We make it easy for young people to do something to create positive change in their communities.


Pando puts community at the heart of education to deliver real world impact. But these are not pie-in-the-sky projects. These are practical, sensible efforts at dozens of locations across the Southland.

Pando SoCal connections

Click the above image to see an interactive map showing colleges/universities, middle schools, community partners, and public agencies participating in Pando projects.

We track our impact for Community, Education, and Sustainability.

Community

Our community goals are to build more connection and interdependence between “town” (local communities) and “gown” (higher education institutions) in taking on community problems. Our community-based projects create lasting networks which bring together NGOs, public agencies, business and higher-ed institutions.

74
Number of Pando Days projects
150
Number of Pando Days community partners
53
Percentage of continuing Pando Days projects (through 2023)*

*We define a continuing project as one still active 6 or more months after a Pando Days season ends.

Education

Our educational goals are to make it easier for young people to find the courage, experience, and resourcefulness to not just talk about what must be done—but to imagine, plan, and create real projects that build and rebuild a more sustainable world.

25
Total college and university enrollment in Pando Days
998
Total student graduates from Pando Days
43
Number of Pando Days instructors supported in Project Based Learning
70
Percentage of Pando Days projects led by women
14
Total middle school enrollment in Magenta House (through 2023)
425
Total student graduates from Magenta House (through 2023)
17
Number of Magenta House instructors supported in Project Based Learning (through 2023)
24
Number of Magenta House projects (through 2023)

Sustainability

Our sustainability goals are to help implement the LA County’s OurCounty plan to address local social, health and environmental problems. Our objectives are to raise awareness of the plan and to implement projects/solutions that directly target community wellness and resilience.

23
projects address
goal #1: Resilience
20
projects address
goal #2: Buildings
20
projects address
goal #3: Land
7
projects address
goal #4: Economy
32
projects address
goal #5: Biodiversity
33
projects address
goal #6: Re-creation
17
projects address
goal #7: Climate
7
projects address
goal #8: Mobility
27
projects address
goal #9: Resources
20
projects address
goal #10: Food
10
projects address
goal #11: Governance
31
projects address
goal #12: Partnerships

Continuing projects spotlight

The wisdom of the rainforest in Northridge

“We could easily process almost 100% of the school’s food waste,” says Carlos Marin who is continuing CSUN’s 2023 Pando Days composting project. “Do you understand what that means?”

Pando Days – the student experience

Mine Ucok Hughes, Cal State LA, and Joseph Burton, Hearts for Sight Foundation, discuss the multi-faceted benefits involved in working with students on meaningful projects.

Restoring the land, one plot at a time

Alex Robinson of USC speaks with Pando about his continuing Pando Days work in native plant restoration and sustainability stewardship.

When your campus is your community partner

Pando Populus chats with Adriane Jones of Mount Saint Mary’s on the success of her Pando Days team’s low-water landscape plans and the campus improvements it’s launching.

What the humanities can offer a world in crisis

Chris Doran, Pepperdine, reflects on his multi-year Pando Days effort to focus the resources of religious communities on the growing challenge of climate migration.

The butterfly effect

We sat down with Beth Abels, Pando Days team lead for Pierce College, to discuss the ways her multi-phase project is changing the College’s sense of connection to the LA River.

There’s a food app for that (and it’s student developed)!

Interview with Pando Days team lead Rohan Kunchala, student from CSU Fullerton, about next steps for the food pantry software they’ve developed that’s changing the game on getting food to those who need it.

Community college and challenging the status quo

Prof. Marcela Oliva of LA Trade Tech comments on her and her students’ history with Pando Days and the role of community colleges in creating on-the-ground change and change makers.

Pando Days coming to life: UCLA’s Biophilia Treehouse

UCLA’s submission for Pando Days 2019/20 is currently being installed in Encino. We get an update.

Pando Days Update: Marcela Oliva, LA Trade Tech

Expanding green space for resilience and prosperity.

Pando Days Update: Berenika Boberska, Woodbury

When life hands you saltwater, make salad.

Pando Days Update: Gina Valona, Otis

Otis is mapping sustainability across the California Southland.

What is the future of LA housing, and how can artificial intelligence help?

“AI: The Future of Housing,” SCI-Arc’s Pando Days initiative, presents a near future for Los Angeles where AI and new technologies are tools in the fight for housing equity.

The Resilience Project at Pasadena City College

The Resilience Project uses art and interaction to create games, media archives, and virtual reality meditations that explore resilience, both on practical and personal terms.

Imagining Interconnected Foodways Across LA County

Food Within Reach is a project of Cal Poly Pomona that envisions interconnected foodways every quarter mile across LA County.