Photo courtesy of Shawnté Salabert
Los Angeles’s Kenneth Hahn State Park is one of the jewels of the city’s network of green spaces, with rolling hills, a well-loved trail network, and incredible views of the city. It serves as an urban oasis, a leafy place where Angelenos can reap the well-documented health benefits of spending time outside.
But it also sits directly across from the Inglewood Oil Field, the largest urban oil field in the United States. Visitors to Kenneth Hahn are exposed to ongoing environmental and human health threats—exposure to toxic chemicals, smog-forming gases, and climate-damaging emissions—from continued drilling.
The wells at Inglewood Oil Field are just a few of the active drilling sites in close proximity to the places where Angelenos seek rest, peace, or healing. Of the over 5,198 active and idle wells in LA County, the majority are less than 2,500 feet from homes, schools, churches, and hospitals. They expose Angelenos—especially low-income Angelenos and Angelenos of color—to chemicals known to cause cancer or disrupt the reproductive, nervous, endocrine, or reproductive systems.
If there were ever a place for the Angeles Chapter’s outings program and the Dirty Fuels team to join forces, this is it. On Saturday, November 16, Angeles Chapter outings leaders Joan Schipper and Shawnté Salabert (who is also the volunteer co-lead of the Outdoors For All campaign) led community members from Los Angeles’s Baldwin Hills neighborhood and beyond on a leisurely hike through Kenneth Hahn State Park.
Their goal was threefold: Get Angelenos outside to enjoy one of the city’s largest green spaces. Educate them on the history of the oil field and the threats it poses to the park and people. And inspire them to take action. On a bluebird day, the group spent two hours wandering the trails at Kenneth Hahn, learning the dual history of the park and the oil field, with moments for silence and a little bit of personal reflection.
Photo courtesy of Shawnté Salabert
At the end of the hike, participants were given the opportunity to provide instant feedback during what was an open public comment period, recommending protections for both environmental health and physical health of people living in the Baldwin Hills area near the Inglewood Oil Field; everyone who was present either filled out a postcard or promised to make their comments online later at home. The next week, Sierra Club representatives joined local leaders in delivering those comments and many others to the Los Angeles Department of Regional Planning.
Thanks to committed volunteers who recognize the power of linking outings and advocacy, these outings to Kenneth Hahn will repeat monthly in the new year, long after the public comment period has passed. (Angelenos can keep up to date on the schedule here). It’s a way to keep the public informed and engaged—and of course, to help people enjoy the park and remember exactly what we’re fighting for.
Photo courtesy of Shawnté Salabert