Ballona Discovery Park, a vibrant urban sanctuary rooted in education, ecology, and community connection, has entered an exciting new chapter marked by a new website, an active social media presence, and a growing community of supporters.
Opening to the public in 2011, the park is a collaborative partnership between Loyola Marymount University, Friends of Ballona Wetlands, and the community of Playa Vista, represented by Playa Vista Parks and Landscaping. This triumvirate of partners, brought together by a mitigated settlement between Friends of Ballona Wetlands and the developer 40 years ago, has been demonstrated in their strong leadership and support shaping the 14-year-old park’s mission: “Discover, experience, and live nature: neighborhood wellness begins here!”, and envisioning a long-term impact.
The park, nestled below LMU’s Westchester Campus at the trailhead of the Ballona Wetlands, is visited often by faculty and students from many of LMU’s colleges, included Seaver College of Engineering and Sciences, Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, School of Education, School of Film and Television, and the College of Business Administration, and the College of Communication and Fine Arts.
Many student groups and staff from religious centers on campus make annual pilgrimages to the park every year. Led by staff at the Center for Urban Resilience (CURes), and under the direction of Executive Director Eric Strauss, the university educates and inspires students about the Ballona Wetlands with the Friends of Ballona Wetlands, as the original creators of new curriculum and content to inspire visitors to “Experience Ballona!” with all of its history and watershed features. The goal for LMU has always been to use the space as a living laboratory and outdoor classroom for student research and community-engaged scholarship, and that goal has been realized with over 30,000 students out of 300,000 visitors to the park over the past 14 years.
Strauss, a President’s Professor of Biology in the LMU Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering, said, “Discovery Park is a collaborative model of community learning about the sustainable ecology of urban life. People of all ages come to the park for its beauty, history and opportunity to study nature in this unique outdoor classroom.”
A Growing Digital Presence
In May, Ballona Discovery Park launched its new website — www.ballonadiscoverypark.org — as a hub for learning more about the park’s history, environmental work, and opportunities for involvement. The website also offers information about volunteer activities, private and self-guided tours, school field trips, and giving opportunities. The park has also launched Instagram (@BallonaDiscoveryPark) and Facebook (DiscoveryParkBallona) pages to invite the broader community to stay engaged and inspired.
These digital tools, made possible by volunteers from LMU’s Digital Marketing Team, are part of a larger effort to broaden the park’s visibility and accessibility, inviting supporters, partners, neighbors, and the public to connect both online and on site.
A Successful Fundraising Debut
The park’s digital launch followed the success of its inaugural friendraiser, “Nature’s Pairing – A Craft Brew and Wine Walk,” on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, hosted by the Ballona Discovery Park board of directors and its three partners: LMU, Friends of Ballona Wetlands, and Playa Vista Parks and Landscaping.
The event welcomed over 75 supporters for an evening of connection, education and engagement – with taste — a signature feature being an edible plant and wine pairing curated by the Playa Vista restaurant Superfine. Guests also enjoyed craft brews, live music, and guided explorations of the park’s newly installed drinking fountain and signage replacement due to weather-wear, made possible by generous donations.
In addition to raising crucial awareness, the event underscored the importance of philanthropy in the park’s continuing success. While the three partners all contribute financially to the park’s maintenance, additional support is encouraged and welcomed from the community to enhance habitat restoration, feature enhancements, and the long-term viability of this living laboratory and cultural meeting place. Two monuments, honoring the Gabrielino Tongva Indians, the original caretakers of the land, located on the Riparian Corridor Trail, and the founding Board Members of Friends of Ballona Wetlands, located at the main entrance to the park, were pointed out to remind guests of their efforts ensuring the last remaining wetland in Los Angeles continues thriving, with future opportunities to become more resilient and provide more habitat and outdoor space for wildlife and humans as well.
New Enhancements on Site
One of the park’s latest enhancements, a new drinking water fountain, was unveiled this season. It’s just one example of how Ballona Discovery Park blends function, education, and preservation in every improvement — creating a healthier, more welcoming space for all.
A local pillar in the neighborhood, Karen Dial, co-president of Drollinger Family Charitable Foundation, was delighted to celebrate with partner members; and we were blessed by a visit by nonagenarian Friends Founder Ruth Lansford, and the former Councilwoman Ruth Galanter – affectionately referred to as “The Two Ruths” for their role in saving the Ballona Wetlands. The park’s designer, architect Brenda Levin, also was among the crowd, enjoying accolades for creating such a magical place, along with Carlyle Hall, the lawyer who advocated for the Friends of Ballona Wetlands.
A Place Where Wellness Begins
From native plants and educational signage to walking trails and wildlife habitat, Ballona Discovery Park stands as a model for how urban spaces can serve both people and the planet. And thanks to LMU’s ongoing involvement, it continues to evolve as a place where students conduct research and service while connecting with nature and the community.
Recently, Seaver College faculty brought students to study the plants in the park as an inspiration to propose more native plant projects be implemented on Campus, as part of the Laudato Si’ initiative LMU has signed onto.
“Ballona Discovery Park offers our students and faculty the opportunity to engage directly with Southern California’s native ecology in an urban setting,” said Tina Choe, dean of LMU Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering. “It’s more than a field site — it’s a dynamic space for engaged learning, community collaboration, and deepens our commitment to environmental stewardship.”
As the park looks ahead, its partners and team of advisors invite the LMU community to take part — whether by visiting the park, following its journey online, volunteering, or making a contribution to help preserve and grow this unique resource.
Lisa Fimiani, Drollinger Environmental Fellow for the Center for Urban Resilience and board president of the park reflected, “Together, we’re building something lasting — right where nature and neighborhoods meet, at the trailhead of the Ballona Wetlands.”
As part of LMU’s recognition of the history, location, and relationship to the indigenous communities in Los Angeles, we acknowledge the Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (the Los Angeles basin and southern Channel Islands) and the presence of LMU on this traditional, ancestral, and unceded land. We are grateful to have the opportunity to live, learn, study, create, and be in this place.
To learn more, donate, or get involved, visit www.ballonadiscoverypark.org,
Instagram @BallonaDiscoveryPark
Facebook DiscoveryParkBallona
Email: [email protected]
Visit: The park is located at: 13110 Bluff Creek Drive, Playa Vista, CA, 90094