Eaton Canyon Landscape Restoration Concepts Unveiled at “From Ashes to Action” Presentation at LA County Arboretum

Public also gave comments on conceptual renderings and plans at Oct. 7 design charette

ARCADIA, Calif. (October 9, 2026) – Conceptual designs for Eaton Canyon’s restoration after the 2025 Eaton Fire were unveiled at a ‘From Ashes to Action’ presentation at the Los Angeles County Arboretum’s Ayres Hall.

More than 160 attendees listened to the Wednesday presentation, then viewed poster displays and took part in a design charette, filling out comment cards and eagerly chatting with staff and consultants. The renderings reflect a vison that emphasizes nature education, enhances the visitor experience, and adds more canyon resilience against wildfires, flooding and climate change.

Eaton Canyon, managed by the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation (LA County Parks), is a heavily visited recreation and nature education destination that’s been closed since the Eaton Fire. Many area residents cherish the beloved canyon and are eager for its reopening.

LA County Parks Director Norma E. García-González thanked the audience for their prior engagement with the Eaton landscape and “their passion and commitment” for its future. The conceptual plans, she said, are still designs in process.

“Your input, your questions, your feedback are exactly what we want to see happen today,” said García-González. “We will begin our fundraising for the Nature Center and the Natural Area at the beginning of the new year. To do that, we need to have a conceptual plan. So today, your input is very critical.”

Since Eaton’s closure, LA County Parks and its consultants have held multiple sessions with residents, tribal leaders, educators and docents to compile a “wish list” for renewing the landscape.

A 2025 Resource Management Plan for Eaton Canyon is also guiding restoration. It identifies a Preservation Zone with regular visitor use, interpretative signs and education areas, species that are resilient to moderate foot traffic and areas with some active restoration. By contrast, a Core Habitat Zone is remote and rugged with no trails, areas that support sensitive species and plants, and just passive restoration.

Landscape architect Megan Horn of Studio-MLA who presented the restoration concepts, said the designs incorporated the land’s biology, geology and its dynamic environment of wildfire and rainstorms.

“Nature is bouncing back,” Horn said. “But what we are also learning, is that when we investigate the site, nature needs to be nurtured. And there is a relationship with all of us and that’s stewardship. We know many of you have been caring for the canyon for generations.”

Concept rendering of proposed Discovery Terrace in Eaton Canyon. Credit: Studio-MLA

Essential to Eaton Canyon’s future, Horn said, is “to inspire and integrate our youth so that they can become stewards of this landscape for the future.”

Several renderings, in fact, were centered on nature education.

One slide showed a damaged outdoor learning area that could be transformed into a “Discovery Terrace” to appeal to school groups, families and first-time visitors. It includes log ‘steppers’ for children to scramble on, a dry stream, boulders, picnic tables and a sensory trail.

The vision for the former nature center site that was destroyed in the Eaton Fire is an outdoor ‘Nature Forum’ – a flexible space for “both quiet reflection or group gatherings” with a study area, a bridge over dry streambeds, restrooms, and picnic areas.  (The new nature center building is proposed for a site north of the existing parking lot).

Gardens and outdoor natural areas such as Eaton Canyon offer valuable benefits for youth, explained Laurel Robinson, Vice President of Learning & Engagement at the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County. “Nature is a powerful teacher” for science skill-building, mental health, and nurturing empathy for others and wildlife, she explained to the Arboretum audience. “Nature gives us a space to discover ourselves,” Robinson said. “Who we are now and who we will be.”

To submit comments/thoughts on Eaton Canyon’s restoration: eatoncanyon@parks.lacounty.gov