Earth Day Climate Action month was a resounding success for California State Parks Foundation, marking its 26th year of Earth Day celebrations this April. Throughout the month, we engaged 743 dedicated volunteers in 12 state parks, collectively working towards building climate resilience.
Many of our projects focused on addressing invasive species, which threaten native plants and serve as potential fuel for wildfires within our parks. Our park staff partners understood the importance of removing these plants to ensure their parks remain wildfire resilient.
With the support of our volunteers, we focused on specific areas of the park to clear of invasive and non-native plant species. We removed 341,601 square feet — about 8 acres or 6 football fields — of invasive species and created 1,000 square feet of fire buffer zones in state parks all over California in April!
Habitat restoration was also a focus during our Earth Day Climate Action month. Native plants support local ecosystems by providing food and shelter for native wildlife, such as the endangered Least Bells vireo at Rio de Los Angeles State Park or the black-tailed jackrabbits at Silver Strand State Beach. Native plants are incredibly resilient to the impacts of climate change and local climates as they require less water and maintenance over time.
Volunteers supported various habitat restoration projects throughout the month, planting 495 native plants and 58 native trees!
We had 35 volunteers join us at Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook to remove invasive species such as black mustard, garland chrysanthemum, and wild radish. Their work directly contributed to mitigating invasive species as potential fire hazards during the upcoming summer months.
We had 40 volunteers join us at Montaña de Oro State Park to help restore native coastal scrub habitat along the Bluff Trail, one of the park's most popular trails. They also helped enhance the Islay Creek Campground. Splitting into two groups, they removed invasive New Zealand spinach along the trail and planted 324 native plants in its place. They also planted 44 native trees and shrubs in the campground to help increase shade during warmer months and aid carbon absorption.
We are so grateful for our volunteers, whose dedication and hard work made this month-long celebration successful. We also thank our park partners and generous sponsors, whose support made these initiatives possible and highlighted their unwavering commitment to preserving our state parks for generations to come.
Again, thank you to everyone who showed up for our parks and continued to inspire us with their stewardship!
Ready to join us in the parks again? Check out our events calendar for more volunteer opportunities: https://volunteer.calparks.org/.