Welcome back to the Fall 2025 semester! The Center for Urban Resilience has been as busy as ever since graduation, with plenty of exciting engagements ahead for the fall. Below is a recap of our summer activities, as well as our upcoming events and projects. Follow us on social media or check the CURes website to learn how to get involved!
In Summer 2025, the CURes team…
- …continued our stewardship of the flora and fauna on campus, maintaining several green spaces and keeping the birds and butterflies fed! Our CURes blog provides some highlights:
- …led or partnered on many events in Ballona Discovery Park and the Ballona Wetlands, including:
- community science activities such as the Discovery Park BioBlitz with Heal the Bay, birding tours and butterfly counts with Friends of the Ballona Wetlands
- park tours with LMU units (The Learning Community and the Pam Rector Center for Service and Action) and Topanga Designers of Indigenous Space in partnership with Tongva Gabrieleno Chairperson Robert Dorame
- celebrations such as the 20th Anniversary of the Freshwater Marsh and the inaugural “Friendraiser” at Ballona Discovery Park
- …continued work in regional urban ecology and restorative justice, including:
- two restorative justice trainings with the Los Angeles County Office of Education and Whittier City, including a keynote address from Dr. Eric Strauss
- support for the Wilson Ornithological Society Meeting held at LMU, including CURes staff participating in sessions and leading tours of the Ballona Freshwater Marsh
- contributing to the “defensible space” policy discussions around wildfire and managing green spaces
- convening Indigenous partners for a walk and land blessing to kick-off our wildfire restoration project at the Taft Gardens and Nature Preserve in Ojai
Fall 2025 Current & Upcoming
- Completion of the Gottlieb Native Gardens Documentary Film
- LMU Freshman Orientation tours of Ballona Discovery Park
- Partnership with The Nature Conservancy Baltimore on urban forestry community design workshops
- Dr. Michele Romolini speaking at the Nature City Forum
- Dr. Michele Romolini co-organizing the Baltimore Ecosystem Study Annual Meeting as part of the Leadership Team
- Two LMU Class Tours of Ballona Discovery Park with Tongva Gabrieleno Chairperson Robert Dorame
- Cities and the Environment (CATE) Inaugural Symposium – November 20, 2025
Thank you, as always, to our partners and supporters for allowing us to do this work!