Friends of the Los Angeles River

NEWS!FoLAR’s President and CEO Marissa Christiansen has been appointed by the governor to the Los Angeles Water Quality Control Board! In the era of climate change and the need for serious progress, the health and sustainability of life in our region depends on the health, availability, and quality of our water. I will prioritize healing our collective environment for the safety, wellbeing, and sustainability for all communities. #waterquality #lariver

We're looking for a River Educator! Apply now at https://ideali.st/SAHhaM

BIG NEWS at FoLAR - we have just launched a new membership program and online store! We’re offering three tiers of membership that earn you #LARiver swag, including this BRAND NEW BAT TSHIRT, included in the highest tier of membership support. We also heard all the enthusiasm and excitement around our #BatWeek items and are including a full set in all memberships. Get yours today, or give the gift of membership to any friend who loves frogs, bats, the LA River or FoLAR. (link in bio!)

https://youtu.be/o2eLBjX50P8 Learn about Southern California's indigenous peoples by listening to them directly. Hear the Gabrelino-Kizh perspectives on the Anza Trail and colonial settlement of the LA Basin.

Come join us at our last #volunteeropportunity of the year! Join us along with @californianativeplantsociety and @sfvaudubon in the Sepulveda Basin as we continue to remove harmful and invasive plant species. Help return this basin to it’s native roots to restore animal habitats and reduce the amount of fires in the area. @sfvaudubon will be leading bird walks throughout the event - a great way to learn and give back all in one day! Register at dec2021habitatrestorationday.eventbrite.com

Donate to FoLAR this #givingtuesday and give the gift of outdoor education to local students! We continue to serve LA County schools, and prioritize bringing our environmental curriculum specifically to Title I schools in communities where the majority of households are at or below the federal poverty level. For every $250 raised (up to $5000), we’re donating an outdoor kit - jacket, binoculars, compass and more - to a student at a Title I school! LINK IN BIO

There are so many ways to enjoy the #LARiver! Here, a fisherman enjoys fishing on the banks just south of Fletcher Drive Bridge. This Thursday evening we'll be hosting our Virtual Gala and celebrating the many recreational activities that the River offers. To say thanks to all of our supporters, we're offering ONE LAST CHANCE to get a discounted ticket for our Virtual Gala by using promo code RIVERREC. This promo code expires tomorrow at noon, so don't delay! Link in our bio to our Gala page

Here's your chance to win a tickets and join our virtual gala next Thursday, November 18th at 7pm. Each gala attendee will be entered to win one of NINE raffle baskets, just like the one depicted above. Each basket is unique and contains items to help you explore the local outdoors - like the #LARiver. Items range from @rei and @patagoniapasadena swag, a beautiful photography artbook from local legend @peterbphoto , and some throwback CDs of our poet-founder Lewis MacAdams' album "Good Grief". To enter this ticket giveaway, tag a friend you'd like to enjoy our gala with and you'll be entered to win two tickets for you and your friend. Five pairs of winners will be contacted by Tuesday 11/16, gala tickets to be distributed via email.

We’ve got another awesome #volunteeropportunity for folks to lend a hand to the #LARiver. Join us along with @californianativeplantsociety and @sfvaudubon in Sepulveda Basin as we remove harmful invasive plant species. The more we remove from this wildlife refuge, the more drought tolerant and fire resistant the space is, and the more welcoming the vegetation will be to native wildlife. @sfvaudubon will be leading bird walks throughout the event- a great way to learn and give back all in one day! Registration link in the comments!

Take advantage of our ONE DAY ONLY Flash Sale - tickets to our virtual gala are discounted for until NOON Friday 11/5 when you enter RIVERREC as a promotional code. Our one day Gala Flash Sale is for supporters like you to chip in and gain access to our gala premiere on November 18th by buying a discounted ticket! Go to our site for full Gala details!

