Los Angeles Park Forests

Sponsor: Jennifer Garner

To celebrate her birthday, Golden Globe-winning actress Jennifer Garner partnered up with the LA Parks Foundation to plant a new Park Forest at Julian C. Dixon Park. This new micro-forest will provide shade, improve air quality, help capture stormwater, and create a greener Los Angeles for everyone! We planted Rusty Gum, Island Oaks and Mount Tabor Oaks. 

Sponsor: Union Pacific Foundation

At Vermont Square Park, Union Pacific Foundation sponsored a fully–native Park Forest. Now, a forest of Coast Live Oak trees is growing to bring cooling shade and shelter for local wildlife.

The Tom LaBonge Memorial Park Forest was made possible with support from Tom’s family, community, and our Tom LaBonge Memorial Fund donors. This new model of Park Forest, developed by the Los Angeles Parks Foundation, is our 22nd Park Forest installation in Los Angeles since we started the program in 2020.

Located near the top of Mount Hollywood, this installation is a fully California native microforest. It is made up of 4 added Coast Live Oak trees and over 200 native plants that were grown and cared for in our LAPF Commonwealth Nursery. 

This is a bottom-up solution to some of our city’s most pressing issues. This project is an evolution of our Miyawaki Forest, demonstrating how we can scale and replicate innovative habitat restoration projects throughout Los Angeles city parks. 

The late Councilmember’s daughter Mary-Cate LaBonge adapted the poem “Immortality” by Clare Harner and read this at the Tom LaBonge Forest dedication ceremony:

Do not stand at my grave and weep;

I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am yellow mustard and Cowboy cologne,

I am rock, and sand, and seed, and stone.

I am the flashing beacon on Mt. Lee’s crest

I am the sun setting in the west.

When you awaken for a morning hike

I am your neighbor on their bike.

I am the sound of traffic’s hum

And the smell of gas and the snap of gum.

You’ll find me in bugs and birds in circled flight

And in pink and orange sunsets at the edge of night.

So do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there; I did not die.

Sponsor: Annenberg Foundation

Sponsored by the Annenberg Foundation, this 12-tree Park Forest was installed at Branford Recreation Center in Arleta to add shade to this beautiful neighborhood park.  This climate-resilient microforest is made up of Coast Live Oak, Desert Museum Palo Verde and Indian Rosewood.

This is the fourth Park Forest sponsored by the Annenberg Foundation!

Sponsor: Annenberg Foundation

We planted 12 trees at Glassell Recreation Center through funding from the Annenberg Foundation. This microforest contains a mix of Red Oak, Coast Live Oak, Western Sycamore, and Pink Trumpet trees – all of which will grow to provide shade and comfort to park users.

This is the third Park Forest sponsored by the Annenberg Foundation!

Sponsor: Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation

The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation sponsored this beautiful 12-tree Park Forest at LAPD SWAT Officer Randal D. Simmons Park. We planted seven Coast Live Oak and five Shumard Oaks to restore the tree canopy at this beloved neighborhood park in Reseda.  

Sponsor: Thomas Safran

Thanks to Thomas Safran, we planted 50 flowering Pink Trumpet trees at Anthony C. Beilenson Park at Lake Balboa. This is our largest installation to date! 

This project restores the visual aesthetic of the historic cherry blossom trees that were gifted to the park in 1992 (many of which have died off due to extreme heat and drought).

The Pink Trumpet trees were selected by our partners at the Department of Recreation and Parks for their hardiness and drought tolerance. They produce beautiful pink flowers that will simulate the experience of a cherry blossom bloom with a much more climate resilient tree.

Sponsor: Wells Fargo

Thanks to a generous donation from Wells Fargo, we installed a 12-tree Park Forest to bring cooling shade to the Hansen Dam Recreation Area and combat record-breaking heat. This micro forest includes drought tolerant Coast Live Oaks, Torrey Pines, and Indian Rosewoods.

Sponsor: Barnsdall Art Park Foundation

The Barnsdall Art Park Foundation, Los Angeles Parks Foundation and the City of Los Angeles launched the Barnsdall Olive Grove Initiative in 2021 to restore and revitalize the historic olive grove at Barnsdall Art Park. The 130-year-old olive grove, which is home to 463 olive trees, once consisted of up to 1,225 olive trees. Barnsdall Art Park is a world-renowned 11.5-acre park and cultural destination in East Hollywood and includes Hollyhock House, created by Frank Lloyd Wright for Aline Barnsdall, which is Los Angeles’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In 2021, the Barnsdall Art Park Foundation contributed $25,000, through our Adopt-A-Park program, to fund a horticultural survey, forensic analysis, fix the grove’s irrigation system, and provide essential maintenance such as pruning and stump removal to ensure that the existing olive trees thrive at Olive Hill.

Through their 2022 adoption of Barnsdall Art Park, the Barnsdall Art Park Foundation contributed $33,000 to fund and maintain the installation of a Park Forest, comprised of forty (40) new 15-gallon olive trees to help restore the grid at the historic olive grove, improve the neighborhood air quality, and support the region’s wildlife ecosystem. Maintenance of the installation is funded for two years.

Read more about the improvements to Barnsdall Art Park here: https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/environment/2021/06/15/historic-olive-grove-at-barnsdall-art-park-is-getting-some-love-

Sponsor: Green Oak Foundation

About: More than 30 years ago, the city of Berlin, Germany donated a “forest” of tall pine trees at the entrance to Griffith Park at the north end of the Griffith Observatory parking lot. Dozens of trees had been lost in the 30 years since the “Berlin Forest” was originally planted in 1990. Last year, the Green Oak Foundation funded the installation of 29 Canary Island Pines to replace trees that were lost.

