Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Varvarigos.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
The South Bay Parkland Conservancy (SBPC) is committed to preserving open space and creating more parks in the coastal cities of the South Bay in Los Angeles, CA. We are dedicated to helping make the community a better place by encouraging and assisting with the acquisition of Parklands. SBPC works with residents, local and state governments, and other like-minded organizations in our efforts to preserve parkland for today’s generation and for generations to come. One of SBPC’s major objectives is the reestablishment of historical native habitats – “rewilding” the South Bay a piece at a time.
You may not have heard of South Bay Parkland Conservancy, but the non-profit 501(C) 3 has been around since 2004. Fueled by a public visioning project for Redondo Beach’s waterfront, the current Mayor of Redondo Beach, Bill Brand, along with Jim Light and Dave Wiggins founded SBPC. Since then, SBPC has supported different grassroots groups in line with its mission.
SBPC is also proud of our commitment to educate the community… holding events such as “the Desal Powow”, which brought experts on both sides of the desalination debate into a forum at the Redondo Beach Historic Library. We also have had a booth at every Riviera Village Festival since our founding – using it as a platform to educate and engage the public.
SBPC has been gaining momentum with our current board. Examples of this momentum growth include our successful and growing Wilderness Park rewilding project; our partnership with the City in bringing grant monies to the city for a park and wetlands at the power plants site and the adjacent power line right of way; our membership in the El Segundo Blue Butterfly Coalition (ESBBC); our new project, the Esplanade Bluff Garden; and our partnership with local schools, boy scouts, and other organizations ensuring we pass our legacy to a new generation…..
According to the Trust for Public Lands, the South Bay is park-poor even if you include the LA County beaches. California established 5 acres of parkland per 1000 people as the threshold for defining “park poor” communities. Redondo Beach is well below that threshold with its parkland ratio well below 2.5 acres of parkland per 1000 residents… and that number is shrinking as development encroaches on parkland and open space and as the population continues to grow. The South Bay is one of the most densely populated regions along the California coastline. Now more than ever, we need our green outdoor spaces to move, to breathe, to play, to heal.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being a part of a non-profit always comes with challenges like volunteers, time, awareness, and fundraising. Other challenges include juggling working with state and local governments for various projects and a growing population with developer pressure to reduce parkland and public open space.
Please tell us about South Bay Parkland Conservancy.
South Bay Parkland Conservancy was formed to help restore, preserve, create, and activate public use of coastal land resources in the South Bay Region. Current projects, and those in planning, include native habitat restoration along the Esplanade, the Hermosa greenbelt, and Hopkins Wilderness Park. SBPC has also assisted the City of Redondo Beach with successful grant applications, which have raised 5.8 million dollars to date for purchase and restoration of the wetlands at the AES power plant site. They’ve had success in saving public recreation and open space in the harbor area. SBPC also partners with the City of Redondo Beach to identify unused parcels of parkland that could be developed into much-needed community gardens.
A few of SBPC’s initiatives include “rewilding” the South Bay, outdoor education, and volunteer programs as well as preserving the El Segundo Blue Butterfly. To “rewild” means to introduce animals or plants to their original habitat or to a habitat similar to their natural one; to return the land to a more natural state.
One of the most well-known SBPC projects that touches on all these initiatives is Wilderness Park. It’s not easy to find a patch of “wilderness” in the South Bay of Los Angeles. That is what makes Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach so rare. For over 7,000 years the hilltop was used as a lookout by the native Chowigna tribes, and later into the ‘60s, it was used as a Nike Missile Defense System site. But in 1977, the hill was converted into a wooded pocket park with 11 acres of trails, ponds, and habitat for native plants and species to abound. Unfortunately, the park is recovering from a past fire incident with other aspects of the park in need of revitalization.
Since SBPC’s work began to “rewild” Hopkins Wilderness Park in 2017, we have:
– Completed close to 3,000 volunteer hours of planting, weeding, educating
– Organized more than 26 different park events
– Worked with nearly 1,000 volunteers from within the community
– Collaborated with local schools and Eagle Scouts on projects
– Introduced nearly 600 new native plants in the park (representing more than 100 new species)
The successful work at Wilderness Park, driven by volunteers, and guided by SBPC board members, proves that we can make a difference working together. By identifying and utilizing every bit of parkland for more native plant habitat, and outdoor recreation in the South Bay, we hope to make quality parkland accessible to more people.
We currently have several projects in the works. We are particularly excited about our proposed Esplanade Bluff Garden located between Knob Hill and Avenue A. This garden will:
– Be a native plant butterfly garden overlooking the Pacific.
– Provide an island of habitat that will connect the breeding butterfly habitat throughout the South Bay.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Persistence, Creativity, Appreciation for Nature.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2215 ARTESIA BLVD. #1821, REDONDO BEACH, CA 90278, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
- Website: https://www.southbayparks.org/
- Email: info@southbayparks.org
- Instagram: @southbayparklandconservancy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/southbayparklandconservancy
Image Credit:
South Bay Parkland Conservancy
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
