The Brief

There’s no shortage of volunteer opportunities in Los Angeles. But finding one appropriate for kids or teens? Not as easy.

A few weeks ago an LAist reader wrote to us asking, “Any family-oriented community service projects going on this summer for Angelenos?” When the reporter shared the question with the rest of the team, a couple parents chimed in about how useful something like that would be.

So, here it is! Because May Gray and June Gloom are finally over and summer is a chance for kids to get outside, we focused on outdoor volunteer opportunities, from native garden cleanups to harvesting surplus produce. Most of these opportunities are available year-round.

For many of these opportunities, volunteers also get a lesson on L.A.’s diverse ecosystems, and the small, everyday ways that Angelenos can engage with the natural world around them. (If you’re going to be outside, don’t forget sunscreen! We have a guide on making the right sunscreen choices this summer.)

Gardening and Harvesting

Santa Monica Mountains Fund

On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday mornings, volunteers can propagate native plants with the Santa Monica Mountains Fund. Volunteers will get familiar with some of Southern California’s many native plants, such as milkweed, dudleyas, and manzanitas, to name a few. Volunteers are taught how to “clean” different plant species, plant, weed, and water plants — all while learning their place and importance in the Santa Monica Mountains. Attend Friday and Saturday sessions and go home with a free plant. This July, they need your help planting 25,000 milkweed seeds!

Food Forward 

A young volunteer harvesting surplus produce for Food Forward at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in Pasadena, CA

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Jen Serena

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Courtesy Food Forward

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Food Forward is a local nonprofit that recovers fresh, surplus produce, and distributes it to local relief agencies serving people facing food insecurity across Southern California.

There are a number of ways children and families can get involved, from harvesting backyard fruit trees to gathering excess produce at farmers markets.

Or, do you have a lemon tree in your backyard and always have extra lemons? Don’t let them rot! You can register your backyard citrus tree as a harvest location with Food Forward (and get a tax write-off!)

Arlington Garden

Arlington Garden, Pasadena’s free, community-supported botanical garden, hosts volunteer sessions on Tuesday mornings. Volunteers are tasked with general garden maintenance, like weeding and mulching, as well as collecting and planting seeds. Check out their events page to see if they have any special weekend projects coming up, which in the past have included building water retention mechanisms and pruning citrus trees.

Avenue 33 Farm 

Avenue 33 farm is a 1.2-acre urban farm in Lincoln Heights growing vegetables, flowers, and native plants. On Thursday evenings, volunteers have the opportunity to get their hands dirty on the farm, sifting and turning compost piles, preparing and planting beds, and weeding. This opportunity is best for volunteers ages 10 and up.

On Tuesday mornings the farm distributes food to neighborhood families at their community farmstand. Volunteers can also help with weekly food distribution, but this activity is better for teenagers, as it requires some heavy lifting.

Five youth volunteers for Santa Monica Mountains Fund in Thousand Oaks, CA

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Courtesy Santa Monica Mountains Fund

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Habitat restoration

Friends of the L.A. River

Friends of the L.A. River has habitat restoration volunteer sessions every fourth Saturday of the month at the Sepulveda Basin Refuge in Van Nuys (the L.A. River passes through 17 cities in Southern California). Volunteers clear invasive plant species, such as black mustard, and plant native plants and wildflowers in their place. Depending on the day, volunteers may build or disperse “native seed balls” to plant in the environment.

Audubon Center 

The Audubon Center is a public hub for habitat restoration located in Debs Park (a place we think is great for hiking, too!). Once a week, volunteers can join folks from the Audubon Center to water plants, pick up trash, and remove invasive species. The day of the week changes every month, so check out their website to get the latest dates and register. This habitat restoration opportunity is best for volunteers 10 and up.

Friends of Ballona Wetlands

Located in Playa del Rey, Ballona Ecological Reserve is home to beautiful wetlands and coastal wildlife. families can join their gardening club or tour and volunteer in their freshwater and saltwater marshes.

As a volunteer, you’ll get to observe the year-round residents of Ballona Wetlands – egrets, herons, waterfowl, brown pelicans — while removing invasive species and restoring the expansive habitat.