Time for another #HistoryLesson day on the #LARiver. This photograph is from @ladistrictusace ‘s archives looking at the historic Sixth Street Bridge depicting the river during a rainstorm when water fills the concrete channel. From their site: In 1940, the Army Corps entered into an agreement with LA County to operate and maintain the portion of the channel from Lankershim Blvd to Stuart and Grey Road which equates to 22.5 miles of the LA River Channel. You should note both the box channel (found in SFV) and trapezoidal channel further south. @ladistrictusace is beginning to study opportunities for divestiture, disposal, and improvements to operations of the LA County Drainage Area. Next meeting is 11/10 at 6pm!

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District is initiating a disposition study to evaluate opportunities for divestiture, disposal, and improvements to operations of the Los Angeles County Drainage Area. US Army Corps will have virtual public meetings on Los Angeles County Drainage Area TODAY 11/3 10-Noon and next week 11/10 at 6pm. JOIN ONE AND LEARN MORE! https://www.spl.usace.army.mil//corps-to-have-virtual-pub/

Last month our team got together for a little social distanced cleanup and film shoot! It felt great to get back out there and have a direct personal impact improving the #LARiver in preparation for the big comeback of CleanUp this summer! Stay tuned for a video launch later this week... exciting times ahead, but we're counting on all of you to sign up on #EarthDay April 22nd, show up this summer, and remove trash from our waterway to improve ecosystem health. Here's our CEO Marissa Christiansen and Policy Director Liliana Griego getting interviewed for our video out soon!

Tune in at 3pm to 90.7 KPFK to listen to our very own Liliana Griego on EcoJustice Radio discussing the LA River County Master Plan! (Episode also available in podcast form - but nothing's like the radio....)

River stewards - get ready to get back on the River!!! It's April and time to celebrate #EarthMonth - the most magical time of the year! In honor of our favorite month, we’re launching registration for the Great LA River CleanUp 2021 on #EarthDay April 22. The #GreatLARiverCleanUp runs June through July. With the surge in single-use plastics we've seen over the last year, this year’s CleanUp is more important than ever. We can't do this important work without YOUR support. Donate now on our website to make CleanUp this year the most impactful yet! And let us know, what is your motivation for supporting FoLAR?

FoLAR opposes hate of all kinds and stands squarely in support of Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities facing violence and bigotry locally and nationwide. One in 10 Angelenos and one in three residents of Elysian Valley are AAPI. Pictured above are our friends at the Taiwanese United Fund who yearly mobilize volunteers to our Compton Creek cleanup site. Our cleanup volunteers, students, and advocates include AAIP community members who need our support now. Seaca La API Forward Movement CCED are all nonprofit partners comprised of Asian-Americans working in AAPI communities that deserve your support and attention. Join all of us as we #StopAAPIHate

Dec 10th is #HumanRightsDay - and as good as time as any to remind: Water is Life, and the River is our Kin. #otd the UN ratified a declaration of human rights to abolish slavery and trafficking and uphold our rights to standards of living and personal freedom. We’ve come a long way- but still have far to travel. Right here in LA the #LARiver is a space to reflect on our commitment as a global society to guarantee clean air, clean water, free movement, and adequate healthcare to all. Reimagining the River is an endeavor to reimagine how we connect and support one another as a community, both local and global, for the benefit of future generations.

Another #CoyoteCloseUp for #WildlifeWednesday! We’re all feeling the stress of just surviving amidst the challenges of 2020 and the return of safer at home orders - so take a deep breath and plan some social distanced outdoors time in our vibrant local ecosystem. FoLAR endeavors to keep you connected to the wildlife of our waterway - including adopting wildlife cams to support @santamonicamountainsnps! Chip in to FoLAR’s year end campaign so we can continue this work, and keep YOU connected to the wonders of the #LARiver! Link in bio to donate!

As the sun sets and the moon rises, nocturnal LA comes out to play! FoLAR is excited to share pics from our adopted wildlife cams a part of our partnership with @santamonicamountainsnps for #wildlifewednesday! This coyote is ready for their close up ! Follow us for more pics and support FoLAR’s continued work providing education and engagement to students and the local community by donating to our year end fundraising campaign - link to donate online in our bio!!

