PRESS RELEASE

Long Beach, CA – On Oct. 26, 2022, the City of Long Beach, in partnership with the Conservation Corps of Long Beach (CCLB), celebrated the grand opening of a new Environmental Education Center at DeForest Park (6255 DeForest Ave.). Hosted by CCLB, the grand opening event included a ceremonial ribbon cutting and remarks by CCLB Executive Director and CEO Dan Knapp, Vice Mayor Rex Richardson and Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine (PRM) Director Brent Dennis, among others.

“The Environmental Education Center at DeForest Park is a fantastic new resource for our community that will help foster the next generation of environmental stewards here in Long Beach,” said Mayor Robert Garcia. “We are grateful to our Conservation Corps partners for their incredible work engaging young people preserve and retore our environment.”

The Environmental Education Center features a community space and training area and will serve as a satellite office for CCLB staff to support their work along the lower Los Angeles River and community environmental stewardship activities at the DeForest Park and Wetlands.

With its adjacency to the Los Angeles River and DeForest Wetlands, the Environmental Education Center will support CCLB’s environmental-related work and provide training opportunities for youth and young adults to serve as community stewards while serving as the home to the organization’s new River Rangers program. The facility is also an example of sustainable landscaping and architecture through its environmentally friendly features including a reflective roof, dual pane windows and native landscaping planted by Conservation Corps members.

“I am so excited for the opening of the brand-new Environmental Education Center right here in the Ninth District,” said Vice Mayor Rex Richardson. “This center will offer residents and visitors of our community the opportunity to learn and explore sustainability and environmental opportunities and will enhance the overall experience of park and wetlands visitors.”

“The facility was designed to be sustainable. The landscape is done with all native and drought tolerant plants, the roof is solar-ready and extends for shading to help keep the facility cool, the plumbing is low-flow and the lighting is all energy-efficient. One of the best things about the facility is the stormwater capture feature that collects stormwater underground which is critical to addressing diminishing water supplies and important when considering climate change,” said Dan Knapp, CCLB executive director and CEO. “We are grateful for the investments made by our funders and sponsors – this facility would not be possible without support from so many people.”

The development of the center was planned in accordance with the DeForest Park Vision Plan, which was produced in partnership with PRM, CCLB, City Fabrick, Camp Fire Angeles Council and the DeForest Park Neighborhood Association and made possible by a $1.9 million grant by the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy (RMC) to the CCLB with additional funding support provided by the Port of Long Beach and the Office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn.

About the City of Long Beach
Home to approximately 470,000 people, the multiple award-winning and innovative City of Long Beach offers all the world-class amenities of a large metropolitan city while maintaining a strong sense of individual and diverse neighborhoods nestled together along the California coast. As a full-service charter city, Long Beach is home to the Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific, several museums and theaters, a highly-rated school district, Long Beach Airport, the Port of Long Beach, as well as many award-winning City departments such as Health, Parks, Recreation and Marine, Development Services, Public Works and more. The City also has a highly respected university and city college, 2 historic ranchos, 5 hospitals, 12 libraries, 5 golf courses, 169 parks, miles of beaches, marinas, bike paths and a Bike Share program.

For more information about the City of Long Beach, visit longbeach.gov. Watch us on LBTV. Follow us on social to keep up with the latest news: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

About the Conservation Corps of Long Beach
The Conservation Corps of Long Beach (CCLB) is a youth and workforce development non-profit founded in 1987 to address workforce, educational and environmental concerns of the greater Long Beach region. Over the past nearly four decades, CCLB has trained and educated more than 12,000 young people who together with staff leaders, have completed thousands of conservation and environmental work projects. These projects have benefited Long Beach and various cities in southeastern Los Angeles County including Catalina Island and projects along the lower Los Angeles River. CCLB offers a full range of holistic services to urban young people of color ages 18-26 who are gaining key job training experience, earning a high school diploma and learning core conceptual skills surrounding the field of environmentalism. Young people served include high school dropouts and others who are out-of-school/out-of-work and young adults with multiple barriers to employment and attending advanced training/college. CCLB's programs employ and train young people of limited means primarily from communities of color in conservation-related jobs in order to help them acquire the skills and resources to become and remain self-sufficient.

For more information about the Conservation Corps of Long Beach, visit cclb-corps.org/. Follow us on our social channels for the latest information about our work projects: Facebook: ConservationCorpsLB, Instagram and Twitter: @thecclb and YouTube: Conservation Corps of Long Beach.