Five Points Habitat Restoration

The goals of the Five Points Habitat Restoration Project are to restore native habitat, improve the ecosystem health of Ballona Creek watershed, improve water quality and storage, increase climate resiliency, and provide stewardship opportunities and jobs skills training for local at-promise youth. The Project is a collaboration between North East Trees (NET), Land IQ, Mujeres de la Tierra (MDLT), Los Angeles Audubon Society (LAAS), and the Santa Monica Mountains Task Force branch of the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter.

The Project will restore native scrub to 10.5 acres of land at the southeast tip of Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, at South La Brea Avenue and Don Lorenzo Drive. Much of the site is currently dominated by nonnative vegetation, including invasive annual mustards and grasses, following a recent brush fire. Whereas local scrubland restoration often relies on mulching around container plants to control weeds, the Project plans for herbicide-free restoration through the development of a weed management plan implemented over at least two years. This will be followed by the seeding of native coastal sage scrub species, and the propagation and planting of container plants at key spots to reduce erosion and other disturbances to the seeded area.

Key Project Benefits

• Restoration of native habitat to 10.5 acres in Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area

• Strategic management of invasive plant seedbank to allow for restoration with native seed

• Trail maintenance to reduce erosion and stormwater runoff

• Improved water quality in Ballona Creek watershed

• Reduction of fine fuels from site, lessening the risk of brushfire

• Job skills training opportunity for local youth