The Conservation Corps of Long Beach on Wednesday unveiled its latest project in North Long Beach, an environmental education center at DeForest Park that will serve as a base of operations for youth development programs and Conservation Corps projects.

“This place was a vision for many of us. We needed a site closer to where our young folks live, and we ended here,” said Dan Knapp, CCLB’s executive director and CEO.

The center, at 6255 De Forest Ave., will be a hub for community gatherings and youth programs such as environmental education classes, although those public programs will not be announced until the spring or summer of 2023, according to the CCLB.

For now, 20 Conservation Corps members will lead environmental improvement projects and programs across the park such as the River Rangers program, a youth stewardship initiative aimed at preserving the area along the Los Angeles River by maintaining the DeForest Wetlands and planting trees.

The $2 million community center was approved by the City Council in 2020 and broke ground in September 2021. Its 1,400-square-foot design features sustainable landscaping and architecture like a butterfly roof designed to capture stormwater. Rainwater will glide down the roof and into a bio-filtration system that will remove harmful pollutants from the water before it is recycled.

The facility also prioritizes sustainability with low-flow plumbing systems, energy-efficient lighting and native and drought-tolerant plants across its landscape.

District 9 Councilmember Rex Richardson, who has been a longtime supporter and advocate for improvements at DeForest Park, said the project was an example of how “crisis is the mother of invention.”

When after-school programs at the park were cut due to budget concerns a few years back, the city had to lean on partnerships and collaborations, said Richardson. Through that change in strategy, the Conservation Corps of Long Beach and Camp Fire Angeles were able to collaborate and bring in sustainable, necessary improvements to DeForest Park, he said.

The education center is only one portion of the vision plan for the park, as Camp Fire is also building a series of discovery trails and campsites throughout.

The project was funded through a $1.9 million grant from the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy to the Conservation Corps with contributions from the Port of Long Beach, the Office of Supervisor Janice Hahn and the City of Long Beach.