Big Sunday happily welcomes you to Our Really Big Community Calendar.
We try to include all kinds of volunteering and helping opportunities for all kinds of interests, talents, passions, and ages! As you’ll see, these include volunteering opportunities (one-time and long-term) as well as the chance to support a nonprofit by attending fundraising events. Plus, of course, we include all of Big Sunday’s homegrown events, too! Whoever you are, and whatever you do, there is someone out there who could use your help.
If you have questions about our calendar, or would like to add a listing, please contact calendar@bigsunday.org or submit your event/opportunity via the button below.
The Theodore Payne Foundation 2017 Native Plant Garden Tour will be held April 1-2, packed with curated tours through the county's most beautiful private and public landscapes. From the San Fernando Valley to the Westside, gardens will be open for visitors. LA boasts some of the most unique native plants, landscape design, and wildlife.
Visit nativeplantgardentour.org to learn more and grab tickets.
Instructor: Dr. Robert Tager
Pre-registration preferred; Please call 626-821-4623 or pay at the door
Discover what your brain needs to function at its peak. Neurologist and Arboretum volunteer, Dr. Bob Tager will provide an introduction to memory, learning and the brain, before leading a tour through the LA Arboretum gardens and discussing ways of preserving and enhancing brain function. You will learn what recent research says about improving brain health and ways you can enjoy the process.
Robert Tager is currently Clinical Professor of Medical Education at USC’s Keck School of Medicine, and he gives tours to medical students to enhance their observational skills and to learn the health benefits of the garden environment.
The Theodore Payne Foundation 2017 Native Plant Garden Tour will be held April 1-2, packed with curated tours through the county's most beautiful private and public landscapes. From the San Fernando Valley to the Westside, gardens will be open for visitors. LA boasts some of the most unique native plants, landscape design, and wildlife.
Visit nativeplantgardentour.org to learn more and grab tickets.
On April 15th, join Heal the Bay and the Boys & Girls Club to design something amazing in celebration of Earth Month.
Teams will compete to create the most creative sand structure fitting the ocean theme. You are masters of design, but do you have what it takes to work on the sandy shores with curious onlookers standing by?
Over 1000 volunteers will be working to clean the beach while you are designing your creation, and all will assemble at noon to see the finished products. Prizes and merriment to follow!
This year, teams will also have the opportunity to host a few youth members looking to get out of their neighborhoods and onto the sand with you. They can learn about new career paths and the science behind design work.
Sign up your team today!
For more information or to purchase tickets over the phone, please email Danie Eley at deley@healthebay.org.
Instructor: Crescent Farm Staff
Learn about water conservation and sustainable gardening, with hands-on experience! The Crescent Farm, located in the heart of the Arboretum just west of Baldwin Lake, is a reclaimed landscape where we explore new and ancient horticulture techniques for water conservation and food production. This is an educational training series. Please bring gloves, drinking water; wear close-toed shoes and a hat.
April 22 – Pollinators
Crescent Farm provides amazing habitat where our local fauna thrives. In the design and development phases of building Crescent Farm special consideration was given to plant selection and how these plants establish superior homes for native bees, birds and butterflies. Introducing pollinators into your yard adds interest, photo and learning opportunities for the whole family.
May 20 – Weaving / Basketry
Learn to use your bio-mass (plant waste) to create garden structures. Simple weaving techniques can use leaves as cordage, branches as trellises, tomato cages, shade shelters, and various long lasting leaves as weavers. Design and build compost structures, plant guards and soil traps in your own Crescent Garden.
June 17 – Crescent Farm Horticulture
Explore horticulture at Crescent Farm. Tour our choices for low water lawn alternatives, California native ethnobotanic plants of our local indigenous tribes, arid climate orchard trees and native wildflowers! Get ideas for your home landscape from our New California Landscape. Growing tips will also be discussed.
Tickets are now available for LA’s biggest gala on the pier! On May 18, come party for a purpose at Heal the Bay’s annual Bring Back The Beach Awards Gala on the upper decl of the Santa Monica Pier.
Once you step onto the classic wooden planks of the iconic Santa Monica Pier – and walk down Heal the Bay’s famous blue carpet – you will be transported to a playful, cozy pier paradise for an enchanting evening of live performances, beautiful sunset views, dinner, dancing, special guests and so much more.
While the famous faces and fruity cocktails are sweet, it's everyone’s shared passion
for the ocean that makes this night so special.
