Skip to main content

Photo Essay: Student Producers Explore the L.A. River

Support Provided By
Students from L.A. Leadership Academy on the rivers edge
Students from L.A. Leadership Academy on the rivers edge.

On February 14, Youth Voices students from the Los Angeles Leadership Academyand the Los Angeles River School attended the press event kickoff for the Northeast Los Angeles River Collaborative. The press event was to officially announce the collaborative's grant-funded study of the Glendale Narrows riverfront zone.

After the proceedings students were given an opportunity to speak with community members Cecilia Dominguez and Patricia Perez. Both speakers discussed the importance of door-to-door community engagement, as well as the value of taking ownership of one's community.

Shortly after this talk, the student producers were asked to navigate through the river islands located near Marsh Park, and draw their visualizations of this often unseen space. Student renderings ranged from accurate portrayals of their surroundings to hopeful changes for this iconic waterway. Below you can view a few samples of student drawings, as well as some of the moments that were captured during their time on the river.

An L.A. River School student takes advantage of a quiet moment to draw
An L.A. River School student takes advantage of a quiet moment to draw.
A student from L.A. River School interprets the rivers islands.
A student from L.A. River School interprets the rivers islands.

View the location of the students field trip in a larger map

Support Provided By
Read More
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.