When I began my fellowship at Richardson Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary in October, one of the first lessons I learned from my coworker Emily Ohman, Senior Coordinator of Community Building, was that “if you’ve been to one Audubon Center, then you can say you’ve been to one Audubon Center.” While I understood anecdotally that each of the centers is unique in its programming, facilities, and the communities they serve, it wasn’t until I had the opportunity in January to shadow the staff at the Audubon Center at Debs Park in Northeast Los Angeles that I got to see this in practice. 

During my visit, which took place just a week after the Eaton and Palisades Fires had reached containment, I had the opportunity to observe the impactful work being done by Amaris Corona Sandoval, my counterpart who serves as the Community Conservation Fellow at the Audubon Center at Debs Park. She, along with other dedicated staff (He Sung Im, Rachel Bailey, Denys Hemen, and Evelyn Serrano), volunteers, and interns at the Center, gave me a glimpse into various facets of their work, ranging from on-the-ground conservation and habitat restoration initiatives to community engagement and education programs. This experience provided valuable insights into how Audubon Centers across different regions tailor their approaches to fit the needs of their communities, particularly in urban environments. 

The Community Conservation Fellowship program is designed to support emerging conservation leaders in fostering meaningful connections between local communities and the natural world. Fellows work on projects integrating ecological restoration, environmental education, and community outreach to create lasting environmental stewardship at and surrounding the Audubon Centers. At each Center, the fellowship is designed to address the unique needs of the surrounding community, making the work both place-based and dynamic. 

At Debs Park, Amaris’ work focuses on involving LA residents in conservation efforts, particularly through habitat restoration, volunteer engagement, and youth education initiatives. One of the most striking aspects of my visit was seeing how the center serves as an accessible green space in the heart of Los Angeles, offering a vital connection to nature for surrounding communities. The park is 282 acres of rolling hills, oak woodlands, and sage scrub. Audubon leases 17 acres and actively manages 3 additional acres yearly for restoration projects. Amaris is deeply involved in organizing and leading volunteer events that restore native plant habitats for birds and other wildlife, a critical effort given the pressures of urbanization on local ecosystems.  

Another key component of her fellowship is environmental education. Amaris leads programs to introduce the community to native plant cultivation and broader conservation principles. For example, she recently conducted a workshop series focused on plant nursery skills, inspiring participants from diverse backgrounds to engage more deeply with California’s flora. Many attendees were motivated to continue their involvement by volunteering regularly at the center, contributing to its growing community of environmental advocates. While watching Amaris lead demonstrations on building berms for newly planted trees at restoration sites and guiding volunteers on transplanting young seedlings in the nursery, I was struck by her ability to communicate ecological concepts in a clear, engaging, and culturally relevant way. Seeing this firsthand reinforced for me the power of community engagement in conservation and the vital role that environmental education plays in fostering long-term engagement with environmental causes. 

Additionally, the team at Debs Park collaborates with other local organizations, expanding the Center’s reach across the city. During my visit, I accompanied Amaris and Evelyn Serrano, the Center Director, to various partner sites and observed how deep relationships with community groups enhance conservation efforts both within Debs Park and in other green spaces across Los Angeles. These collaborative approaches to land management ensure that diverse perspectives, resources, and expertise culminate in projects that are not only community-focused but also community-driven. 

One of these projects, the Lincoln Heights California Native Plant Corridor, is a partnership between community leader Marie Massa and the Audubon Center at Debs Park. The corridor was once just a strip of land beside a busy highway covered in weeds and trash until 2023, when Marie began transforming it into a native habitat to support urban wildlife. In the short time I spent walking the length of the corridor, I observed several insect pollinators and avian insectivores, such as Black Phoebes, indicating that wildlife is actively utilizing this patch of green space. Additionally, the Lincoln Heights project will soon serve as an outdoor space for neighboring schools, offering local youth the chance to help cultivate native plants (donated by the Audubon Center at Debs Park) that will support biodiversity in this sprawling, bustling metropolis.  

Another project, Rio de Los Angeles State Park, is the confluence of several regional organizations: California State Parks, Los Angeles River State Park Partners, Test Plot, Terremoto, Theodore Payne Foundation, and the Audubon Center at Debs Park. This project seeks to expand habitat and food resources for the federally endangered Least Bell’s Vireo, a migratory songbird that nests and forages almost exclusively in riparian woodlands. By adding dense understory, Mule Fat screens, and open flyways along this section of the Los Angeles River, Least Bell’s Vireos have been enticed to return to this waterway and establish breeding territories. These small, elusive birds are sensitive to human disturbance (e.g., noise and light pollution), and widespread habitat loss has fragmented the remaining populations. Thus, these landscape restoration efforts will hopefully bring these populations back in contact with each other by establishing habitat connectivity. While walking the trails surrounding the planting sites, Evelyn and Amaris shared how these efforts also symbolize resilience, renewal, and hope for community members embracing the restorative power of greening initiatives and creative partnerships. The park offers plenty of recreation and community-building opportunities, from family gatherings to lively soccer tournaments, and volunteers from the surrounding neighborhood have been engaged in assisting the various environmental stakeholders with planting and continuously caring for newly introduced native plants. 

In summary, the work being done by the team at the Audubon Center at Debs Park exemplifies the power of urban conservation efforts in reconnecting people with the land and empowering communities to take part in protecting their local environments. Moreover, Amaris’s dedication and approach to this work as a Community Conservation Fellow serves as a great example of how community conservation can be both impactful and inclusive, reinforcing the broader mission of Audubon Centers to create lasting environmental change and inspire the next generation of stewards. 

