BHSO Summer Community Habitat Restoration
In August 2022, we set our first community habitat restoration in motion at the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook state park. It is the beginning of a continuous invitation for the community to come every third Saturday of every month. Our community habitat restoration is for our local community to come together, do hands-on environmental work, and learn about their local green space. It began with a small but dedicated group of community volunteers. For many, it was their first time at the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook. We provided binoculars and a short tour of the habitat restoration sites at the park. Questions from our volunteer group follow much curiosity and fascination as they get acquainted with the native vegetation and wildlife. Discussion of invasive species such as black mustard that covers a large quantity of the park and how they will be a part of removing these species and restoring the area with California native plants such as California bush sunflower, bladderpod, coast live oak, etc.
Every community volunteer gets trained in tool safety, invasive species removal, planting, seed collection, and seed cleaning. It is wonderful to see people who don’t know each other work together and connect through nature—experiencing the first time planting and seeing the joy it brings to the planter. Removing invasive species can be challenging, but seeing how everyone works alongside each other to clear an area to allow native species to thrive becomes rewarding. Spotting wildlife that is watching in curiosity and caution at the group of people working the land. Volunteers connect with nature through seed collection, understanding that you only take small portions from native shrubs because wildlife needs those resources. As they collect seeds, they drop some onto the soil, hoping many more native shrubs will appear. Breathe in purple sage's sweet aroma as they crush wilted flower heads to get to the seeds. In the end, we hope to see these community volunteers again and also hope to see new faces.
