---Our Mission--- To create a community to monitor and protect the biodiversity of the L.A. River and its tributaries.

Protecting Our River (ProtectingOurRiver.org) is a community engagement project that mobilizes L.A. residents from a variety of backgrounds to help monitor the biodiversity of the L.A. River and its tributaries. We aim to increase community awareness and participation in conservation of biodiversity by merging science, art, and community involvement. We hope to serve as an example to show how scientists, neighborhood leaders, conservation groups, writers, community scientists, educators, students, and artists can work together to address environmental issues.

This project is led by CALeDNA (www.ucedna.com), a University of California community science program that aims to monitor California’s biodiversity through environmental DNA (eDNA) – the DNA that organisms shed into the environment. Community scientists, who are volunteers that participate in scientific research, collect soil and water samples throughout California. UC researchers analyze the eDNA in these samples and identify the microbes, fungi, plants, and animals in the area. By monitoring all seven kingdoms of life, researchers can study components of the food web, track pathogens, discover new species, and find species that drive changes in an ecosystem. Since its launch in 2017, over 1,500 community scientists have collected samples from thousands of sites.

---Goals--- Monitor the biodiversity of the L.A. River system using researchers, conservation groups, and community scientists to measure current conditions and the impact of enhancement and conservation efforts. Create an open-data platform to provide access to biological and environmental data about the L.A. River from collaborating conservation groups, government agencies, and researchers. Connect scientists with local educators to generate interest and provide career guidance to young students, especially those from groups underrepresented in STEM. Engage the community by sharing activities, interpretation of data, stories, and art from all participants.

---Research Plan--- We are sampling the LA River three times in the course of a year in the following framework:

10 sediment samples and 4 water samples collected along a 100m transect at each site: Sediment collected every ~10m Water collected every ~50m 3 time periods: Summer 2020 (July-September) Fall 2020 (October- November) Winter 2021/ post rainfall (January-February)

Our sites are the following, roughly from north to south: Tujunga Wash Verdugo Wash Arroyo Seco Bull Creek Sepulveda Dam Glendale Bowtie Parcel Glendale Narrows Elysian Valley Maywood Compton Creek Long Beach