Explore the parks and green space of Los Angeles.  Learn more about what  the city and others are doing to improve our urban environment. 

General Sites

• SustainLA--This is a joint city collaboration providing a portal to information on environmental projects throughout the city.  A great place to start learning about the environment.
• City of L.A. Environment & Recycling Page
• Community Guide to Environmental Services--a very useful publication from the City Environmental Affairs Department

• Green LA--Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

• Environmental Affairs Department, City of Los Angeles

• Sign-up for 

Parks and Recreation

• The Parks of Council District 13--(Coming soon!)

• City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks

  • Parks and Facility Locator

  • Calendar of Events

• County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation

• California State Parks--the homepage of the California State Department of Parks and Recreation

• Greenprinting Los Angeles--a joint project between the City of Los Angeles and the Trust for Public Land

Energy, Green Power, and Energy Conservation

• U.S. Department of Energy--Green Power

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Green Power Partnership

• Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

  • LADWP's Green Power

• Energy Savers--learn how to save money and conserve energy in your home from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

• Home Energy Saver--a web-based tool from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

• Business Energy Analysis--from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Environmental Protection

• Environmental Affairs Department, City of Los Angeles

• California Environmental Protection Agency

• United States Environmental Protection Agency

Clean Air

• Check on smog levels

• South Coast Air Quality Management District

• Where does smog come from?

• What can you do to cut smog--five solutions:

  • Get an alternative fuel vehicle

  • Trade in your gas-powered lawnmower

  • Report smoking vehicles to CUT-SMOG

  • Things you can do at home

  • Reduce energy consumption at home

Clean Water & Water Supply

• Bureau of Sanitation, Department of Public Works, City of Los Angeles 

• What is a TMDL?--U.S. EPA explains a TMDL

• Ever caught rainwater?--Tree People's T*R*E*E*S project

• Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board

  • Perchlorate & chromium issues

  • Los Angeles River Watershed Trash TMDL

  • Water quality goals

The Los Angeles River

• Los Angeles City Council Ad-Hoc Committee on the LA River

• Los Angeles River Watershed--from the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board

• Friends of the Los Angeles River

• LA River Tour

• The Los Angeles River: Past, Present, and Possibilities (web exhibit by Alan Loomis)

• Los Angeles River Railroads (including Taylor Yard)

• Who killed the L.A. River?

• The Los Angeles River: Its Life, Death, and Possible Rebirth

• Re-envisioning the L.A. River (L.A. River Project)

• The Trust for Public Land's Los Angeles River Greenway Program

• Community Perspectives on the L.A. River

• The L.A. River (a historical paper)

• Frogtown

• TMDLs and the Los Angeles River--A Powerpoint presentation from the Bureau of Sanitation that includes interesting L.A. River history

Recycling

• Bureau of Sanitation Recycling Page

  • Solid Resources Citywide Recycling Division

  • What can I recycle in my curbside bins?

  • Oil recycling

  • Hazardous Household Waste

  • Backyard Composting

  • E-Waste: What can I do with that old television or computer?--Check out the next city-sponsored electronic waste recycling collection event (Learn more about electronic waste at California State Integrated Waste Management Board's e-waste site or Californians Against Waste's e-waste page)

  • Construction and demolition recycling

• Recycle City--from the U.S. EPA

• Construction Recycling--Construction accounts for about 12 percent of the waste stream.  Learn about construction and demolition recycling at the California State Integrated Waste Management Board's web site

• Californians Against Waste

Building Greener Homes, Buildings, and Communities

• U.S. Green Building Council

• USGBC Green Building Links

• Green Building and Deconstruction--from the L.A. City Environmental Affairs Department

Transportation and the Environment

• California Energy Commission's Transportation Choices Site

• Alternative Fuel Vehicles

  • SustainLA's Alternative Fuel Vehicle Page

• Cycling in Los Angeles

  • Los Angeles City Bicycle Plan

  • Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition

• Public Transportation Links

  • Plan a trip on public transportation with TranStar--the Southern California Association of Government's public transit trip planner

  • Metropolitan Transit Authority

Community Gardening, Farmers Markets, and Food Security

• Los Angeles Community Garden Council

• American Community Gardening Association

• Starting a community garden (an ACGA guide)

• Center for Food and Justice--Occidental College

• Los Angeles County Farm Bureau master list of farmers' markets

• Farmers' Markets of Southern California (a partial list)

• USDA Community Food Security Project

• LAUSD Nutrition Network--healthy food in our schools

Trees and Community Forestry

• Street Tree Division of the Bureau of Street Services, Department of Public Works

• Tree People

• TreeLink

• LADWP's Tree for a Green LA Program--An initiative to bring over 200,000 shade trees to our communities

Plants, Animals, and Habitat

• California Native Plant Society

  • On-line inventory of native California plants

• Los Angeles Audubon Society

• The Nature Conservancy California

• California Wildflowers--from the California Academy of Sciences

• Threatened and endangered species--from the California Department of Fish and Game

• Photos of wildlife, habitat, and plants--from CalPhotos, an excellent database at UC Berkeley

• Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanical Society

Environmental and Community Groups

• Environment California--California Public Interest Research Group's web site on environmental issues

• American Lung Association

• Ballona Lagoon Marine Preserve

• Ballona Wetlands Foundation

• Ballona Wetlands Land Trust

• Regional Environmental Business Resource Assistance Center

• Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

• California Quality Compost Council

• California Conservation Corps, Los Angeles District

• California League of Conservation Voters

• California Native Plant Society

• Californians Against Waste

• Children's Nature Institute

• Clean Air Now

• Coalition for Clean Air

• Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life

• Communities for a Better Environment

• Community Forest Advisory Committee

• Concerned Citizens of South Central 

• Earth Communications Office

• Earth Day LA

• Eco-Home Network

• EcoVillage

• Environment Now

• Environmental Defense

• Environmental Media Association

• Friends of Ballona Wetlands

• Friends of the Los Angeles River

• Global Cities

• Global Green U.S.A.

• Greenaction

• Heal the Bay

• Hollywood Beautification Team

• International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives

• Korean Youth and Community Center

• Little Tokyo Service Center

• Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council

• Los Angeles Community Garden Council

• LA Regional Foodbank

• LA Shares

• Los Angeles Conservation Corps

• Los Angeles Zoo

• Madres del Este de Los Angeles Santa Isabel

• Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education

• Marine Mammal Care Center

• Mono Lake Committee

• Mountains Education Program

• Mountains Restoration Trust

• National Audubon Society

• National Resources Defense Council

• National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council

• Northeast Trees

• People for Parks

• Rhapsody in Green

• Santa Monica Baykeeper

• Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project

• Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy

• Save the Whales

• Sierra Club

• Surfrider Foundation

• The Trust for Public Land

• Theodore Payne Foundation

• TreePeople

• UCLA Ocean Discovery Center

• Venice Action Committee

• Watts Labor Community Action Committee

• Wildlife on Wheels

• Wildlife Waystation