Pioneering Climate Solutions in Los Angeles and Beyond

Our Strategy 

Now is the time to catalyze a new era of urban conservation. By addressing the need for new science, policy and funding frameworks across California, TNC aims to create a scalable conservation model that can be applied in cities and communities around the world. Our team is driving change through three key strategies: 

Bowtie Wetland Demonstration

TNC has supported prioritizing restoration projects along the L.A. River that enhance habitat, prevent housing displacement, provide public access to parks and open space, and promote climate resilience. We aspire to create a highly visible new model for urban restoration where habitat, water treatment, public access and climate resilience combine in one place to demonstrate what the future of the L.A. River and surrounding region could be.

The Bowtie Wetland Demonstration will transform a former railyard along the L.A. River into an open space filled with native plants and walking paths. The project combines natural systems and traditional gray infrastructure to bring ecological processes back to an urban watershed. Water will be diverted from a storm drain and treated underground to reduce pollutants and sediment. It will then be pumped into a constructed wetland, which will further filter the water. Some clean water will remain for wildlife habitat or onsite irrigation and the rest will flow into the river. 

The project’s many benefits include improving water quality, reducing urban heat, increasing resilience to drought, improving public access and supporting native species. Equally important, it allows TNC to demonstrate and measure the benefits of nature-based climate solutions, which is critical in order to accelerate the pace and scale of their implementation. 

Partnering with Frontline Communities

Nature-based climate solutions in urban areas offer a unique and essential opportunity for advancing equity. The Bowtie Wetland Demonstration provides public green space access in a densely populated and highly urban neighborhood, but the project’s success depends on building a meaningful partnership with the surrounding communities. It’s a valuable chance to push back against decades of disinvestment that made the area vulnerable to climate change, prevented communities from participating in decision-making around the resources they depend on and fostered distrust in government and NGOs.

The Bowtie Wetland Demonstration seeks to model an alternative norm for conservation projects, one that advances transparency and equity grounded in partnerships with frontline communities.

TNC collaborated with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles to launch Biodiversity Analysis in Los Angeles (BAILA), a first-of-its kind study that displays the surprising biodiversity of L.A., even in its most developed neighborhoods. We hope that BAILA becomes a guide for planners and decision-makers by highlighting how infrastructure development has the potential to bring nature back to the city. We also hope it will guide individual project choices by showing developers how making strategic adjustments to their designs can benefit nature.

An Impact Beyond L.A.

L.A. is a political, cultural and economic leader, driving a bold innovation agenda in urban resilience and climate action. TNC aims to leverage L.A.’s prominence on the world stage by ensuring the region models how nature-based climate solutions advance ambitious urban sustainability goals. Through our work, we are creating a flagship example of what healthy cities and other urbanized areas can look like in a rapidly changing world.