CURes actively seeks to collaborate with a number of partners ranging from the local to the international scale. Many of these partnerships grow into ongoing relationships, while some are short-term projects where we contribute our expertise to a specific area of need.
If you are interested in partnering with CURes, email us at CURes@lmu.edu.
Some of our current and recent partners include:
Annenberg PetSpace
The Annenberg Foundation is a family foundation established in 1989. Founded by Walter H. Annenberg, publisher and ambassador, the Foundation supports the worldwide community through its grantmaking, technical assistance and direct charitable activities. CURes receives grant support from the foundation to further development of community science programs, urban ecology curricula and public education of environmental science and policy.
Baldwin Hills Land Conservancy
The Baldwin Hills Land Conservancy (BHC) has responsibility for managing a number of state and city-owned parks close to the LMU campus. CURes scientists worked with the BHC to develop a comprehensive 3-year park user study to understand the needs of the community, the results of which will help the BHC with park development and programming.
Ballona Wetlands Conservancy
The Ballona Wetlands Conservancy is committed to the conservation and protection of the Ballona Wetlands, the last remaining wetlands area in Los Angeles. Through research, education, and advocacy the Conservancy ensures the preservation of this vibrant ecological area.
The Bay Foundation
The Bay Foundation (TBF) was founded to restore and enhance the Santa Monica Bay and local coastal waters. Along with LMU's Seaver College of Science & Engineering, TBF operates The Coastal Research Institute with the mission to engage in multidisciplinary research on environmental and social issues affecting the Bay and its watersheds and to contribute to policies and actions that improve the Bay. CURes scientists and staff frequently collaborate with TBF on education and research projects that align the missions of both organizations.
City of Culver City
The Center for Urban Resilience has entered into a three year contract with Culver City to study their local coyotes and develop and effective management plan for the community. Collaborators on the project include Dr. Seth Riley and Justin Brown from the National Park Service and Kate Weiss from Arizona State University. Dr. Eric Strauss is the Contract Principal Investigator and the project is under the direction of CURes Post Doctoral Fellow Dr. Melinda Weaver.
Edison International
Friends of Ballona Wetlands
Friends of Ballona Wetlands is dedicated to restoring the remaining 600-acre Ballona Wetlands and to educating Los Angeles area youth and residents about the importance of wetlands habitat. With CURes and the community of Playa Vista, Friends operates the Ballona Discovery Park, a two-acre open air "museum without walls" at the trailhead of the Ballona Creek.
The Gottlieb Native Garden
The Gottlieb Native Garden (GNG) is a one-acre urban oasis in Beverly Hills that features over 200 native plant species. Due to this high biodiversity, over 400 wildlife species have been seen at the site. The GNG offers scientific, educational, and inspirational activities for the Los Angeles community and beyond.
LA River Urban Waters Federal Partnership
The Urban Waters Federal Partnership (UWFP) has developed a plan with multiple federal, state and local partners to restore and revitalize the LA River watershed. The partnership includes eight federal agencies, state and county agencies, four cities within the watershed and over 15 non-profit and non-governmental organizations. UWFP has been a partner with CURes in our stewardship mapping and assessment projects (STEW-MAP).
Los Angeles Urban Center for Natural Resources Sustainability
Their mission is to serve as an information and research destination hub that fosters collaboration, generates new science, delivers information and technology to aid application, and engages diverse communities and knowledge bases through shared learning. CURes has partnered with the LA Urban Center in developing and implementing our stewardship mapping and assessment projects (STEW-MAP).
National Park Service
The National Park Service has been entrusted with the care of our national parks. With the help of volunteers and partners, they safeguard these special places and share their stories with more than 318 million visitors every year. They support tribes, local governments, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and individual citizens with revitalizing their communities.
National Science Foundation
Scientists at CURes collaborate nationally on several current and past NSF-funded grant projects, mostly in the area of promoting and increasing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education through urban ecological curricula and educational programming.
Swimmer Medicinal Garden
The Swimmer Medicinal Garden at Ballona Discovery Park offers educational opportunities for the Los Angeles community to learn about traditional medicinal plants. These native Southern California species were used predominately by the Chumash, Tongva, and Cahuilla tribes. It is a project of LMU, the Friends of Ballona Wetlands, and Playa Vista.
TreePeople
USDA Forest Service
CURes has operated several research projects in collaboration with scientists from the USDA Forest Service urban field stations across the country. In particular, the LA Stewardship Mapping & Assessment Project (STEW-MAP) is one project within the national Forest Service's STEW-MAP research program. The USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station is currently supporting a partnership to continue the LA STEW-MAP research.
Wetlands Restoration Principles
In 2015 thirteen non-profit groups formed the Wetlands Restoration Principles coalition to promote nine principles of wetlands restoration. These groups, mostly located in Southern California, came together because of the need for scientifically-based criteria to assess and determine the health and wellbeing of wetland systems throughout the region, and to provide a blueprint for restoration projects to become successful. The coalition is now up to 17 members, including the Center for Urban Resilience.