Support FoLAR this #givingtuesday to keep the River Movement in motion! We envision an equitable accessible and ecologically restored #LARiver and raise a constituency for change through our advocacy, education and engagement. Join us in making a local impact for a better world! Donate online: support.folar.org/2020

Walking off yesterday’s meal with a trip to the #lariver is a great way to #optoutside! FoLAR is thankful for our long standing partnership with @rei, who support our programs and advocacy to ensure the River is accessible and full of life. Remember, Water is Life, so opt outside by saying hi to your local waterway!

NEW SHIRT ALERT Total Luxury Spa just launched this shirt in collaboration with FoLAR! Their team contacted us a few months back with the intention of showcasing our local treasure, the #lariver, and in honor of our late founder Lewis MacAdams. Total Luxury Spa is a clothing store and wellness center that designs each piece of apparel to provoke critical thinking. They’re committed to a better relationship with our planet, and locally with our River. Order your shirt today- 100% of the proceeds benefit FoLAR!

Join us LIVE now for Trivia! This edition will focus on the bats and frogs along the #LARiver! Test your knowledge and tune in for some edutainment.

RIVER TRIVIA: Nature After Dark Tune in for a special Nature After Dark edition of our LA River Trivia! Thank you to our sponsors! ... LEAD: Amazon, MO PREMIUM PRESENTING: Postmates, Toyota Financial Services PREMIUM PARTICIPATING: REI, Clean Power Alliance PRESENTING: American Chemistry Council, Eaton, Superba, Anheuser-Busch, Taco Bell, 4Site Real Estate, City National Bank, Coca-Cola, Bottle Box, Linear City Development, SoCal Gas PARTICIPATING: Clockshop, Dart Foundation, Hathaway Dinwiddie, Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, Northrup Grumman, City Councilmember David Ryu, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Stantec, Warner Brothers Entertainment, Water Replenishment District SUPPORTING: Alta Planning, Heidi Duckler & Dan Rosenfeld, LA Sanitation, Niantic, Perkins & Will, Port of Long Beach, Spin, Assemblymember Anthony Rendon

Every week students from our Source to Sea Watershed Education Program submit questions to our River Educators which we answer live during one of our virtual lessons These questions surprise us and sometimes challenge us! They also show us how creatively our students think and how we are always learning from them A huge thank you to the @rosefdn and @usfws for supporting our education programs!

The year is 2030... and we've got a message of hope to deliver to our 2020 selves. Might just take a little time travel and a lotta luck to prepare us for the #GreenNewDecade. Check out all of FoLAR's Return to the River videos right here on Facebook.

Tune in now to our third week of River Trivia! Hope you're ready to test your River Knowledge and stretch your bird brains!

Tune in for Part 3 of LA River Trivia, Ocean Connections edition, at 5 pm today! Participants must submit answers in this answer sheet: https://docs.google.com//1FAIpQLSc_esthOgrlEjYzsE/viewform

Watch the 3rd episode of our first of its kind environmental variety show, filmed throughout the Lower LA River. We meet shorebirds and steelhead trout Aquarium of the Pacific, learn the historic connection the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians fostered with the river and ocean, and practice mindfulness at Hollydale Park. In the River Report we'll hear from Rep. Jimmy Gomez and Stillwater Sciences on future projects for the #LARiver like the Fish Passage.

Week 2 of our Trivia Challenge - play along to win great prizes and test your River Knowledge

Last episode of Return to the River premiers this Saturday at 10am on Facebook and YouTube! Enjoy these behind the scene photos and stay tuned for great segments including: Finding Feathered Friends: Explore the Aquarium of the Pacific to learn about shore birds and steelhead trout River Yoga: Join our guided yoga session along the River... Native Narratives: Learn how the Chumash construct canoes out of tule Oakbrook Chumash Indian Museum River Report: Learn about a project to bring the steelhead trout back with Wendy Katagi from Stillwater Sciences and enjoy a special interview with Rep. Jimmy Gomez #lariver #birding #birds #steelhead #trout #yoga #yogaoutside #riveryoga #nativeknowledge #tule #chumash #news #fishpassage #returntotheriver #riverlution Directed by: @gnarcotics