{"id":88939,"date":"2026-05-23T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/?p=88939"},"modified":"2026-05-22T09:51:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T16:51:49","slug":"recycled-trolls-are-hiding-in-a-nearby-garden-its-the-perfect-excuse-for-a-beautiful-walk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/eat-see-do-2\/see\/recycled-trolls-are-hiding-in-a-nearby-garden-its-the-perfect-excuse-for-a-beautiful-walk","title":{"rendered":"Recycled trolls are hiding in a nearby garden. It\u2019s the perfect excuse for a beautiful walk."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A dozen giant trolls are currently hiding amidst the foliage of the South Coast Botanic Garden in neighboring Palos Verdes. Yes, trolls. Made of recycled wood by Danish designer Thomas Dambo, the trolls playfully encourage humans to reuse materials to reduce waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dambo has been making trolls for more than 10 years, both for permanent installation and temporary display. An interactive \u201cTroll Map<\/a>\u201d shows their locations around the world along with information about each. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The whimsical exhibit near us at the South Coast Botanic Garden, called \u201cTrolls: A Field Study,\u201d continues through Oct. 4, making it a perfect summer activity for kids and adults alike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Link<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

According to the Garden, these particular trolls have a mission: \u201cTo observe humankind\u2019s delightful quirks,\u201d asking, \u201cwhat makes you wonderfully, uniquely you?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To study humans, some trolls have nets or traps to catch and release us for observation. One is drawing a human for her field work. One has a long pole with carvings that mark heights of different creatures. One likes to look at humans from between their legs to observe us from a different angle. And one is just taking a nap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A Thomas Dambo troll sculpture in \u201cTrolls: A Field Study\u201d at South Coast Botanic Garden. Photo by Anita W. Harris.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Each troll has a name, unique personality and \u201chair\u201d made of different types of wood. To get to know them, you can sign up for a 45-minute \u201cTroll Trek\u201d with a knowledgeable guide, or purchase \u201cField Guide: Trolls Edition\u201d for $9.50 \u2014 an illustrated booklet with information about each troll to read as you hike around visiting them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll also find a boulder near each troll with its name and a QR code that allows you to check off having seen the troll on the Troll Map. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Encountering individual trolls while trekking through the natural beauty of the garden is simply delightful; learning their names and personalities only adds to their charm. Some are downright soulful, even though sculpted out of recycled wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A Thomas Dambo troll sculpture in \u201cTrolls: A Field Study\u201d at South Coast Botanic Garden. Photo by Anita W. Harris.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The 87-acre South Coast Botanic Garden itself is a testament to reclaimed resources, developed by private citizens in 1961 over a landfill that was once an open-pit mine. From their initial planting of 40,000 donated trees, shrubs and other plants, the Garden has grown to host more than 200,000 plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLand reclamation not only offers a practical solution to refuse disposal problems,\u201d the Garden says, \u201cbut also beautifies and improves land values at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dambo is amazed<\/a> that his recycled-material trolls have attracted millions of people around the globe to see them. Though these mythic figures from Scandinavian folklore are not usually benevolent to humans, Dambo\u2019s trolls help raise awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have all this trash that\u2019s suffocating the world,\u201d he says. \u201cBut it also has the power to draw people out. The more people I can bring into this project \u2014 as volunteers or as visitors \u2014 the better I can explain why recycling is so important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrolls: A Field Study\u201d continues through Oct. 4 at South Coast Botanic Garden, 26300 Crenshaw Blvd., Palos Verdes. The Garden is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Non-member tickets for the garden and trolls are $18 for adults, $33 with Troll Trek or $14 for seniors and students, $29 with Troll Trek. For tickets and information, call 424-452-0920 or visit <\/em>SouthCoastBotanicGarden.org<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Encountering individual trolls while trekking through the natural beauty of the South Coast Botanic Garden is simply delightful; learning their names and personalities only adds to their charm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":88940,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32366],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32310],"class_list":["post-88939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-see","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88939"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88943,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88939\/revisions\/88943"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88939"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=88939"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=88939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}