LOS ANGELES (May 1, 2018) The U.S. Green Building Council-Los Angeles (USGBC-LA)
Chapter has selected its 3rd annual Legacy Project, The Discovery Garden, created by the City
of Simi Valley. The Discovery Garden was selected as the 2018 project with its goals to
promote sustainability, encourage equal access to natural wildlife, and help inspire the members of the community to further conserve natural resources, especially water. USGBC-
LA is providing $20,000 in funding and volunteers to help the community create a garden of native landscaping, which will also serve as a replicable model for both residential and
commercial gardens around the City.
“This project is in the right place, at the right time,” states USGBC-LA Executive Director
Dominique Hargreaves. “It is located right at the heart of the civic center of Simi Valley which
has led to the engagement of many generations of nature lovers who are pitching in to help
build the Discovery Garden. The Rotary Club, Senior Center, Boys & Girls Clubs, and Friends
of the Library are all next door to the Library. This is a true community project that will deliver
a legacy of discovery of native plants and pollinators.”
The Discovery Garden will be a permanent part of Simi Valley Public Library grounds, a
a cornerstone of the Simi Valley community, accessible to all. The project will include and
feature sustainable design elements such as:
- Native plants: The selection, with guidance from the Theodore Payne Foundation, will
create a drought tolerant, water/energy efficient, and low maintenance space. - Water savings and education: The garden will have educational materials throughout to
inform the public of various native plants best suited for specific areas, and tips on
water conservation. - Replicability, permanence, and endurance: The Discovery Garden will be easily scalable
and can be replicated throughout the community, either in residential or commercial
settings. - Easily maintained over time: The Garden Project will require little to no maintenance
once the plants have been established.
“The City of Simi Valley is excited to be working with the USGBC-LA through the Legacy
Project; we welcome the passion and expertise that USGBC-LA brings,” said Sommer Barwick,
Community Services Director for the City of Simi Valley. “Our Discovery Garden Project is an
opportunity to bring an awareness on sustainability and resource conservation to the families in our community, knowledge they can use when landscaping their own homes and
businesses.”
The Legacy Project is now an annual gift from the USGBC-LA to a local community, a
permanent project providing an enduring means of service and education. The LA Chapter
decided to continue awarding annual Legacy Projects after the inaugural 2016 EcoTech
Makerspace in Gardena, and following last year’s Veggie Bus Project, which was deemed a
success for and by the local community of South Central LA.
The USGBC-LA depends on its dedicated volunteers for each Legacy Project, and has had a
steady stream so far, including one day of volunteers from the RAM Trucks, which selected
The Discovery Garden as one of the nine 2018 projects they are participating in throughout
the USA. They made a $5,000 contribution to the project in addition to their workers and
trucks, helping remove all of the existing plant material from the area that will become the
Discovery Garden.
“Native plants not only conserve water, but also inherently support and encourage life,” notes
Maya Henderson, Chair of the Legacy Project Committee and Sustainability Manager at Kilroy
Realty. “They deliver value well beyond that of a traditional drought-tolerant landscape, and
we hope this demonstration project will offer residents of Simi Valley—which has one of the
highest residential average daily water consumption rates in the Southern California region—
an example of how smart landscaping supports green living.”
For more information on the Legacy Project including volunteering, please visit www.usgbc-
la.org. If you’d like to contribute project or any other sponsorship support, please email dominique@usgbc-la.org, or visit https://members.usgbc-la.org/donate.
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About U.S. Green Building Council-Los Angeles
USGBC-LA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization committed to creating a prosperous and sustainable future within one generation. Our mission promotes sustainability in LA County’s built environment by delivering access to knowledge, resources, recognition and networking. (www.usgbc-la.org)
About The City Of Simi Valley
The City of Simi Valley, with an estimated population of 126,788 (as of July 2015) is the third largest of
Ventura County’s ten cities. Occupying an area of approximately 42 square miles, it is located in Southeast Ventura County, adjacent to the northwestern perimeter of the San Fernando Valley, approximately 37 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
