LA Conservation Corps

Food waste goes into landfills and produces methane gas that exacerbates climate change. LA Conservation Corps diverts food waste from landfills by collecting from restaurants and markets. Edible food waste is distributed to the food insecure, and inedible waste is composted. The co-benefit is low-income youth get paid work experience and on-the-job training.

This creekside park in a highly urbanized area provides school kids and the surrounding neighborhood a multi-sensory natural park experience that layers history, natural science and art. The new community gardens invites elementary school students and community gardeners to plant their own fruits and vegetables, and nutrition and cooking workshops will help them get the most out of their own produce. Privately operated by the LA Conservation Corps, the Park hopes to expand hours of operation and community programs to serve more people.

The LA Conservation Corps empowers young adults in communities across Los Angeles from Compton to East LA to the Valley with skills, confidence, and purpose. In the five months since wildfires swept the region, Corpsmembers have responded by restoring trails, replanting trees, and helping nature heal. Now, they’re reviving the fire-ravaged Altadena Crest Trail. Two of the 5.5 miles are funded. We’re seeking funding from LA2050 to help complete this vital restoration so the Altadena community can once again enjoy their beloved hiking trail.

The Soils Conservation Corps supports sustainable land management, promotes biodiversity, and builds climate resilience by preventing the production of greenhouse gases. The goals are to divert organic waste from landfill and increase community composting, improve the soil health of the City of LA, and create pipelines to Green Jobs. This project turns food waste into compost and uses that compost to regenerate healthy soils while providing paid work experience and training for diverse, low-income youth.

For 35 years, the LA Conservation Corps has been providing opportunity youth with unique educational and job training experiences. We want to build an active, creative, connected and empowered Alumni Network to harness the power of those generations of former Corpsmembers to strengthen the Corps experience and also provide ongoing to services to newly graduated Corpsmembers who are beginning the next phase of their journey.

Los Angeles Conservation Corps has operated a recycling program for more than 30 years to reduce consumer waste that goes to landfill. This past year, the Corps launched a program to divert edible food surplus from landfill and put healthy food on the tables of people in need, as well as sending inedible food waste to composting or renewable energy generation. The Corps seeks support for the training and employment of at-risk young adults from disadvantaged communities to help with collection.