Projects: Rooted in community. Guided by care.
ST Forward turns community ideas into shared action.
Our projects grow from relationships — with neighbors, Indigenous culture bearers, artists, educators, young people, community organizations, and the land itself. Some are annual gatherings that bring people together. Some are long-term efforts to restore and tend the land. Others begin with a question, a need, or an idea from the community and grow through collaboration.
Together, these projects create opportunities for connection, cultural learning, civic participation, creativity, environmental care, and belonging.
Explore what we're growing together.
Tuxuunga Indigenous Peoples Day
Nature as Relatives
Sunday, October 11, 2026 · 11:00 AM–4:30 PM
12400 Big Tujunga Canyon Road, Tujunga
Each year, ST Forward gathers at Tuxuunga — The Place of the Old Woman — for Indigenous Peoples Day, centering Indigenous culture bearers, knowledge, art, ceremony, storytelling, and visionary leadership. Now in its 6th year, this free, family-friendly gathering invites our community to celebrate Indigenous cultures and deepen our relationship with the land.
This year's theme, Nature as Relatives, explores the interconnected kinship between people, land, water, and all living beings. Through cultural presentations, panels, workshops, ceremony, song, art, food, and conversation, we will explore the Rights of Nature and Indigenous knowledge systems that recognize land, water, plants, animals, and other living beings as relatives with inherent rights to exist, thrive, and be protected.
Our gathering is shaped by:
Respect for the land · Reciprocity · Relational learning · Cultural diversity · Generative dialogue
Organized by ST Forward with special guidance from Indigenous Culture Bearer and Advisor Tina Orduno Calderon and support from the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority.
Foothills Pride
Celebration and community care
Foothills Pride is an annual performing arts and resource festival celebrating LGBTQIA+ neighbors throughout the foothills. What began as a youth-led response to homophobia and transphobia has grown into a vibrant community celebration of visibility, safety, creativity, and belonging.
The festival brings together performers, artists, organizations, resource providers, families, neighbors, and volunteers to create a space where people can show up fully and celebrate one another.
Foothills Pride also announces an annual Caroline Menjivar Scholarship, awarded to an LGBTQIA+ graduating senior from a local Foothills public high school.
2026 Foothills Pride
Our 5th Annual Foothills Pride brought together the community for another day of music, performance, resources, connection, and joy.
Land Stewardship & Environmental Justice
Building a reciprocal relationship with Tuxuunga and the places we call home.
We believe caring for community means caring for the land that holds us.
Throughout and beyond Sunland–Tujunga, ST Forward works alongside Indigenous advisors, environmental educators, community partners, and volunteers to build relationships of care with local ecosystems.
Through partnerships supporting land restoration and reforestation at 12400 Big Tujunga Canyon, community members have participated in hands-on efforts to restore habitat and strengthen the ecological health of the foothills.
Our land work includes:
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Habitat restoration
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Native plant education
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Land tending and volunteer days
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Seed gathering
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Guided walks and ecological learning
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Reforestation
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Native gardens and community planting
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Partnerships supporting long-term ecological resilience
Tuxuu Land Stewardship
Our ongoing stewardship work at 12400 Big Tujunga Canyon Road offers opportunities to spend time on the land, learn about local plants and ecosystems, and contribute to habitat restoration.
Community Projects
Helping local-focused, local-led initiatives blossom and bloom.
Our projects take many forms — from public installations to environmental initiatives, educational programs, community gatherings, civic engagement, and partnerships with local organizations.
Some projects are short-term. Others become ongoing relationships. Some begin with a specific need and evolve as the community learns more.
What connects them is a shared commitment to equity, creativity, participation, care, and collective action.
What's Growing Now?
ST Forward is continually listening for what our community needs and where our collective energy can be most useful.
Want to help shape what comes next?
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