Sustainability
For over a century, the Hollywood Bowl has been celebrated as both a venue for world-class music and a public park for the community. As stewards of the land, we see it as our responsibility to ensure that each person, plant, and animal that passes through or inhabits the area can enjoy it to the fullest.
Explore the ways we’re fostering a sustainable future below.
What we're doing
The Bowl's "Green Team," made up of LA Phil and LA County staff members, is charged with spearheading the Bowl's green initiatives and conservation efforts, but we're open to suggestions. That's where you come in.
Getting here the green way
Let's face it—the Bowl wasn't built with your car in mind, and the growing popularity getting to the Bowl via public transportation proves that sometimes it's best to leave the car at home. We partnered with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to bring you these programs starting in 1953, and that partnership is still going strong. Together with the MTA, we're dedicated to helping Bowl patrons in getting to the Bowl the green way, and if you choose to arrive on two wheels instead of four, you can even park your bike for free. Learn more about getting to the Bowl.
Every drop counts
Water conservation is a big deal here in Southern California, so it's no surprise that a leader in resource management like the Bowl takes an active and engaged role in doing its part to save this precious resource. You may have noticed some funny-looking toilets in the Bowl restrooms since 2007—that's when we installed waterless urinals and flush-reducing toilets. Sounds like a small step, right? Think again—with that investment, the Bowl reduced its water consumption by 3.5 million gallons in that first year alone.
We also save water by carefully monitoring our usage, reducing the amount of lawn surfaces, and continuing our long-standing policy of planting drought-tolerant native plants. Native plants are built for California’s unique climate, so rather than using a simple timer, we determine how much water to use based on the recent amount of rainfall and the needs of the local fauna. Just like you, we don’t water unless it's needed.
Keeping it clean
Short of putting a dome over the Bowl, there's no way we can completely stop airborne pollutants from affecting the Bowl—especially when it comes to water runoff, where pollutants can wreak havoc on drinking water for both humans and wildlife. We can, however, do everything we can to keep runoff clean, so we've installed stainless steel grates at water intakes, as well as installed special filters so we can clean the water we use for irrigation and for keeping the Bowl (including Bowl vehicles) clean and operating efficiently.
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
The LA Phil and Los Angeles County, partners in the management of one of America's great amphitheaters and urban oases, know that it's not enough to say you're green—you have to practice AND preach it. Over one million people per year visit the Hollywood Bowl, and it's our commitment to share our environmentally-sound and conservationist practices with each and every one of them—and we invite them to share in the responsibility of keeping this natural treasure beautiful—naturally.
Keeping It Green at the Bowl
Keeping It Green is our multi-part series exploring how the LA Phil, in partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation, is building upon its ongoing green initiatives at the Hollywood Bowl.
Whether you’re here for a concert, a morning hike, a picnic, or just a moment of stillness in nature, the Bowl is your backyard. And like any backyard, it thrives when we take good care of it.
Explore the series:
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Keeping It Green at the Bowl
How we’re caring for Hollywood’s musical backyard.
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Keeping It Green: Transportation & Water Conservation
Our shuttles and buses have been bringing LA’s music lovers to the Bowl for more than 70 years.
Keeping It Green at the Bowl: Wildlife
Fostering a friendly habitat for native flora and fauna.
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We save water by carefully monitoring our usage, reducing the amount of lawn surfaces, and continuing our long-standing policy of planting drought-tolerant native plants.
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Many of our Bowl Shuttles run on CNG (compressed natural gas), an alternative to standard gasoline that reduces smog-related tailpipe emissions and greenhouse gases by about 20%.
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With the help of researchers from the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, we’re monitoring wildlife activity on-site with hidden cameras and biotic inventories.
Wildlife: Who and what lives here?
A natural amphitheater like the Hollywood Bowl is a rare thing, and a habitat that's a haven for people, flora and fauna alike—in the middle of an urban area like Los Angeles is even rarer. Here's what we do to make sure everything has a home at the Bowl.
Taking steps to protect the flora and fauna
The LA Phil and LA County staff, musicians and Bowl patrons aren't the only living creatures that go to the Bowl in droves every year. Dozens of animal and bird species and hundreds of native plants call the Bowl home as well, and we see it as part of our job to make sure they're cared for in the best way possible. Not only do we foster native animals by maintaining as natural an environment as possible, we've also emphasized the use of native plants throughout the Bowl, which use less water than imported plant species as well as helping in revitalizing the animals who live in and around the Bowl.
Discover the animals and plants of the Hollywood Bowl:
Learn about how the LA Phil and researchers from the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains (RCDSMM) monitor wildlife in Hollywood.
Mammals
- Coyote (Canis latrans)
- Raccoon (Procyon lotor)
- Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis)
- California ground squirrel (Spermophilus beecheyi beecheyi)
- Mule deer (Odocoileus haemionus)
- Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginianus)
- Eastern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger)
- Brush rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani)
Birds
- Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
- California quail (Callipepla californica)
- Anna's hummingbird (Calypte anna)
- Western scrub-jay (Aphelocoma californica)
- Common Raven (Corvus corax)
- Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
- Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
- Cooper's hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
- Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus)
- Band-tailed pigeon (Patagioenas fasciatus)
- Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura)
- American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Reptiles
- Gopher snake (Pituophis melanoleucus)
- Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis)
- Southern alligator lizard (Elgaria multicarinata)
- Side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana)
Native plants
- Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia)
- Black Sage (Salvia mellifera)
- Coffeeberry (Rhamnus californica)
- Monkey Flower (Mimulus purpureus)
- Poison Oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum)
- Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia)
- Barberry (Berberis fendleri)
- Fuchsia-flowered Gooseberry (Ribes speciosum)
- Lemonade Berry (Rhus integrifolia)
- Meadow-rue (Thalictrum flavum)
- Sugar Bush (Rhus ovata)
- Yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei)
- California Sycamore (Platanus racemosa)
- California Lilac (Ceanothus oliganthus)
- Elderberry (Sambucus cerulea)
- Scrub Oak (Quercus berberidifolia)
- Phacelia (Phacelia grandiflora)
- White Nightshade (Solanum americanum)
Support our efforts: What you can do
We've told you how we try to keep the Hollywood Bowl a place of natural beauty for future generations of all species—now here's how you can help.
Take the bus. Ride your bike. Park and ride. Leave the car at home and get there the green way—you'll enjoy your concert more and you'll help cut down on traffic around the Bowl and carbon emissions. It makes sense.
The picnicking tradition is one of the things that makes the Bowl unique. Enjoy the tradition responsibly by using and reusing your food/beverage containers and bags, recycle when possible and deposit the rest in the proper containers. Leave the Bowl green for the next generation.
Sustainability at the LA Phil
The LA Phil and Los Angeles County are partners in the management of the Hollywood Bowl and The Ford. To learn more about how we tailor our sustainability work to each venue’s specific needs and opportunities, visit our Sustainability homepage.
Land acknowledgement
The County of Los Angeles recognizes that we occupy land originally and still inhabited and cared for by the Tongva, Tataviam, Serrano, Kizh, and Chumash Peoples.
