SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM
Environmental Stewardship Program and the Urban Wildlife Habitat Los Angeles (WILIHALA) * By James Castillo * August 5, 2023
Executive Summary
The Sustainability Program of the Friends of Echo Park Library is a long term community project that aims to raise awareness among community members on the value of Environmental Sustainability and its impact to the local neighborhood and its residents. Currently, it has two components, the Environmental Stewardship program which focuses on education, and the other, Wildlife Habitat Los Angeles (WILIHALA), which serves as an educational demonstration garden. Both projects work together side by side. The Environmental Stewardship Program was funded by a grant from the Rotary Club of Historic Filipinotown. WILIHALA was funded by a grant from the Echo Park Neighborhood Council’s NPG (Neighborhood Purpose Grant).
Results
The Environmental Stewardship Program started in January of 2023 and ended in June of 2023. WILIHALA was planted in June 2023. Two environmental stewards finished the Environmental Stewardship Program and six workshops on different sustainability themes were conducted that had an average of 30-40 participants each workshop (in person and virtual). The land where WILIHALA is planted started as a bare piece of land without vegetation. Now it is a thriving part of the Echo Park Library with native plants and pollinators calling it home.