One of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust’s most exciting parks currently under construction is the 8.5‑acre, multi‑benefit Wishing Tree Park located in unincorporated West Carson, Los Angeles County. This project has been in the works for decades, and thanks in part to a $2,500,000 grant from California Climate Investments through the Urban Greening Program the park will be opening to the public in late 2021.
The project was designed in partnership with community residents who are deeply impacted by environmental injustices, and it will provide crucial new recreational open space for a disadvantaged community that currently has zero acres of park space. The grant is providing critical funding to support the development of the park including planting carbon‑sequestering native trees, drought‑resistant landscaping, and a high‑efficiency irrigation system. The new park will further reduce greenhouse gas emissions by decreasing vehicle miles traveled as community residents will no longer need to drive up to two miles to access the nearest park.
The name of the Wishing Tree Park was inspired by two young sisters who lived nearby. In anticipation of a future park, ficus trees were planted over a decade ago and lined the alleyway in wooden boxes as a sign of what could be. These trees outgrew their boxes and planted their roots deep into the soil, growing twenty times their intended size. One tree stood out to the two sisters, who started placing wishes on pieces of paper in their “Wishing Tree” with hopes that they would come true. One of their wishes was having a beautiful park in their neighborhood where they could play, and now it is a reality!
The Wishing Tree Park is situated on a now‑remediated brownfield that residents had advocated for two decades be transformed into much‑needed open space. Progress towards the park’s development accelerated when the Neighborhood Land Trust acquired the property in November 2015. Additionally, community partners have been instrumental in the creation of the park. For example, Del Amo Action Committee has been advocating for a safe and beautiful community park for the past two decades and has also worked to make the project a reality. Additionally, the support of the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation as well as Los Angeles County Supervisorial District #2 was important to the success of the project.