Jorge Ochoa will be the guest speaker on April 1.
The Pacific Palisades Garden Club will meet at 7:30 p.m., on Monday, April 1, at the Palisades Woman’s Club, 901 Haverford Avenue. Guest speaker is Jorge Ochoa, who is a professor of horticulture at Long Beach City College. His topic is “Exploring the Intricacies of the Wild Flora and Fauna at Griffith Park.”
Ochoa discovered Griffith Park through his employment with the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. The park is the nation’s largest urban park and located on the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains.
The 2007 fire in Griffith Park gave him the opportunity to cooperate on its Wildlife Management Plan, while monitoring the recovery of flora, where he studied and catalogued the native flora in Griffith Park.
The fire provided the opportunity to survey native flora long hidden by non-native vegetation and led to the rediscovery of previously unrecorded plants. These plants and various associated animals will be showcased in his presentation.
In 2009, Jorge began teaching at Long Beach City College where he currently serves as Professor of Horticulture yet remains involved with Griffith Park through leading hikes, seminars and his ongoing documentation of the vegetation of the park.
He often brings students along when leading flora hikes in Griffith Park. In addition, he continues to advise Friends of Griffith Park (FoGP) on Fern Dell revitalization and has nurtured ferns for future restoration. Ochoa is also a contributor to the FoGP-sponsored rare plant survey. His interest in plants extends to their interactions and synergies with wildlife.
The community and perspective members are encouraged to attend this meeting click here.