Greenhouse Program

In September 2022, we launched our 15th year of the Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program! Staff welcomed 35 students - some are returning for their second, third, or even fourth year, while about half are embarking on their very first year in the program. Especially exciting is a return to a mostly in-person format. Students kicked off the school year with habitat restoration activities at the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook and are using field notebooks for both data collection and personal reflection. This school year, we’re looking forward to collaborating again with California State Parks, the Questad Lab at Cal Poly Pomona, the Baldwin Hills Branch of the LA Public Library, local landscape architects, and the Omega SciFi Awards.

The Greenhouse Program has always been multidisciplinary in its approach, weaving in science, visual arts, creative writing, and local history and culture as ways to connect to the Ballona Creek Watershed and Los Angeles in general. Students who apply to the Greenhouse Program have a range of academic and extracurricular interests, and many students also juggle caregiving roles within their families and communities. This diversity of experience and interests creates a rich learning environment that benefits both students and staff. Baldwin Hills Parklands have benefited from the care and stewardship that students provide through native plant propagation and installation, invasive plant removal, research projects that explore ecology and social science questions about urban nature, and knowledge sharing with the community. We are proud of what Greenhouse students go on to do after high school: they are artists, scientists, urban planners, culinary professionals, journalists, educators, parents, veterans, nonprofit professionals, international consultants, landscapers, informed community members, and advocates for urban nature. What might the next 15 years of the Greenhouse Program look like?