The Gala typically raises over $1 million for research, advocacy, and education programs that have led to cleaner coasts and increased public awareness about the challenges facing L.A. County's beaches and watersheds. In addition, Heal the Bay centers the evening around an awards ceremony that recognizes honorees who have made a big impact on the Bay.
Will you attend the Gala?
Please buy your tables or individual tickets as soon as possible. This event sells out every year. If you have any questions or are interested in sponsorship opportunities, please contact Danie Eley at 310-451-1500 or bbb@healthebay.org. For tickets and info, please click HERE.
Instructor: Crescent Farm Staff
Learn about water conservation and sustainable gardening, with hands-on experience! The Crescent Farm, located in the heart of the Arboretum just west of Baldwin Lake, is a reclaimed landscape where we explore new and ancient horticulture techniques for water conservation and food production. This is an educational training series. Please bring gloves, drinking water; wear close-toed shoes and a hat.
May 20 – Weaving / Basketry
Learn to use your bio-mass (plant waste) to create garden structures. Simple weaving techniques can use leaves as cordage, branches as trellises, tomato cages, shade shelters, and various long lasting leaves as weavers. Design and build compost structures, plant guards and soil traps in your own Crescent Garden.
June 17 – Crescent Farm Horticulture
Explore horticulture at Crescent Farm. Tour our choices for low water lawn alternatives, California native ethnobotanic plants of our local indigenous tribes, arid climate orchard trees and native wildflowers! Get ideas for your home landscape from our New California Landscape. Growing tips will also be discussed.
Don’t miss the Arboretum’s on-going series “Garden Night Photography Group Session”! Night offers unique photographic opportunities in the garden so come and discover your own creative images! Share your night photography techniques with other photographers. Specific emphasis will be placed on the ‘Painting with Light’ technique, so bring your ‘big gun’ flashlights.
*PLEASE NOTE: Be sure you have a DSLR or camera that has manual control capabilities. AND, please bring camera’s paper manual or pdf on your phone.
Where:
Meet outside the Main Entrance – then visit the Arboretum gardens near the Entrance/Rotunda, Peacock Cafe, Bauer Lawn & Fountain areas, Cactus and Succulent Garden and Madagascar Exhibit area.
Who:
Frank McDonough, session leader, botanist and photographer
Fee:
Per Class – $30 Arboretum members/$40 non-members
LIMIT 12 Photographers – Please call the Class Registration line at 626-821-4623
EQUIPMENT INFORMATION:
HEADLAMPS: You need to bring your own headlamp. For safety reasons, if you do not have a flashlight, you will not be permitted to attend. You may purchase inexpensive headlamps at Harbor Freight and Home Depot.
TRIPOD
DSLR CAMERA capable of long exposure time.
LIGHTS: Battery powered high illumination lights/flashlights, laser pointers.
COMFORTABLE SHOES: you will walk and maybe get dirty!
About the Session Leader: Besides doling out plant advice at the Arboretum, Arboretum Botanical Information Consultant Frank McDonough photographs the Arboretum on a regular basis. His work can be seen on the L.A. County Arboretum and Botanic Gardens Facebook page, the Arboretum tumblr site, and throughout the Arboretum’s web site (www.arboretum.org).
Save the date for a night to remember! Join the LA Arboretum to revel across the expansive lawns of the Queen Anne Cottage, engage in clever conversations over dinner, and play daring games of chance, like in the heady 1890s when Baldwin Ranch was a must-stop for the rich and famous. The Lucky Baldwin Poker Tournament and Fundraiser, hosted by Mario Lopez, benefits the Arboretum’s historic structures.
To purchase tix: www.ArboretumGetsLucky.Eventbrite.com
Meet at the Crescent Farm
Free for members / Free for non-members (with arboretum admission)
Instructor: Crescent Farm Staff
Learn about water conservation and sustainable gardening, with hands-on experience! The Crescent Farm, located in the heart of the Arboretum just west of Baldwin Lake, is a reclaimed landscape where guests explore new and ancient horticulture techniques for water conservation and food production. This is an educational training series. Please bring gloves, drinking water; wear close-toed shoes and a hat.
June 17 – Crescent Farm Horticulture
Explore horticulture at Crescent Farm. Tour choices for low water lawn alternatives, California native ethnobotanic plants of local indigenous tribes, arid climate orchard trees and native wildflowers! Get ideas for your home landscape from our New California Landscape. Growing tips will also be discussed.
