Last year Los Angeles Conservation Corps (LACC) along with its partners formed Paddle the LA River Pilot program. We received a license to operate the first non-motorized boating pilot program on the Los Angeles River at Sepulveda Recreation Basin.
The LACC and its partners will offer supervised kayak trips down a 1.5-mile stretch of the Los Angeles River in the San Fernando Valley within the Sepulveda Basin. There will be three recreation-education trips per day, with 10 participants per tour. Guides will conduct each visit from the LA Conservation Corps. Each trip will include a boating clinic and educational talks from a variety of guests speakers. All boating and safety equipment is provided as part of the fee paid by attendees.
The program will run from July 2013 to September 2012. This year we will run our program Tuesday through Saturday. Paid tours will be available Tuesdays, Thursday, Fridays, and Saturdays. Wednesdays have been set aside for schools and youth programs.
WHO ARE THE PARTNERS IN THIS PROGRAM?
The Los Angeles Conservation Corps has partnered with the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), The River Project, Friends of the Los Angeles River, and Urban Semillas to develop a high caliber recreation-education boating program for the public during the license period.
The Conservation Corps, along with many of its partners, is a non-profit organization that provides educational and training programs to young people. Since 1997, they have offered marine conservation programs at the Sea Lab, a hands-on science center located in Redondo Beach. The Center educates more than 20,000 youth and visitors about the importance of protecting our oceans and rivers.
This program is a natural extension of this mission. Since 2009, the LACC has maintained a Los Angeles River Corps, a youth training program in partnership with the City of LA. This undertaking joins classroom instruction with open-air understanding for our individuals and furthers the goals outlined in the City’s Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan through projects such as river clean-ups, litter abatement, graffiti removal, and vegetation management in the Glendale Narrows segment of the River. Members participate in education and training sessions covering topics such as watershed habitat, native landscaping, river hydrology, ecology, and water quality management efforts.
HOW CAN I SUPPORT THE RIVER?
You can participate by donating to the Los Angeles Conservation Corps’ river maintenance and boating program by clicking here. When giving please indicate that you would like to designate your donation to the “paddle the LA River pilot program.”