Volunteers work in the LAPF’s Griffith Park demonstration garden. (photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Parks Foundation)

The Los Angeles Parks Foundation is looking ahead to the start of a new school year.

Last week, the L.A. Recreation and Parks Commission unanimously approved a proposed joint powers agreement between the Department of Recreation and Parks and the Los Angeles Unified School District that establishes a city-wide policy and pathway for opening LAUSD campuses for use as park spaces on weekends and school holidays.

Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Parks Foundation released Pathways to Play, a report defining what Community Schools Parks are and illustrating how people of all ages can find community, activity and value in neighborhood schools by experiencing them as public park spaces, particularly in the city’s densest and most under-served urban neighborhoods. The foundation is working to ensure indoor and outdoor school spaces become available for park use, as is the case in many other cities. The multi-year and citywide agreement is an important first step in Los Angeles’ journey toward widespread use of public school campuses as park spaces.

The LAUSD Board of Education will consider the agreement in late August, and more information will be available about the Community Schools Parks proposal as the 2025-26 school year progresses.

The Los Angeles Parks Foundation is also looking for volunteers to work in the Griffith Park demonstration garden, located at 2650 N. Commonwealth Ave. The next volunteer opportunity will be on Sept. 13. Roll up your sleeves for a mix of fall garden activities such as repotting more milkweed for next year’s monarchs, refreshing the soil with mulch, harvesting seeds and tending to seasonal tasks that keep the demonstration garden thriving. For information, visit laparksfoundation.org.