Your Donations at Work
The Orange County Parks Foundation (OCPF) acts as a vital funding catalyst, transforming charitable donations into real-world conservation and educational projects. We strategically partner with leading organizations to ensure every dollar supports critical efforts in habitat restoration, park stewardship, and bringing nature education to all of Orange County's communities.
Featured Success Story
OC Parks
By funding a year-long restoration plan to replace invasive plants with 5,000 square feet of native, drought-resistant species, OCPF provided a vital lifeline for local wildlife. This investment secured critical habitat for threatened species while creating a more resilient and beautiful landscape for every park visitor to enjoy.
Featured Success Story
Crystal Cove
By funding the development and installation of new directional signage across three key park zones, OCPF has made navigating Crystal Cove's beauty more intuitive for every visitor. This clearer guidance ensures hikers stay on designated paths, directly protecting the park’s fragile ecosystems from accidental damage and foot traffic.
Crystal Cove Conservancy Youth Development Program
The Project
This program delivers live, expert-led educational instruction—in-person and online—to students from underserved communities, focusing on nature, wildlife, and marine biology.
The Goal
OCPF aims to secure a $60,000 grant to fund the ongoing operational costs of this vital educational pipeline. The Conservancy will provide a $60,000 matching grant, doubling the impact of every donation.
Parks with a Purpose
$30k
2025-26 School Year: 790 students across 26 classrooms
Since inception: 2030 students across 70 classrooms and 3 Boys & Girls Club clubhouses
Districts served: Anaheim Elementary, Fullerton Unified, Placentia Yorba Linda Unified and Garden Grove Unified
Parks with Purpose was recently recognized by the National Association for Interpretation (NAI) and awarded the first-ever Outstanding Innovation in Interpretive Programs Award
Parks with purpose award: NAI Conference, where Nathan and some of the resource specialists accepted an award for Parks with Purpose. (Minute 3).
OC Parks Habitat Restoration - Emerald Canyon
$100k to date
Work has included site preparation, maintenance, and monitoring to reduce invasive species, including reducing invasive plants and their long-lasting seed bank, and to prepare areas for native seeding and planting. As part of this effort, OC Parks implemented a pilot solarization treatment as an experimental, non-chemical tool to support invasive species control adjacent to trails and to evaluate its effectiveness for future restoration projects. Monitoring indicates the treatment has helped reduce non-native plant regrowth within the treated areas.
This winter, small-scale cactus installation and native seeding began, and restoration signage is in place. Early steps toward the unauthorized trail soft closure are anticipated later in the project, including limited fencing and additional signage to protect restoration work and progress.
IRC Delhi Grant
$30k
Progress on the Orange County Parks Foundation Grant for the Irvine Ranch Conservancy is well underway. In January, IRC staff met with Delhi Center teens to set expectations and outline goals for the next six months. Monthly Nature Workshops will give the teens leadership experience and career pathway exposure as they work with IRC professionals and connect with partners such as the Orange County Fire Authority and Santa Ana College.
Each teen will explore a topic of personal interest and, beginning in February, present a natural history lesson to the public at the Delhi Center. Presentations, offered in both English and Spanish with support from IRC staff, will engage audiences of all ages from the Delhi neighborhood and surrounding Santa Ana communities.
Three spring field trips are also planned in partnership with UC Irvine’s MCRS graduate program, continuing collaborative restoration work between UCI and IRC. Teens will join graduate students in collecting coast live oak data to support oak resiliency efforts in OC Parks’ Limestone Canyon Nature Preserve.
Professional Development Mini Grants
$10k
Awarded to city employees in the Parks and Rec departments to further their professional development. Grants were given employees from 6 different cities this year.