Cleanups

Friends of Griffith Park

Every second Monday of the month, Friends of Griffith Park hosts “Trash Patrol” sessions. Locations within the park vary depending on the week. On Wednesday mornings, volunteers remove invasive species from the park. Friends of Griffith Park also hosts volunteer events that aren’t as regular, such as their upcoming cleaning of the streams in Fern Dell. In order to get notified about or register for any of Friends of Griffith Park’s volunteer events, you’ll need to sign up for their newsletter or join their Facebook group.

Heal the Bay 

A volunteer for Heal the Bay shows her bucket of trash collected on a beach in Santa Monica, Ca

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Courtesy Heal the Bay

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Heal the Bay hosts monthly beach clean ups every third Saturday of the month where volunteers learn about L.A.’s sewer system and how it’s connected to water quality and pollution at L.A. beaches.

Volunteers can also join the mammal response team that was created in response to the toxic algae blooms affecting marine wildlife. You’ll learn what to do if you see an animal on the beach and will be equipped with materials to educate other folks on how to protect marine wildlife. Volunteer trainings are held at the Heal the Bay aquarium on Santa Monica Pier Wednesdays through Sundays, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. You can register for these volunteer sessions, and their other upcoming volunteer events, on Heal the Bay’s events page.

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

Every first Saturday, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium hosts a clean up on Cabrillo Beach and every second Saturday , they host a clean up of their native plant garden. For both opportunities volunteers start their morning at the steps in front of the aquarium, where they’ll get a quick lesson about the environment and wildlife around them. You can just show up, but larger groups should make a reservation in advance.

Map of Volunteer Locations

Tell us your kid-friendly volunteer opportunity

Long-term eviction defense funding for Los Angeles renters could soon begin to flow now that city officials have announced a break in an impasse dating back to May 2025.

L.A. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said Thursday she intends to sign a new $107 million contract with the Legal Aid Foundation of L.A. She said the contract — which was approved by the City Council and the mayor in April but still awaits her approval — was “nearly finalized.”

“I am fully committed to supporting these crucial eviction defense services for our vulnerable neighbors in need,” Feldstein Soto said in a statement.

Feldstein Soto — who will not secure a second term after placing third in last month’s primary election — pledged to continue investigating the legal aid group. She has frequently criticized the nonprofit for what she sees as a lack of transparency, though L.A. Housing Department officials say the group has consistently provided accounting and caseload data to the city.

“Taxpayers deserve transparency and accountability and to know that their money is being used as intended,” Feldstein Soto said.

Barbara Schultz, a Legal Aid Foundation attorney overseeing the city-funded Stay Housed L.A. program, said both parties have been negotiating final contract details for more than a week. She said the city attorney’s announcement was encouraging.

“[Feldstein Soto] said she was going to approve the contract, so I'm very excited to hear that,” Schultz said. “Moving forward… we can continue to grow, fully implement the ‘Right to Counsel,’ and tenants in Los Angeles will be much better off as a result.”

In response to Feldstein Soto’s claims that more than $58 million in eviction defense grants remain “unaccounted for” in the foundation’s financial audits and IRS forms, Schultz said taxpayer dollars have not been misspent and that no findings have been made to that effect.

“[The Legal Aid Foundation] is a very large nonprofit law firm that has over 40 federal, state and local government contracts,” Schultz said. “We are very used to being audited. Any audit the city wants to do to satisfy itself is absolutely fine with us.”

Feldstein Soto denied a five-year contract to the legal aid group last year, arguing it should have gone through a competitive bidding process. After the city solicited applications and selected the group for new long-term funding, she later told city councilmembers in a confidential memo that they should consider withholding support for “a frequent litigant against the city.”

While she announced the contract should be ready for her signature by July 7, Feldstein Soto said her office would move forward with plans to assign forensic accountants to study how the legal aid group has spent more than $90 million in city funds since 2021.

At the Bristol Swap Mall in Santa Ana, people are flocking to buy their Mexico soccer team jerseys and paraphernalia.

