Friends of the Los Angeles River

FoLAR's paid LA River Fellowship provides equitable access to green spaces and pathways to eco-STEAM jobs for 9-11th grade students, with priority given to Title I schools and students adjacent to the LA River. Throughout the year-long program, Fellows will connect with eco-Professionals, conduct field research, complete a climate communication certification, lead professional events and presentations, and enjoy camping and kayaking in the LA River Watershed to make meaningful connections with LA ecosystems.

Source-to-Sea offers K-12 students access to immersive standards-based STEM education with experiential learning experiences across four touchpoints. Priority is given to schools with the highest % of low-income students (measured by % eligible for FRPM) - a group historically under-represented in STEM. We provide in-class curriculum, a visit from our River Rover mobile-education center, and an interactive field trip to the LA River to focus students on the interconnectivity of our urban ecosystem and the possibilities of various STEM careers.

FoLAR will collaborate with The Dirty Lab in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the UCR to continue a two-year phytoremediation pilot program that is already underway along the LA River, while also engaging youth and the community in science and the civic process. The pilot program will determine plant-based (phyto) and fungus-based (myco) solutions to removing pollutants (remediation) on the contaminated Taylor Yard G2 parcel – leading to the restoration of a multi-beneficial ecosystem and the future development of a public park.

FoLAR connects people to the River through the Great LA River CleanUp and further engages the public to create a constituency for change.