Who we are
Crystal Cove Conservancy is the nonprofit public benefit organization partnered with Crystal Cove State Park. Together with our State Park partners, our mission is to restore the park, educate our future environmental leaders, and protect Crystal Cove, and places like it, for generations to come.
The Conservancy was founded in 1999 by Laura Davick, a third-generation resident of Crystal Cove who spearheaded the effort to preserve the Historic District when it was at risk of being redeveloped into a luxury resort.
Today, the Conservancy is one of California State Parks’ largest public benefit organizations and has become a nationally recognized model for public-private partnerships.
What we do
The cottages and food concessions provide revenue and facilities to support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education programs in Crystal Cove State Park and beyond, while also helping to maintain these historic structures.
Our STEM programs provide rigorous and engaging science education for K-12 students, many of whom join us from low-income communities across California. As our students take part in conservation research and habitat restoration projects in the backcountry, on the water, and on the beaches, they develop and refine the skills they’ll need to become tomorrow’s environmental leaders.
The data that students collect is integrated into university research projects and informs land managers’ responses to critical conservation questions.
Restore
The Crystal Cove Historic District and its century-old cottages are a historic coastal treasure. Thus far, twenty-eight cottages and one Japanese language schoolhouse have been fully restored, providing one-of-a-kind getaways for visitors, a place for families to connect, and financial resources to help protect the 4,000 acres of Crystal Cove State Park.
Restoring the remaining seventeen cottages will forever preserve this one unchanging place in the sun and ensure that Crystal Cove is protected for generations to come.
Educate
Less than a dozen miles from Crystal Cove live thousands of children who have never been to the beach. Every year, our STEM education programs bring over 7,000 low-income students to Crystal Cove State Park for the first time.
As they take part in real research on our beaches, in our backcountry, on the ocean, and in the classroom, students become California’s next generation of environmental leaders and develop a deep love for places like Crystal Cove. Many of our environmental education programs are provided free to teachers and students, ensuring that cost is no barrier to access.
To honor Crystal Cove’s rich history as a place of outdoor creativity and gathering, we also offer plein air art workshops in the spring and summer and other community-based programming throughout the year.
Protect
There aren’t a lot of places left like Crystal Cove State Park. The Park’s critical habitats are home to endangered plants, threatened animals, and rare birds — many of which can only be found here in coastal Southern California.
We work arm-in-arm with California State Parks to steward the park’s 2,400 acres of backcountry, 3.2 miles of coastline, and offshore underwater habitat. Together, we make sure that everyone can enjoy Crystal Cove for generations to come.
You can get involved by volunteering at a stewardship event or investing in our work.
The place we call Crystal Cove State Park is located on the traditional and unceded lands and waters of the Acjachemen and Tongva Tribal Nations, both ocean-going peoples. As we work in partnership with Tribal members today, we hope that our collaborative work will uplift the voices and spirits of everyone dedicated to the protection of this place.