LA River Tour 2023

Shallow water ripples against concrete embankments, with a couple small trees in the pebbly middle. A large warehouse is in the background.

April 18, 2023
Lewis MacAdams Riverfront Park

Friends of the LA River

On April 18th, 2023, the Friends of the LA River (FoLAR) led us on a fantastic tour of the LA River, where we learned about the river’s history, its role in LA’s landscape today, and how city developers are and are not including it in ideas about LA’s future.

We saw numerous types of birds as well as many pedestrians and bicyclists using the river-side path. The tour concluded with a hands-on citizen science activity that monitored macro-invertebrates to track water quality. What we found: low diversity of pollution-tolerant macro-invertebrates and no pollution-sensitive macro-invertebrates, suggesting poor water quality.

A handful of people stand in front of a railing along a concrete embankment along a shallow river, looking at the scene.

A few people stand on a gently sloped concrete embankment near the edge of a shallow river. A couple squat to get closer to the water.

A couple people look at portable microscopes set up on a tiled bench outside.