Earth Day is a time to reflect on the importance of protecting our planet and the role local communities play in shaping a more sustainable future. Over the past year, the Los Angeles Rams in partnership with California Resources Corporation (CRC) and EnrichLA have brought that idea to life through a series of impactful school garden builds across Los Angeles.

In 2024, the Los Angeles Rams announced CRC as the team's Official Carbon Management Partner, a collaboration centered on environmental responsibility and carbon footprint reduction. The partnership includes the Football Without the Footprint initiative, designed to help reduce and offset carbon emissions from team operations in the years ahead while creating meaningful hands-on community impact.

From the start, the organizations had the shared priority to build five edible school gardens at campuses near SoFi Stadium and the Rams Woodland Hills practice facility. With the completion of the fifth and final garden, that vision is now fully realized. What began as a shared commitment has become a connected network of thriving green spaces, each one built through a Rams staff day of service with staff, Rams Cheerleaders, Rampage, CRC, and EnrichLA volunteers working side by side in the soil.

With five garden builds now completed at Woodland Hills Middle School Academy, Kelso Elementary School, Inglewood Continuation High School, Woodworth-Monroe TK-8 Academy, and Colin Powell Academy School K-8, the organizations have created a sustainable resource for community members to utilize into the future. At the center of this work is a shared belief in environmental stewardship and education. CRC, an independent energy and carbon management company, continues to advance energy transition efforts while investing in emissions-reducing solutions like carbon capture and storage. Through its partnership with the Rams, that mission extends directly into neighborhoods, schools, and classrooms.

Francisco Leon, President and CEO of CRC, shared, "Through our Football Without the Footprint initiative in partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, CRC is proud to support programs that create lasting impact in the communities where we live and work. Our school garden builds with the Rams and EnrichLA provide students with hands-on opportunities to engage in sustainability, environmental stewardship, and S.T.E.A.M. learning beyond the classroom. These gardens reflect our commitment to the communities we serve and to inspire the next generation to be thoughtful stewards of our environment. As we celebrate Earth Day, we are inspired by the enthusiasm these gardens have sparked and remain committed to investing in initiatives that empower the next generation to build a more sustainable future."

Helping bring that vision to life has been EnrichLA, a nonprofit dedicated to building and sustaining school gardens across Los Angeles. With more than 200 gardens created in just nine years, EnrichLA ensures each space is designed not just to grow plants but to grow learning, curiosity, and long-term impact.

EnrichLA Executive Director Tomas O'Grady shared after a recent visit to the program at Woodworth-Monroe TK-8 Academy, "The program thrived at Woodworth-Monroe. I was personally there and witnessed multiple classes fully engaged in environmental education."

Across the five builds, each project brought its own moment of transformation. At Kelso Elementary School in Inglewood, students now learn in a fully functioning edible garden created from the ground up by Rams staff and volunteers. Inglewood Continuation High School, a Special Education Adult Transition Program, gained a hands-on outdoor classroom designed to support life skills and independence. Each site reflects the same foundation, teamwork, and a belief that learning grows best when it is connected to the environment.

Reflecting on the journey from the first shovel in the ground to the final completed garden, Molly Higgins, Executive Vice President of Community and Impact for the Los Angeles Rams stated, "We are grateful to CRC for their shared vision in bringing teaching gardens to local school and our incredible partners, Enrich LA, who are pouring into the school community far beyond the build days through ongoing instruction and student engagement. We are inspired by the many volunteers who showed up ready to work and helped bring this vision to life. The enthusiastic feedback that we have received from the schools shows what's possible when community comes together with purpose, and we are proud of the lasting impact these partnerships have created in Inglewood, Woodland Hills and Long Beach."

On this Earth Day, the Rams, CRC, and EnrichLA celebrate more than completed projects. They celebrate a vision fully realized, five new gardens, communities engaged, and a lasting commitment to sustainability rooted directly into the neighborhoods they serve. While the final garden is complete, the impact of what has been planted will continue to grow for years to come.