Things have certainly changed in the past few months. Self-quarantine and social distancing have become our new normal, but there are still ways to experience community and nature. We’re excited to share new CURes resources that can allow you to enjoy nature from the comforts of your home! (All the links and resources we share will be compiled at the bottom of this post.)
Over the summer, our very own Gottlieb Environmental Leadership Fellow Lisa Fimiani participated in the Friends of Ballona Wetlands 4th Annual Migration Celebration on August 29th by giving a tour of her home garden as part of the Grow Native! Sustainable Gardening Webinar. Learn about local native plants, birds, and bees, and how you can start your own sustainable garden. You can watch Lisa in the YouTube video below, and visit Ballona Wetlands Grow Native’s website for more information.
Looking for something outside the boundaries of your backyard? Check out our virtual tour of Ballona Discovery Park, which is located right down the bluff from LMU. CURes and the LMU Center for Ignatian Spirituality joined together for their 8th annual co-hosted tour of the Park, led by Dr. Eric Strauss, Lisa Fimiani, and Father Randall Roche, SJ. For the first time, visitors got to experience a virtual trip through the Park, learning about the ecological impacts and cultural history of the Ballona Wetlands. After watching, if you’d like to see the Park in person, please note that it is open to the public with appropriate social distancing protocols required. Alternatively, join the Friends of Ballona Wetlands for virtual community events.
Got trees?! In partnership with TreePeople, CURes has debuted new interactive tree cover map tools on our website! This data viewer tracks not only the tree cover of an area in LA County, down to the parcel size, but also the percentage of shrub, grass, dirt, permeable and impermeable surfaces that could be considered for planting. Take a look at our Basic and Advanced maps here, or read our previous blog post for more information. You can use the planting and gardening skills you have learned from Lisa and the Friends’ Grow Native! webinar and website to help make LA greener and healthier. Also visit our partner TreePeople for more information about the many ways you can add trees to your property.
Finally, don’t forget to connect with CURes on social media for updates on our events and projects. We will be making more resources and content available in the coming months. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, or read our past newsletters. To join our newsletter mailing list, please contact us at CURes@lmu.edu.
Especially in times like these, it’s important to remember to protect our environment and our community. The next time you go for a walk, don’t forget to wear a mask and try to find your local native plants and animals. See you soon!
Links and Resources:
- Grow Native! Sustainable Gardening Webinar
- Grow Native! Website
- Ballona Discovery Park Virtual Tour
- Ballona Discovery Park Community Events
- CURes Tree Map Cover Tools
- The Los Angeles County Tree Map Project
- TreePeople Website
As always, we are grateful to our committed partners and generous supporters for making these and all our work possible. Visit our Partners Page to learn more.