Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy Has a Sustainable Solution for Acacia as Food for Animals at the Los Angeles Zoo By Contributor Louise Olfarnes
Image courtesy of Cal-IPC
The Conservancy periodically collaborates with the Los Angeles Zoo on a sustainable solution for the disposal of acacia branches. The Conservancy’s restoration activities requires intensive preparation of the land to remove invasive plant species like Cyclops Acacia and Black Mustard (both are weeds which crowd out native plants and are a hazardous fire risk) before beginning to restore habitat for endangered species. The plants needed by local wildlife include native host plants such as deerweed, rattlepod and dune buckwheat. The Conservancy has recently received two major grants from the California State Coastal Conservancy to perform critical work at or near historical locations to create a new home for four special species of concern on the Palos Verdes Peninsula: the Palos Verdes blue butterfly, the El Segundo blue butterfly, the coastal California gnatcatcher and cactus wren.
Some of the Acacia removed within the funded habitat restoration work will go to the L.A. Zoo to feed elephants, giraffes, antelopes, gorillas and other animals. According to Conservation Director Cris Sarabia, “It is a great way to minimize the amount of green waste and it is wonderful to know the giraffes and other animals enjoy fresh vegetation from the Palos Verdes Peninsula.” The L.A. Zoo is very grateful for the generous donation from the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy," said Beth Schaefer, General Curator at the Los Angeles Zoo. "We always appreciate when the community cares as much about our animals as we do.”
The Room & Board furniture delivery team in Torrance makes this possible by providing energetic team members who volunteer using corporate trucks to help with the tough task of transporting acacia and delivering the branches to the LA Zoo. Room & Board has a ten-year partnership with the Conservancy, providing financial support as well as employees who are engaged in a range of volunteer activities to support the Conservancy beyond the removal of Acacia. Room & Board staff members have helped to keep plants at the Conservancy’s Native Plant Nursery in San Pedro safe from pathogens by building tables from reused wood shipping crates and have helped with plant propagation and preparing seeds. They also make possible the Conservancy’s major fundraising event each fall, Palos Verdes Pastoral: A Garden-to-Table Dining Experience, by delivering wine and food donations to Terranea Resort for the sustainable dinner.
According to Room & Board Leadership Associate Mark Mathieu “At Room and Board one of our Guiding Principles is that ‘We believe that small actions lead to big changes’. We believe that grass roots efforts are both important and energizing to our teams and communities. “We Are Better Together”. The Conservancy appreciates dedicated community partners like Room & Board and is proud to create nature-based solutions as part of its efforts to protect and restore the rare biodiversity of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. For more information visit: pvplc.org.