About Redondo Beach Community Gardens - Alta Vista

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The features of the Redondo Beach Community Garden @ Alta Vista were developed based on feedback from community surveys, resources from the Los Angeles Community Garden Council, and consideration of other Los Angeles-area community gardens. The RBCG @ Alta Vista will serve as a pilot project to bring our model to additional garden locations throughout Redondo.

Fenced garden with raised beds for annual membership (HBCG fence pictured here)

Community education area including a shade structure, benches and an outdoor sink

Community three-bin compost station and mulch bay

Communal low-water fruit trees, herbs and perennials along the perimeter of the garden

How We Started

RBCG Committee visits HBCG (Oct 2020)

From L to R: Brianna, Caroline, Barbara, Eileen, Bill, and Mike

RBCG Committee visits Torrance CG (Nov 2021)

Public Works builds access ramp (Apr 2022)

Tabling at SBPC Earth Day (Apr 2022)

Brianna, Barbara, Angela, Steve, and Ginny

RBCG Committee visits Pasadena Community Garden (Jul 2022)

Fence build begins (Oct 2022)

Mike Klein & Jim Light

Public Works builds fence (Oct 2022)

Volunteers help with fence build

RBCG Committee Meeting (Oct 2022)

Angela, Mara, Carl, Barbara, Steve, Ami

Design review for Scout projects (Oct 2022)

Strategic planning meeting (Jan 2023)

Raised Bed Workday 1 (Mar 2023)

Ginny and other volunteers apply Shou-sugi-ban treatment to wood for longevity.

Raised Bed Workday 2 (Mar 2023)

Scout Chad Lind and other volunteers construct raised beds.

Raised Bed Workday 2

USC Alumni volunteers help construct raised beds

Raised Bed Workday 2

Public Works staff helps with attaching hardware cloth to the bottom of the raised beds.

Angela loads woodchips

and volunteers fill raised beds with compost and soil

RBCG Committee Meeting (Apr 2023)

Celebrating DG installation and making plans for plot lottery and ribbon cutting.

Garden workdays (May - Jun 2023)

Planted hillside with native plants and fruit trees, built shade structure and shed, mulched garden areas

Volunteers and plot members (Jun 2023)

Pollinator fountain

Thanks to Mike Garcia and the Enviroscape LA team

Plot Member Orientation (Jun 2023)

Ribbon Cutting (June 2023)

with volunteers & supporters

The idea to start the first community garden in Redondo Beach…

began in the summer of 2020, uniting a group of passionate and determined individuals with a shared interest in growing food and building community amid the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brianna Egan, a resident and Master Gardener, shared the idea with Redondo Beach councilmember Nils Nehrenheim, who connected her with local nonprofit South Bay Parkland Conservancy and board members Barbara Epstein and Mara Lang. With the support of the conservancy and a growing group of supporters and committee members, they advocated to the city council to establish a volunteer-run garden on city land. The vision was to have plots for annual rental, a communal food forest, an educational space, and a community compost co-op.

Timeline

July - Surveyed 60+ Redondo Beach residents to gauge interest, collect ideas, and gather support.
Aug - Presented at community meetings held by city council members. Organized RBCG Committee composed of interested residents and volunteers.
Oct - Developed proposal with key elements and garden layout. Presented to the Parks and Recreation Commission which passed a unanimous motion to bring to city council.
Dec - Received $5000 micro-grant from Beach Cities Health District.
Jan - Easy Reader published an article about the project.
Feb - Received 1400+ signatures in one week on petition for the community garden and 40+ statements of support.
Feb - Mar - Worked with committee and advisors to create landscape design for proposed sites, estimated budget for project, and garden agreements.
Mar - Apr - Presented proposal to city council and received approval to move forward (video).
Jul - Met with city staff at the Alta Vista site to discuss next steps.
Nov - Visited Torrance Community Gardens @ Columbia Park and met with city staff and a community gardener to learn about garden management and best practices.
Feb - July - Tabling at community events including the Redondo Farmer’s Market, SBPC Earth Day, and Riviera Village Festival.
March - Received license agreement from the city to build and operate community garden at designated site at Alta Vista Park.
April - Started a GoFundMe campaign to raise community donations.
May - City of Redondo Public Works created an ADA access ramp at the site.
June - Received grant funding from Supervisor Holly Mitchell and Beach Cities Health District. City council allocated additional funding for Public Works to build major infrastructure for the garden.
July - Toured gardens in Pasadena area for mutual learning: Pasadena Community Garden, Arlington Garden, and South Pasadena Community Garden
Oct - Public Works began fence build in collaboration with RBCG volunteers.
Nov - RBCG held volunteer workdays to remove ivy from the fence and held a design review workshop with BSA Troop 586 members to finalize Eagle Project designs for the raised beds.
Dec - Landscape contractors removed grass and ivy from the site.
Jan - RBCG Committee held a strategic planning session with garden advisors to finalize garden layout and build timeline.
Mar - Held build workdays with BSA Troop 586, Public Works, and USC Alumni volunteers to build raised beds and compost bin for the garden.
Apr - May - Opened plot membership application and facilitated additional workdays to add soil, compost, mulch to the garden. Built shed and shade structure, installed pollinator fountain and native plants.
Jun - Conducted ribbon cutting ceremony with city officials and garden supporters to officially open the garden! Thank you to all our donors & partners!

Organic Gardening: No Pesticides

For our health and the health of the planet, we follow organic growing principles. We do not allow for the use of synthetic agrochemicals (pesticides, herbicides, fungicides) anywhere in the gardens.