More information about Griffith Park at https://www.laparks.org/griffithpark.

Sponsor: Wells Fargo

About: In this new pocket park in Pacoima, we planted 12 new trees, six of which are Tipu trees and six are Oak trees. This project was made possible through the generous donation of Wells Fargo.

More information about Devonshire Arleta Park at https://www.laparks.org/park/devonshire-arleta-park

Sponsor: Sikand Foundation

About: Located in Boyle Heights next to the 5 freeway, we planted 20 new trees, consisting of Jacarandas, Tipuana Tipus, and Brisbane Box trees. This project was made possible through a generous donation from the Sikand Foundation.

More information about Hollenbeck Rec Center at https://www.laparks.org/reccenter/hollenbeck.

Sponsor: Thomas R. Miller & Family

About: In this sprawling, highly activated park, we installed 12 trees including Island Oak trees, Western Sycamore trees, and Queensland Kauri trees. This project was made possible by a generous donation from our past board president Thomas R Miller.

More information about Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park at https://www.laparks.org/park/ken-malloy-harbor-regional.

Sponsor: Leeor Maciborski

About: In this compact and highly activated park, we installed 12 trees. The mixture of Shumard Oaks and Jacarandas will help reduce noise pollution from the 101 highway. This project was made possible by a generous donation from Leeor Maciborski of ROM Investments.

More information about Lemon Grove Rec Center at https://www.laparks.org/reccenter/lemon-grove.

Sponsor: Windward School

About: Within the central picnic meadow of this beloved Westside park, we’ve planted 20 new trees including Bolivian tipuanas, African tulip trees, plus native oaks and pines. This project was made possible through a generous donation from the Windward School. 

More information about Mar Vista Rec Center at https://www.laparks.org/reccenter/mar-vista.

Sponsor: The Annenberg Foundation

About: We added twelve (12) 24-inch box trees to Martin Luther King Jr. Park as part of the Annenberg Foundation’s 2022 multi-forest sponsorship.  This Park Forest is comprised of a mix of Pink Trumpet, Desert Museum Palo Verde, Coast Live Oak, and Indian Rosewood tree. The installation is designed to grow the urban tree canopy in South LA and provide cooling shade to combat heat in the surrounding community.  

More information about Martin Luther King Jr. Park at https://www.laparks.org/park/martin-luther-king-jr

Sponsor: Hancock Park Garden Club

Our Miyawaki Forest, located in the Bette Davis Picnic Area of Griffith Park, is composed entirely of native plants indigenous to the local area. Planted in 2021, thanks to the generous support of the Hancock Park Garden Club, this pilot project houses 145+ native plant species in a 1,000 sq. ft. circle and is currently serving as a test model for the applications of native plants in our city parks. All of the plants used in this project were sourced grown at the Commonwealth Nursery House with seeds sourced from Griffith Park. We maintain the forest for two years with monthly hand watering and weed abatement. Once established, this will become a fully self-sufficient native microforest.

Unlike traditional tree planting, the Miyawaki method uses strictly local and indigenous species to create a compact ecosystem that will be self-sustaining after a few years. Small saplings are planted close together, creating dense layers and encouraging accelerated growth – up to 10x faster than a conventional forest! The compact design of this forest makes it an ideal model for habitat restoration and water capture.

There are a number of native species that call our Miyawaki Forest home:

• Creeping Snowberry
• California Wild Rose
• Coast Live Oak
• Lemonadeberry
• Toyon
• Fuchsia Flowered Gooseberry
• Mexican Elderberry
• Coffeeberry
• Mugwort
• Hollyleaf Redberry
• Heart Leaved Keckiella
• California Bay Laurel

Read more about our Miyawaki Forest here:

https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/environment/2021/10/25/in-the-face-of-a-huge-climate-crisis–can-micro-forests-be-the-answer-

https://www.larchmontbuzz.com/featured-stories-larchmont-village/hancock-park-garden-club-joins-la-parks-foundation-in-park-forest-experiment/

Sponsor: Randy Paskal

About: Along the side of the park, four 24-inch box Live Oak trees were planted. This project was made possible through a generous donation from our board member, Randy Paskal.

More information about Robert Burns Park at https://www.laparks.org/park/burns.

Sponsor: Thomas Safran & Associates

About: In a grassy field of this heavily used South Los Angeles park, we’ve planted 12 new trees, six of which are Afghan pine trees and six are Shumard oak trees. This project was made possible through a generous donation from Thomas Safran & Associates.

More information about Ross Snyder Rec Center at https://www.laparks.org/reccenter/ross-snyder.

Sponsor: The Annenberg Foundation

About: Saint Andrews Recreation Center, located in the heart of South Los Angeles, is a neighborhood park that offers great resources to its community members; from youth sports programs to an annual jazz festival celebration. In partnership with the Department of Recreation & Parks, and through the generous donation from The Annenberg Foundation, we are adding a carefully selected mix of twelve (12) 24-inch box climate-resilient and diverse tree species, consisting of Mexican Sycamore, Tipu, Canary Island Pine, Fern Pine, and Red Oaks.

More information about Saint Andrews Rec Center at https://www.laparks.org/reccenter/saint-andrews