Ele­phant Hill, one of the largest remain­ing open spaces in North­east LA, is a vital habi­tat that has become the focus of a com­mu­ni­ty-dri­ven con­ser­va­tion effort. In 2023, the Nat­ur­al His­to­ry Muse­um of LA Coun­ty co-host­ed the first Ele­phant Hill Com­mu­ni­ty Nature Cel­e­bra­tion and Habi­tat Sur­vey with local groups like Save Ele­phant Hill and the North East LA Black Wal­nut Day Coali­tion. This event high­light­ed the area’s eco­log­i­cal sig­nif­i­cance, with par­tic­i­pants doc­u­ment­ing species like the South­ern Cal­i­for­nia black wal­nut, a threat­ened tree native to the region.

The fight to pro­tect Ele­phant Hill is ongo­ing and com­plex, involv­ing legal bat­tles, grant appli­ca­tions, and nav­i­gat­ing the chal­lenges of land own­er­ship. The hill’s 110 acres are part­ly pub­lic land, while the rest is sub­di­vid­ed into small lots with more than 300 indi­vid­ual own­ers. Despite these chal­lenges, local groups are ded­i­cat­ed to pre­serv­ing the space, using com­mu­ni­ty sci­ence to doc­u­ment and pro­tect its unique bio­di­ver­si­ty. Their efforts empha­size the impor­tance of pub­lic access to green spaces and the role of res­i­dents in land use deci­sions.

The South­ern Cal­i­for­nia black wal­nut tree, a resilient yet threat­ened species, has become a sym­bol of the com­mu­ni­ty’s efforts to pro­tect Ele­phant Hill. Orga­ni­za­tions like Coy­otl + Mace­hual­li have uti­lized plat­forms like iNat­u­ral­ist to track and raise aware­ness of the tree’s pres­ence, coun­ter­ing devel­op­ment pres­sures that threat­en the habi­tat. These efforts under­score the impor­tance of com­mu­ni­ty-led con­ser­va­tion in defend­ing not just the land but also the cul­tur­al and eco­log­i­cal her­itage of the area.

As cli­mate change and urban devel­op­ment con­tin­ue to pose threats, the com­mu­ni­ty’s role in pro­tect­ing Ele­phant Hill grows increas­ing­ly cru­cial. Through events, edu­ca­tion, and out­reach, res­i­dents are forg­ing strong part­ner­ships with insti­tu­tions like NHM to ensure that Ele­phant Hill remains a sanc­tu­ary for wildlife and a source of inspi­ra­tion for future con­ser­va­tion efforts. The col­lab­o­ra­tion between these groups high­lights the pow­er of rela­tion­ships and the need for a com­pre­hen­sive, com­mu­ni­ty-dri­ven approach to con­ser­va­tion.