Adopt A Park: Torrance
Connecting pollinator habitats…
Native habitats are critical for preserving biodiversity. Pollinators like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds depend on the ever-dwindling plants to support their breeding and migration. Some, like the El Segundo blue butterfly and the Monarch butterfly, depend on very specific plants to support their lifecycle. And local birds depend on the seeds and insects that are attracted to and sustained by native plants.
Native and pollinator-friendly plants are carefully selected by SBPC and City of Torrance staff helping to expand the amount of California native plants in Torrance and increasing biodiversity. SBPC is also engaging its wide base of volunteers in these projects and encouraging more consistent community participation.
Henrietta Basin
In cooperation with the City of Torrance, SBPC co-leads habitat restoration at the Henrietta Basin, seeking to maintain and expand the existing native habitat while converting underutilized land into a productive space for community place-making and educational opportunities.
Henrietta is a ~7.5 acre stormwater capture basin that contains significant existing mature California native habitat due to the restoration efforts of others in years past. It has not been maintained recently and needs maintenance and expansion.
Seaside Heroes
Through co-leading community-based habitat restoration events, SBPC assists the City of Torrance and Seaside Heroes Park Conservation (SHPC) to remove invasive plant species, install California native plants, and provide educational opportunities for schools and the general public.
In 2014, Jenna Christensen began leading community-based volunteer events to beautify Seaside Heroes Park in the city of Torrance which had become overgrown with weeds. More than 550 volunteers have contributed more than 4,700 hours at monthly cleanup events since then. Students are encouraged to participate and obtain community service hours.