Cultivating Change: Training for Community Transformation

Green space, park access, and trees

Central LA South LA

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

Limited access to green spaces and persistent health disparities disproportionately impact BIPOC communities across Los Angeles. While parks like Elysian and Griffith offer respite, daily access to green space is scarce in neighborhoods like K-town and Jefferson Park. And these disparities have persisted over the last decade with barriers like land use and funding. Amid these challenges, community members often feel powerless to confront systemic problems—especially with pressures like shifting political climates and ongoing gentrification. Despite this, people are eager to take matters into their own hands. A participant came to our garden because “something is happening and I need to invest in my community.” What’s missing is not just more parks, but spaces to understand why these disparities exist—and, more importantly, tools to change them. Cultivating Change will empower people to see the roots of these issues, equip them with skills to take action, and build collective resilience

Cultivating Change brings together two cohorts of 8-10 young adults (ages 18-24) in a ten-week program where they will learn the systemic history of Los Angeles, develop gardening and carpentry skills, and apply these skills to transform green spaces and gardens in South LA and K-town. Each cohort will spend 10 hours a week with three instructors at the LA Green Grounds (LAGG) Teaching Garden, including 3 hours of instruction and 7 hours of hands-on practice. The curriculum includes an introduction to LA’s systemic history—covering redlining, disinvestment, and community resilience—along with lessons in gardening, basic carpentry, cooking and food preservation, and field trips to local justice-focused organizations. Participants will practice their skills at the Teaching Garden, which provides a native parkway and vegetable garden year-round for the community right in their neighborhood. Each cohort will complete two lawn-to-garden conversions, turning underused patches of land into vibrant, native, food-producing green spaces. These conversions directly address disparities in green space and access to healthy food—without waiting for top-down solutions. We’re creating what our communities need right now. What makes this project unique is its holistic approach: we build skills, but also systemic consciousness and a sense of agency. Cultivating Change is not just a training—it’s a launchpad for young leaders to root themselves in community and grow solutions from the ground up

Imagine an L.A. where every front yard is a beautiful vegetable garden bordered by a native parkway. That is the long-term vision of Cultivating Change. Over the grant year, we will train 20 young leaders and convert four lawns into gardens in Koreatown and Jefferson Park—bringing healing green space and fresh food into the daily lives of Angelenos. This isn’t about weekend trips to the mountains or waiting for City Hall to fund more pocket parks—it’s about creating accessible, beautiful native green spaces in the neighborhoods where people live today. Our approach is transformative because it combines systemic education with hands-on skills—recognizing that knowledge alone or skills alone won’t drive lasting change. We help young adults understand the history of structural inequities, get inspired by proven grassroots solutions, and gain practical tools to lead community change. In a city where many feel powerless, this program offers a replicable model for grassroots transformation.