one of our community paint days.
If you would like to know more about the project and explore the design through a creative workshop with the artists you can also attend one of our community workshops at either Bell Arts Factory or Vita Art Center.
Upcoming Community Engagement Events
Community Workshop
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Project Overview
The Moon Ditch Flood Control Channel is an iconic location for urban art within Ventura County. Located off Highway 101 in Ventura, the channel stretches for over a mile near the Ventura Auto Center. The concrete slope of the ditch is visible from both the freeway and the rail-line. Over 130,000 commuters, workers and tourists pass the Moon Ditch every day. Though it may only be visible for brief moments if driving by, the concrete walls with their mismatch tags and graffiti make a considerable impression.
With a design yet to be determined, the mural in the channel will be undertaken by professional urban artists working in partnership with the local community groups and system involved youth to transform the space. The design will emerge through a series of artist workshops, community meetings, and conversations with residents. Through this process, artists will explore themes connected to clean waterways, community beautification and connection, art in public space, and how, together, this supports our mental health and wellbeing. Mural painting will be undertaken by dozens of artists and volunteers in the early months of 2026.
Studio Channel Islands invites artists who are interested in developing a design to register for more information here. Community groups interested in taking part in creative workshops or in painting the mural can request more information here.
Once complete, the Moon Ditch mural will deliver the largest mural in Ventura County. It will become a prominent cultural landmark on the Central Coast, and the creative engagement process will have a lasting impact on the community. Artists are encouraged to consider mural designs within the local ecology, our agricultural heritage, the history of the local community, and how the creative process can support both individual and community wellbeing.
This project is part of the VibeWell Ventura County program, which is a series of arts and culture projects to connect communities to mental health resources, reduce stigma associated with seeking and receiving mental health services, and increase overall wellbeing across Ventura County.
Commercial Partners
This project is funded through Ventura County Behavioral Health, Mental Health Services Act. Corporate entities are encouraged to contact Studio Channel Islands for more information on sponsorship opportunities.
History of the Moon Ditch
Named after Alphonse Moon, the drainage ditch which runs along the side of the 101 freeway and the Southern Pacific Railroad is an important feature in the landscape of Ventura County. The earliest known reference to the ditch is from 1898 and probably refers to an earlier location to the north it is current location. That ditch was constructed to take runoff from the southern edge of the Montalvo district to the Santa Clara River.
As the construction of the freeway between Victoria Avenue on the west and the Santa Clara River on the east began in 1965 the site of the draining ditch was moved to run parallel to the south side of the freeway and within the right of way of the railway. The improved Moon Ditch now consists of a concrete channel connected the urban storm drain system on the north side of the freeway through two culverts under the freeway. It enters into an underground culvert on the downstream side, where it outfalls into the Santa Clara River.
