News & Updates
Slicing and Dicing Griffith Park
Looking at a Southern California Automobile Club map of the Los Angeles Freeway system from a few years back, it’s easy to see how freeways have affected the...
Mariposa Street Bridge: A Unique Historic Place
California has more horse-flesh and more horse people than any place in the country outside of Kentucky… And the holy ground, the mystic Mecca, the sanctified...
Adding Snakes to the Long List of Animals Poisoned by Rodenticides
For more than a decade, Friends of Griffith Park (FoGP) has sponsored the testing of raptors and mammals found dead in and around the Park for exposure to...
Griffith Reporter Winter/Spring 2023-24
Read or download the Summer-Fall 2024 edition of the Griffith Reporter PDF. DOWNLOAD PDF
Raptor Study Final Report
Of the many scientific surveys and studies Friends of Griffith Park (FoGP) has sponsored over the last decade-plus, the Los Angeles Raptor Study is the...
We Provide the Answers to Questions About Species Designations
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) assembled a Special Animals List that compiles 930 taxa, including information on their level of...
Hiking in the ‘Ocean´ of Griffith Park
I moved to Beachwood Canyon from my hometown of San Diego 13 years ago. Honestly, if I´d had my way back then, I would have moved straight to the...
Dodder Demystified
Griffith Park is home to a strange plant by the common name of California Dodder (Cuscusta californica). Dodder can be found on every slope of the...
Sustainability? We Got That!
Griffith Park has been ahead of the game when it comes to sustainability and water recapturing. Long before it became a popular practice, the Park was...
Dante´s Legacy
Note: FoGP´s view on heritage gardens, also known as folk gardens: Today we don´t advocate that individuals pick up shovels to create a new garden...
Griffith Reporter Winter/Spring 2023-24
Read or download the Winter-Spring 2023-24 edition of the Griffith Reporter PDF. DOWNLOAD PDF
Rodger Young Village, the Local United Nations
At the end of World War II, thousands of servicemen and women returned to Los Angeles and looked for a house to rent. Thousands of workers who came...
Student Scholarships Announced for 2024
To encourage the next generation of environmental stewards, Friends of Griffith Park is again offering scholarships to students of color from the Zoo Magnet...
Toyon Through the Seasons
Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) is a very important plant for the overall healthy habitat of Griffith Park. The plant is commonly seen growing wild...
LA Zoo Expansion — FoGP´s Next Steps
In 1896 Colonel Griffith J. Griffith donated land that became Griffith Park in order to provide a respite from the pressures of urban life for all people of...
Winter Strikes a Blow in Griffith Park
Per Leon Boroditsky, RAP Forestry Division "There were 56 tree-related emergencies from January through April of this year in the Park; 43 trees were down or...
The Ups and Downs of Griffith Park’s Merry-Go-Round
The Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round has been a part of Angelenos' lives for 88 years. Children have gravitated toward the happy, upbeat music from its...
No Such Thing as a “Safe Poison”
News Flash: UPDATE ON AB 1322 / Nov. 1, 2023 On Oct. 13, 2023 Gov. Newsom signed this legislation into law after the bill passed through both CA...
P-22’s Long Legacy in Griffith Park
We all knew that the day would come. The phone call. The text message. The social media post. How terrible would the news be? "P-22 has been hit."...
Nuttall’s Woodpecker: a Californian Special
You'll probably hear its distinct voice before you see the elusive Nuttall's woodpecker. The call is a loud rattling with just a couple notes that most...
Mapping Weeds in Griffith Park
Calflora is a non-profit organization that developed a database of California plants that fulfills a huge need for the conservation, education, and...
Spring-Summer 2023 Reporter
Read or download the Spring-Summer 2023 edition of the Griffith Reporter PDF. DOWNLOAD PDF
Shedding Light on Griffith Park
THE SIGN Inbound Mayor Bass made a bold statement on her earliest arrival. The final Executive Directive quietly carried out by former Mayor Eric Garcetti was...
The Blinding Realities of Light Pollution
Something I've always found special about Griffith Park is how dark the city can feel at night even as you gaze out at its thousands of lights from the...
FoGP Scholarship Awardees are the Future of Environmentalism
FoGP Diversity Scholarships were established in 2021 and are awarded to students who demonstrate academic excellence and a desire to become environmental...
Earth Day Planting Comes Off Without a Hitch
The Bird Sanctuary missed out on volunteer efforts for several years due to Covid restrictions so Friends of Griffith Park decided it was high time to...
Shuttered?
"Some things never change," as they say. In Griffith Park, often that's a very good thing. Two important Griffith Park amenities have been shuttered,...
Restoring the Fern Dell Pedestrian Bridge
Friends of Griffith Park constantly marvels at the number of individuals willing to pitch in to create a better, safer space for all Park users....
Changes in Alcohol Policies May Have an Adverse Effect on Park Users
Griffith Park is a unique resource that welcomes folks from across the LA community (and beyond) to safely enjoy picnic areas, the Observatory,...
Griffith Reporter Winter 2022-23
Read or download the Winter 2023 edition of the Griffith Reporter PDF. DOWNLOAD PDF
The Many Roles of Travel Town: Griffith Park Internment Camp
Like a good character actor, Travel Town has played many different roles throughout its existence in Griffith Park. And like any good character actor, it is...
Urban Woodpecker Granaries in Griffith Park
Griffith Park serves as home to a large number of native plants and animals. Over thousands of years, the animals and plants have established mutualistic...
Red-shouldered Hawk, R.I.P.
During the L.A. Raptor Study 2022 nesting season, we were once again reminded that rat poisons (rodenticides) don't just kill rats; they are also effective...
Urban Raptors Surviving on the Streets: the Los Angeles Raptor Study
Over the six years of the Los Angeles Raptor Study, a community science supported by Friends of Griffith Park, more than 600 raptor nests have been found in...
Highlights of the Los Angeles Raptor Study 2022
Background Launched as the "Griffith Park Raptor Survey" in 2017, we renamed our effort the "Los Angeles Raptor Study" in 2021 to reflect the larger current...
Bee Rock Trail Renewed
"The Bee Rock Trail Restoration has been a wonderful project, and the transformation of the trail has been greeted with genuine praise and gratitude from avid...
FoGP scholarship 2022 recipients; fostering the next generation of environment stewards
Over the summer, Friends of Griffith Park announced the recipients of our annual scholarship program which supports students of color who attend the North...
Memories of Bernadette Soter
"Bernadette leaves behind a legacy of activism in the Park. She inspired many members of Friends of Griffith Park who continue to carry on her vision." ~...
Jorge Ochoa Discusses the Intricacies of Griffith Park’s Flora and Fauna
There's a vast, amazing natural world in Griffith Park and Long Beach Community College professor Jorge Ochoa spells out the various flora and fauna...
L.A. Zoo Speaks with Forked Tongue
Imagine a quiet hilltop in Griffith Park. In these native woodlands of 16.1 acres, live coast live oaks, toyons, California black walnut trees and stands of...
