On May 29th, 2022 the Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program wrapped up its 14th school year. The program was a balancing act of online and in-person activities at Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook. Despite the pandemic, Greenhouse students proved themselves to be both committed and adaptable. We fortunate to be able to collaborate with Cal Poly Pomona’s Questad Lab and Jen Toy of the USC Landscape Architecture program this year. The annual Cactus Commencement Ceremony - the culminating event where students present their work to an audience – was reinstated as an in-person event this year. Students led friends, family, alumni, and program collaborators through a series of environmental education stations that showcased the knowledge and skills that students had gained over the year.
INTERPRETING NATURE The Park to Playa Trail — Walk Your Watershed
Adapting to pandemic conditions has pushed many of us to seek outdoor adventures close to home, visiting spots we may have overlooked or even dismissed in the past. The Park to Playa Trail is an ideal candidate to visit for a walk in a local watershed here in Los Angeles, with 13 continuous miles traversing the Ballona Creek Watershed from the Baldwin Hills all the way to Dockweiler Beach. Plan it right, and you can have your own birding big day, visiting coastal sage scrub habitat, manicured parklands with established tree cover, paved and less-paved stretches of Ballona Creek, and then beach habitat. Basically, gnatcatchers to oystercatchers on a single urban trail.
Summer Fellows: Moving Forward, Working with Nature
Los Angeles Audubon's Summer Fellows Program has been a strong learning resource for many alumni from the Greenhouse Program, Kenneth Hahn Environmental Internship, and the West Los Angeles College Conservation Studies Certificate Program. This program provides hands-on experience along with further environmental education learning. Summer Fellows work on habitat restoration at the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook and Kenneth Hahn Recreation Area.
Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program — Research Projects, 2020-2021 School Year
On May 18th, 2021 the Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program wrapped up its 13th school year. The challenges of the pandemic required us to conduct the program entirely through online Zoom sessions. We focused on spectacularly local nature, with students observing and documenting what they could find in their apartment complexes, backyards, and neighborhoods.
INTERPRETING NATURE: Snowy Plover Retrospective
SNPL, you ask? The Western Snowy Plover has been federally listed as threatened since the 1990s, and various agencies have been monitoring it along the Pacific Coast for decades. LA Audubon has been conducting surveys since 2007. It’s estimated that just 2500 snowy plovers currently breed along the Pacific Coast.
INTERPRETING NATURE — Nature in the City
This issue’s Interpreting Nature column was created by Brian Young. Brian is a Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program alumnus. He recently returned from completing his degree at UC Santa Cruz to re-join the staff team at Los Angeles Audubon - we are very glad to have him back! Brian brings a wide range of interests and skill sets to his work as a restoration and education staff member, helping students make connections between science, art, and stewardship. Hopefully we can talk him into creating more nature comics for the Tanager in the future!
INTERPRETING NATURE—Birding Bikers and Biking Birders: An Intersection of Two Interests
Whatever the world post-Covid looks like — for me, I hope it includes more birding and more biking. Living in a world that has had and continues to have so much taken by Covid, it has also drawn into relief those things which matter a lot, and for me, I can confidently list: being outside and being active. These are the two no-brainer actions that make my “matter-most” list. Whenever anyone asks me if I want to do an outside activity I answer, “Let’s go!” Under my breath daily I offer thanks into the universe for my family and my job.
INTERPRETING NATURE: Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program Research Projects — 2019-2020 school year
On June 9th, 2020 the Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program wrapped up its 12th school year. Despite incredibly challenging circumstances during the spring, Greenhouse Interns did their best to see their projects through to completion. … Each year, we publish the research abstracts in an effort to share the knowledge gained with a broader audience and to acknowledge the interns’ hard work and commitment. This year’s projects include both qualitative and quantitative approaches to better understanding humans and nature in our city.