By Shahram Kharaghani

This issue of the LA Stormwater newsletter is full of articles that are sure to excite your volunteering spirit.

We feature an article by TreePeople, one of the most active community groups in Los Angeles, explaining why it is important to plant some roots and give a little back to the city we love by taking the time to volunteer. Many of their monthly clean up and tree-planting outings can be found on our monthly events calendar.

Ida Talalla, the founder of Echo Park Trash Abatement Project (or TAP), is an inspiration to many for her commitment to her neighborhood of Echo Park.  A dear friend of the LA Stormwater Program, Ida is the force behind an anti-litter campaign that has caught on across the city. Her grassroots organization, with its teams of volunteers, has become a blueprint for how to engage people at the local level to reduce litter. She believes that community involvement starts with you.

We also highlight the City of Los Angeles, Department of Public Works’ Office of City Beautification, which provides local community organizations with information and materials to help them set up and administer local beautification and clean-up events. They are a great resource and we encourage more organizations to take advantage of all they have to offer.

As you can see, this issue is packed with volunteer ideas. However, if you’d prefer to not get your hands dirty by planting a tree or picking up trash, there are other ways you can get involved in your community. The LA Stormwater Program, along with other City agencies, hosts frequent meetings where we invite community members to provide their input on issues that matter to the area in which they live as well as the city at large. The LA Stormwater Program holds community meetings in conjunction with local Proposition O projects, as well as Low Impact Development (LID) Ordinance stakeholder meetings.  At these forums, City staff and community members dialogue to reduce the impact of development on the quality of runoff flowing through our local creeks and rivers to our coastal waters. Community participation at stakeholder meetings is equally as important as traditional volunteer efforts. Without input from people like you our program cannot succeed.

There is a little something for everyone to get involved in and make Los Angeles a cleaner and greener city. It takes different people with different skills to make a difference. Everyone has something beneficial to offer, and we hope you will share your skills with us in the coming months. To find out more about upcoming meetings, be sure to visit our “Get Involved!” events calendar.

Lastly, if you or someone you know is hosting a community event that benefits the environment here in Los Angeles, feel free to pass the event along via email. We will post it on our calendar, and we can also work with you to have stormwater public outreach materials at the event.

Sincerely,

Shahram Kharaghani

L.A. Stormwater Program Manager