On Thursday, April 30, Friends of Ballona Wetlands will honor two new Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, Sheila Kuehl, District 3, and Hilda L. Solis, District 1, and Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), a Sempra Energy Utility, during the 6th Annual Ballona Watershed Warriors Celebration.
The occasion will be hosted at The Legendary Park Plaza Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, a beautiful art deco building with 1920’s interior charm, where more than 200 members and supporters of the Friends are expected.
L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl has made the preservation of California’s environment a top priority throughout her career as an elected official. As a California Assemblywoman, she championed for the state parks system and authored legislation to acquire several large parcels of property in the Santa Monica Mountains, including the Ahmanson Ranch, Lechuza Beach, Lower Topanga Canyon, and the Soka campus (the former King Gillette Ranch) as well as wildlife corridor properties along the Backbone Trail.
While the State Legislature Supervisor Kuehl authored many pieces of environmental legislation that have directly affected the Ballona Wetlands by authorizing funding for the establishment of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission that oversees the well-being of the Ballona Wetlands watershed.
L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis is a nationally recognized leader on the environment and has a solid track record of commitment to environmental issues. Congresswoman Solis has committed to work in collaboration with state and local leaders to create more green spaces around Los Angeles County, in particularly along the Los Angeles River. Congresswoman Solis voted on overriding President Bush’s veto of the bill reauthorizing the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which provides for the conservation and development of water and related resources and authorizes the Secretary of the Army to construct various projects for improvements to rivers and harbors of the United States. The bill authorized flood control, navigation, restoration and ecosystem studies, and environmental projects by the Army Corps of Engineers.
SoCalGas has been a good neighbor of the Ballona Wetlands and will be honored as such. For more than 17 years, Sharon O’Rourke was the Public Affairs Manager for the Playa del Rey area, passing over the reins to Mike Harriel in 2012. SoCalGas helps to protect the health of the environment through their support of programs that address local, regional and statewide policies and initiatives that promote healthy and safe communities. They make it a priority to join customers, business and civic leaders in providing sound and responsible stewardship of the environment, and have demonstrated their support of the Wetlands by supporting the Friends’ education and restoration programs.
Jim Landry, the Friends’ new Board President is looking forward to “honoring these three champions of the environment.”
“SoCalGas has been a long time partner in projects to improve the Wetlands, and we consider them a good neighbor,” Landry said. “We are also excited about honoring two leaders in environmental causes, while getting to know our new supervisors, Sheila and Hilda.”
The mission of the Friends of Ballona Wetlands is to champion the restoration and protection of the Wetlands, involving and educating the public as advocates and stewards. Friends’ education efforts encompass all ages, from kindergarten to senior citizens.
Each year the Friends host more than 9,000 adults and children and partner with local Audubon chapters to educate an additional 2,000 upper elementary students during the school year. More than 600 tons of non-native plants and trash have been removed by over 85,000 restoration volunteers since 1994, restoring eight acres of dunes habitat and bringing back the El Segundo Blue butterfly to the Ballona Wetlands.
To learn more about the Friends of Ballona Wetlands persons interested can visit: www.ballonafriends.org or they can connect on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/BallonaFriends.org and via Twitter: @ballonafriends.