Comparing my experience at Debs Park with my work at the Richardson Bay Audubon Center, I found many parallels in our roles as Community Conservation Fellows. While our ecosystems and community demographics differ, the overarching goal remains the same: to foster a deeper relationship between people and the nature that surrounds us. From this enriching experience, I have walked away with a better understanding of how the work Audubon California does across its Centers underscores the importance of tailoring conservation work to the specific needs and challenges of each community, all while maintaining a shared commitment to environmental stewardship that reaches from the San Francisco Bay Area to the Los Angeles Basin. 

Amaris Corona Sandoval

When I first volunteered at the Audubon Center at Debs Park in 2019, I planted an oak tree. As we finished fixing its berm, a Cabbage White Butterfly passed by, one of several insect species frequently observed in the park. I remember Marcos, our former Center Director, saying, “This is why we do this.” By “this,” he referred to habitat restoration and increasing biodiversity at Debs Park. When I began as a Community Conservation Fellow at the Audubon Center at Debs Park last summer, I was surprised to learn about the other Audubon Centers and Sanctuaries throughout California. It wasn’t until I had the opportunity to visit the Richardson Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary that I realized, despite differences in our programming, habitats, and communities, our mission was the same: to protect and create habitats for birds while simultaneously engaging communities to experience, understand, and care for the natural world. 

During my visit, my counterpart, Mia Rosati, the Community Conservation Fellow at Richardson Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary, showed me the 10.5 acres of trails and native plant gardens on the site. With Mia and Paige Fernandez, the San Francisco Bay Program Manager, I also had the opportunity to go along the perimeter of the Bay, which is part of the 900-acre waterbird sanctuary that the Richardson Bay Audubon team manages. While observing Paige and Mia conduct an aerial waterbird population survey using a drone, I learned about the Center and Sanctuary’s unique needs regarding conservation and public programming. 

From Mia and Paige, I learned that this Center and Sanctuary are situated in a unique location that is an important migratory site for waterbirds. This marine sanctuary closes during the winter months (October 1 – March 31) to provide a safe refuge and feeding grounds for birds coming from as far north as Alaska on their route along the Pacific Flyway. The Bay also serves as a site for the annual winter Pacific Herring run. However, the decline in both bird populations and herring numbers has raised concerns, as it is linked to the decline of eelgrass beds. Restoring eelgrass in this area is crucial, as it provides vital habitat and food for marine species and is one of the conservation efforts at Richardson Bay. 

Mia also highlighted the importance of Aramburu Island in the Richardson Bay Audubon team's conservation efforts. Aramburu Island is a 17-acre man-made wave break, that after the 2007 Cosco Busan oil spill, became an area for habitat enhancement for birds and an important site for ongoing bird breeding and nesting research. Enhancements at the site include the incorporation of native plants, the removal of invasive flora and creating a varied shoreline with multiple kinds of substrate, mimicking natural conditions, preventing shoreline erosion, and providing an ideal nesting habitat for shorebirds. Aramburu has become an area of study and monitoring, which successfully led to the island becoming a nesting site for Black Oystercatchers. Current efforts aim to establish a new colony of Caspian Terns on the island by enticing them with decoys and a sound system that broadcasts their calls during the breeding season. 

After hearing about the conservation efforts at the Richardson Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary, I was in awe of the team’s crucial conservation work for waterbirds. I saw the parallels between our conservation efforts and recognized how we tailor our approaches to our unique sites. At Debs Park, my focus has been on engaging residents in conservation efforts—particularly through volunteer events that restore native plant habitats. I also lead environmental education programs, such as workshops on native plant cultivation, that invite community members to deepen their relationship with the land. Mia, in her role at Richardson Bay, emphasizes the importance of habitat restoration as well, but her work has a distinct focus on waterbirds and coastal ecosystems.  

An additional similarity between our fellowships is the focus on building ecological stewardship, advocacy, and leadership skills with our Audubon Youth Leaders (AYLs). This program recruits local high school students and provides them with opportunities to repeat the program so they can gain new experiences and complete either a California Naturalist or Climate Stewardship Certification. From Mia, I heard about all of the incredible work she and Emily Ohman, the Senior Coordinator of Community Building, have done in community building with AYL. For example, with this year’s AYL cohort, they are testing and implementing a new program called GGN-Z. Developed and facilitated by the Good Grief Network (GGN), this program helps teens navigate eco-grief and anxiety while building resilience and fostering community during uncertain times. 

In reflecting on the work done at both Centers, it’s clear that urban conservation efforts, such as those at Richardson Bay and Debs Park, have a powerful ability to reconnect people with the land, especially in the Bay and Los Angeles. By providing accessible green spaces and offering programs that teach people how to engage with and protect the natural world, we can inspire a new generation of environmental stewards. Through the Community Conservation Fellowship, we’re not only restoring habitats but also nurturing long-term environmental leadership in the communities we serve. 

Ultimately, what I saw at Richardson Bay and what Mia observed at Debs Park is a shared belief: conservation is about more than just protecting habitats—it’s about creating lasting relationships between people and the land. Whether it’s restoring eelgrass meadows in tranquil Richardson Bay or cultivating native plants in the heart of bustling Los Angeles, we are united by the goal of fostering a deeper connection to the natural world and empowering communities to become active stewards of the environment.