“The color is green and that says Mexico right here,” said Catherine Hernandez, who’s entering third grade, as she pointed to the replica Mexico soccer jersey her mother had bought her at a nearby stall.

She asked her mother to get her one the day after Mexico’s win against Ecuador and is already thinking about how she’ll feel wearing it Sunday during Mexico’s knockout game against England in the Round of 16.

“Excited, very excited because I’m Mexican and I love this shirt,” she said.

Hernandez was born in the U.S. and her mother was born in Mexico. Both say their Mexico jerseys symbolize those similar but different prides in their Mexican backgrounds.

They're among fans rooting for Mexico’s men’s national soccer team to advance further than ever before into the World Cup tournament. A win against England would move the team to the Round of 8, the quarterfinals, for the third time. Along the way, this Mexico team has captured the imagination of many in the U.S. who have, or are close to, those of Mexican heritage.

Proudly wearing the green jersey

The market vendor at the stall said only one adult-size 2026 jersey remained. So many had been sold they'd had to place an order for more.

A replica of Mexico's 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer jersey.

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

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LAist

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Many Mexico fans have been wearing their jerseys on the days leading up to the team's World Cup matches.

“On Monday, I looked around to see a sea of green, white and red, and it nearly brought me to tears in line at Costco,” said Alex Alcantar, who lives in Norwalk.

He was born and raised in the U.S. and he says his Mexico soccer jersey symbolizes that experience.

“Why I wear my Mexico jersey is because I want to visibly represent this community when our contributions to society are so heavily discounted,” he said.

The team’s growing prominence has also coaxed some others in Mexican communities in the U.S. to feel more confident in their identity.

“I've never used [a Mexico jersey] before,” said Xochi Flores, who was born in Oxnard and whose great-grandparents were Mexican.

“I didn't feel like I could go around representing Mexico when I'm a Chicana, third generation, not the best Spanish speaker,” she said.

Xochi Flores (left), with her husband Cesar Castro, has become more comfortable wearing the soccer jersey recently.

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Courtesy Xochi Flores

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In the past year, she said she’s felt closer to her Mexican roots as she’s seen reports of farmworkers and other people of Mexican descent arrested by ICE agents.

So to her, wearing her Mexico soccer jersey means leaving behind insecurities she used to have about not being “Mexican enough,” as well as “not being American enough.”

“I want my kids to see me embracing all of the parts of me. … They don't have those insecurities, and that makes me happy,” Flores said.

Wearing the jersey when you're Mexican-ish

The stalls are attracting all types of customers. “I'm just looking for a Mexican soccer jersey,” said Son Lam, who lives in nearby Orange and identifies as Vietnamese.

Lam says he’s become devoted to soccer since the World Cup started June 11. Buying and wearing a Mexican soccer team jersey means showing off his newfound sports fandom already embraced by his extended family

“My wife is Mexican and to me, [wearing the Mexico jersey] means I can fit in with the family more," he said as he laughed.

However they identify, all these shoppers will likely be wearing their jerseys as they watch Mexico compete against England on Sunday, July 5. Joining millions of fans rooting for their team to advance to the next round, and keeping dreams of a 2026 FIFA World Cup championship alive.

Santa Ana voters could be asked in November to maintain the city’s 1.5% sales tax, which was set to decrease in 2029 and eventually expire.

Voters approved the citywide sales tax in 2018 on the condition that it sunset in 20 years. Now, the Santa Ana City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to ask voters in November to make the tax permanent.

The big picture

Only about one-third of cities in Orange County have a local sales tax on top of the county-imposed sales tax of 7.75%. Sales taxes in most of Los Angeles County are much higher — L.A.’s countywide sales tax is 9.75% and the highest total sales taxes for cities in L.A. County are in Lancaster and Palmdale, at 11.25% each, according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.

Other potential tax hikes in OC

Voters in Orange will be considering a sales tax hike on their November ballot, after failing to get voters’ approval in 2024. San Clemente voters will also consider a local sales tax in November to pay for more sand to shore up local beaches.