Thanks to LA2050, Compton Creek Natural Park was able to reach its potential as a cultural, educational, and recreational hub for its neighborhood. LA2050 funding supported young people with paid work experience and on-the-job training. They spent their time learning park operations and performing community beautification. Park operations included staff support for community programming and extended open hours for the public.

Compton’s Weekend Clean and Green Crew alongside their Crew Supervisor and Director of Conservation Programs Carlos Campero.

Compton Creek Natural Park saw a 34% increase in visitors to the park over the first four months and a 47% increase over the grant period (as of September 30, 2023). We were able to hire youth participants to help maintain the park and to keep the park open to the community on weekends. Compton Creek Bike Path, which is adjacent to the park and provides access to neighborhoods to the north and south, has been cleaned and maintained to maintain safety and increase usability.

Clean and Green participant trimming an overgrown tree at Compton Creek Natural Park with help from his crew supervisor.

More open hours allowed more volunteers to be engaged and more residents making use of the park on a regular basis. We counted 250 directly connected with this grant—100 Dodgers volunteers, 20 Zumba participants, 50 Girl Scouts, and 30 neighbors.

LA2050’s grant—and the accompanying exposure we received—catalyzed a $5,000 donation from LA Dodgers, as well as 100 Dodgers volunteers each doing four hours of service; $3,600 in miscellaneous donations in supplies and materials for refresh of the park and community garden; and a $50,000 grant from Boeing to continue work on the Compton Creek Bike Path.

Clean and Green participant trimming dead palm fronds alongside his crew supervisor.

LA2050 helped us achieve everything we set out in our original proposal. Keeping the park open on weekends allows our neighbors to visit the park and enjoy its amenities. Park users can take advantage of the fitness equipment, walking paths for bird watching, and access to the community garden to grow their own flowers, fruits, and vegetables. The park has become home to a group of moms of students from Washington Elementary next door, who run a Zumba class during the week and come in on the weekends to work in the community garden. LA2050 supports park operations by paying for staff members and program participants, who open the gates to our neighbors, supervise events, maintain park grounds, and provide access to tools and watering supplies for the community gardeners.

Clean and Green participant filling Compton Creek Natural Park’s green bin with dead leaves.

The program participants were 11 high school students from alternative charter schools in Watts, Compton, and Inglewood. These young people received paid work experience and on-the-job training providing maintenance and upkeep at the park. They were taught how to use hand tools and how to tell the difference between native plants and invasive weeds. Hands-on experience with tree planting benefits the park now and provides marketable skills for these young people’s futures.

Our Corpsmembers are also doing clean-up along the Compton Creek Bike Path adjacent to the park. They are helping to increase the safety and usability of the bike and walking path by removing weeds, clearing trash, and hauling away bulky items that have been illegally dumped. As part of their environmentally focused job training, they acquired content knowledge about climate change and environmental stewardship. They also received supportive services to help them meet basic needs or remove barriers to participation.

Compton Creek Natural Park partnered with East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice to host an event called Planting Seeds of Change. This event was for young people interested in being educated about environmental justice and how they can play a part in educating the public in their communities.

Partner non-profit Community Nature Connection hosted the “Transit to Trails” program, which starts by teaching our neighbors about native plants of Southern California here at CCNP, and then culminates in a field trip to places like King Gillette Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains. Compton Creek Natural Park is a hub for connecting Compton residents with nature—they start in their own backyard and then expand to explore natural areas outside the urban core of Los Angeles.

Girl Scouts with Compton Girl Scout Troop 1821 participating in a day long workshop exploring different cultures.

We hosted Compton Girl Scout Troop 1821 as they celebrated “A Taste of Culture” at the park. The Girl Scouts explored various cultures and foods through a day-long workshop.

Girl Scouts with Compton Girl Scout Troop 1821 participating in a day long workshop exploring different cultures.

One Girl Scout learning from her Troop Leaders.

Our objectives were met and exceeded thanks to LA2050 supporting people for job training, people for keeping the park open, and making the park accessible to our neighbors and community partners:

• Expand hours of operation—Park hours were extended to include Saturday and Sunday, sunrise to sundown.
• Increase community programs—We increased park visitor ship by 47% year over year.
• Improve climate impact—The park contributes to the community’s climate resilience through tree planting and maintaining open greenspace. Program participants cleaned and maintained the park grounds, planted new trees and watered them, and removed trash and debris from the Compton Creek Bike Path, which runs alongside Compton Creek and impacts its water quality.
• Provide greenspace—Residents’ use of the community garden increased 100% with 44 out of 56 garden beds currently being used.
• Park access—Yes, we welcomed community partners, including East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, Community Nature Connection, LA Dodgers, and RuckusRoots.
• Youth Economic Advancement—Eleven students were hired through educational partners, and each one was paid for 12 hours a week at $17 per hour.

Access to the park was a success as members of the community felt a stronger connection to nature and to their park with weekend access.

We evaluated the outcomes via tracking visitors, garden plot use/requests, and new program participant attendance.

Through LA2050 we developed a partnership with RuckusRoots, which combines art and activism to inspire positive change in the world. Carlos Campero has agreed to teach an arboriculture class to RuckusRoots’ students.

Our work is ongoing, we will continue to employ seven youth participants.

We will seek other grants to support weekend hours and other park operations. We have received public funds through Congresswoman Nanette Barragán to continue community beautification along the Compton Creek Bike Path.

Tongva Native American Elder educates park guests about Tongva traditions.

Crowd of park guests listen to a Tongva Native American Elder speak about her culture.