Restoring landscapes, improving trails and cleaning up the coastline are just a few of the ongoing needs of Catalina Island’s wildlands. This work occurs across the 42,000 acres of rugged Island land managed by the Conservancy. The support of dedicated volunteers is essential to ongoing restoration efforts. 

At a recent Tuesday volunteer day, a dozen students with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) joined in to remove invasive ice plant (Carpobrotus edulis) at White’s Landing. UNLV is a longtime partner of the Conservancy, supporting our work for more than a decade. Working alongside them were five volunteers from the Hun School of Princeton, New Jersey. They traveled thousands of miles from the East Coast to get their hands dirty on Catalina. 

Ice plant is a highly invasive succulent shrub that’s native to the coast of South Africa. It usually flowers from March through June and grows quickly, taking over coastal scrub, grasslands, chaparral, bluffs, dunes and beaches. 

“Ice plant takes a community to remove, and what’s worse is that it’s not native,” said Carley, a UNLV volunteer. “The native plants are in cages to be protected and this ice plant took over everything around the beach.” 

The Conservancy’s volunteer and education departments coordinate all year to ensure a steady stream of volunteers continues working on the landscape. Volunteers, in exchange, gain insights, experience and community as they complete meaningful habitat restoration. 

During this particular assignment, the groups worked four days alongside Conservancy staff. They not only helped pull ice plant, volunteers also collected seeds of common yarrow from Ben Weston to Cottonwood Beaches. Then they conducted erosion control and pulled weeds at the Wrigley Memorial & Botanic Garden. They also joined Conservancy Trails Manager Kevin Ryan in clearing branches that encroach on hiking trails. 

Director of Volunteers and Workforce Development Chris Young kept the energy light, riffing on a song playing in the background. “I’ll meet you in the middle if there’s no ice plant,” he sang to the volunteers. The goal of these outings is not simply hard work – but fun. 

There are countless volunteer opportunities throughout the year, including recurring options like up-potting plants at the Ackerman Native Plant Nursery. The Conservancy also offers a newly introduced All-Inclusive Catalina Service Retreat for a fee. Individuals and groups can perform important conservation work while camping and enjoying prepared meals.