New Generations of Community Leaders Page

Empowering Future Voices Through Leadership Development

The Los Angeles Unified School District is the second largest in the nation, serving the children of approximately 5 million residents.

Imagine a world where these children have the opportunity to study a curriculum that includes habitat and watershed restoration, avian migration, the impacts of climate change and global warming, Native American history and Indigenous knowledge – in a studies center situated in 2,000 acres of outdoor classrooms in the middle of one of the world’s largest cities.

A detailed site plan with landscaping and water features.

This is the central mission of the Lake Balboa Park Project and its 5 major components:

  • Environmental & cultural studies center,
  • Native plant nursery & foraging garden and a model Native American village,
  • Native American restaurant & kitchen garden,
  • Rehabilitation of Bull Creek, a Los Angeles River tributary that runs through Lake Balboa Park to the river,
  • Civic plaza with resilience/community & interpretive centers.

To be funded in Two Steps

  • Phase One: Ready for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
  • Phase Two: Ready for construction after the Olympics

Serving the Communities of the San Fernando Valley Page

  • Studies Center – providing environmental and Indigenous studies to school children,
  • Native Species nursery and foraging garden – ingredients for the restaurant and other traditional uses, sustainable agriculture, protecting native pollinators,
  • Model Native American Village – a glimpse of what life was like for the original inhabitants of the Sepulveda Basin in pre-colonial times,
  • Native American Restaurant – destination dining showcase with an exquisite view overlooking Lake Balboa to the Santa Monica Mountains, and kitchen garden,
  • Bull Creek restoration – restoring an LA River tributary into a 30 acre natural habitat for migratory birds & a variety of wildlife; and an accessible greenspace for the community and lovers of nature,
  • Gateway Plaza open space & Civic Promenade – enhancing public access to parkland and green spaces with a cafe, a kiosk selling high quality take-out meals produced in the Native American restaurant & fresh produce from the kitchen garden; and a weekend farmers market,
  • Resilience/Community Center with a ranger station & security office, a public library, workstations and natural & cultural history interpretive center – also serving communities during extreme heat events.