CCSEP Completes Visioning Process, Identifies Short- and Long-Term Goals

CCSEP spent the better part of 2020 crafting a Vision Plan for Elysian Park and our Committee. Facilitators Sara Daleiden and Ron Milam provided crucial guidance and advice through this process to establish short- and long-term goals for the park and become more effective as a committee.

One of our goals is to build partnerships with Regional Park Equity Leaders — people who are concerned with preserving and increasing parks/wilderness areas in and around Los Angeles, as well as increasing access and park equity to under-served members of the community.

Another goal is to expand our committee membership, prioritizing greater community representation and increasing the range and skills of our members. This will ultimately help us achieve our goals and improve outreach to surrounding neighborhoods.

Increasing park access involves enhancing navigability in and around the park, which requires identifying areas where signage can be improved, trails that need repairing and building trails and/or roads for underused areas of the park. These infrastructure goals will require funding from grants.

Perhaps most importantly, we want to create a resilient park landscape that will thrive and adapt to the challenges of climate change. Many of the trees in the park have been dying off due to old age, drought or predatory insects. With that in mind, we have been working with the Forestry Division of L.A.’s Recreation & Parks (RAP) to develop a plan to re-forest the park with more resilient native trees and plants. Furthermore, we will also devise a plan to capture and store rainwater for irrigation in Elysian Park, rather than ending up in the ocean.

Many of these infrastructure goals will require money and manpower, but if Elysian Park is to survive for younger generations, it is up to us to figure out how to turn these aspirations into realities. Completing our Visioning Process is an invaluable first step.