Bringing Beauty

Noah Martin Launches Local Nonprofit to Revitalize the Palisades by “Restoring Natural Spaces”

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

While rebuilding and recovery work is underway across Pacific Palisades, one resident with multi-generational roots is hoping to do his part to beautify public and private spaces.

Noah Martin is the president of Palisades Beautiful—a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that he launched in February “dedicated to restoring natural spaces” in the community.

“We’re dedicated to revitalizing our neighborhood through native landscaping,” read the Palisades Beautiful website. “Our mission is to make the Palisades more beautiful and sustainable one plant at a time.”

Martin—who grew up in the Palisades and lived in El Medio Bluffs—explained that the nonprofit is a nod to a previous group of the same name that had formed in the 1970s.

“The original Palisades Beautiful planted over 1,500 trees in our community,” read the website. “Starting with the jacarandas on Northfield, it grew into a project that spanned across the Palisades.”

Longstanding board members included Barbara Marinacci, Michael Terry, and founders Dorothy Bissell and Hilda Sauer. In addition to planting trees, Palisades Beautiful maintained the Native/Environmental/Xeriscape/Temescal/Garden.

“We aim to bring its idea back with a focus on drought-tolerant, native or naturalized vegetation in the community,” the website continued. “Our focus now is on fire recovery and replanting efforts, and we hope to expand to more community events in the future.”

The first event Palisades Beautiful hosted was a trash cleanup on Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22, along Bowdoin Street near the Palisades Charter High School campus. Martin picked the spot because it was part of the path he used to take from his home to Noah’s Bagels to school each morning.

“I haven’t done that [walk] for months, but I did it a couple of weeks ago to see what that walk looks like now,” Martin said.

Martin described finding an area where “much of the vegetation burned,” which “left behind a layer of trash”—“mainly bottles and cans.” They also found a discarded chair, which they called the Los Angeles Department of Sanitation to pick up as a bulky item.

“Hopefully we made the area look better,” Martin said.

Eight volunteers—including Preston O’Connell, who attended Marquez Charter Elementary School with Martin and is now a firefighter who responded to the Palisades fire, and his 4.5-year-old daughter—gathered to collect what ended up filling 14 trash bags, as well as planting “native vegetation in parts of the median that burned.”

“Debris clearance is very important,” Martin said, adding that he is grateful for the work being done around the community: “The little bit I can help with is the stuff on the side of the road,” as debris clearance is underway.

Martin said that the nonprofit has plans to plant bigger items in public spaces, like trees, but is working with entities like the city of Los Angeles and Palisades Forestry Committee to ensure everything is properly permitted and well placed.

When it comes to private properties, Martin explained that the group has worked with a couple of homeowners to replace items that were burned in the fire, including shrubs at a house in El Medio Bluffs and an oak tree in Marquez Knolls.

The nonprofit’s board members include Martin, his sister, Rachel Martin, Chetan Munugala, Orestis Lykouropoulos and JJ Amis—a swim coach at Pali High.

“He and I met when we were both students at Pali and on the swim team,” Martin explained.

Martin described living in the Palisades most of his life, with his parents moving to El Medio Bluffs when he was 2 years old, down the street from his grandparents’ house, which they inherited and moved into in 2020.

The house his grandparents’ had owned was lost in the Palisades fire, but his parents’ original home is still standing—Martin shared hopes of returning to the neighborhood when it is safe to do so, but for now, he is splitting his time between the West and East coasts, working as a software engineer and studying for a computer science PhD in Boston. His family is currently living in Marina del Rey.

He has started a few companies prior to creating Palisades Beautiful—most recently Emerge Tools, which he described as an “enterprise software company” that he co-founded and currently has 10 employees.

Martin’s drive to volunteer dates back several generations: His late grandfather, Harry Sondheim, was an active member of Pacific Palisades Community Council and Pacific Palisades Library Association, as well as a past president of Kehillat Israel.

Palisades Beautiful will be participating in a Palisades Village Cleanup event on Saturday, May 10, beginning at 9:30 a.m. The event is being co-hosted by Gates Security, Palisades P.R.I.D.E., Palisades Village Green, American Legion – Ronald Reagan Post 283 and Palisades Garden Cafe.

“Join us for a morning of community service as we work together to clean up the Palisades,” read an event description. “While incredible work is being done to clear debris from the Palisades, we are helping to do our part by cleaning up the trash that has accumulated around community spaces.”

Those who want to participate can meet at Post 283 on La Cruz Drive, where people will “split into teams to cover as much of the Village” as possible. Lunch will be provided by Palisades Garden Cafe after the cleanup has concluded. A resident pass is currently required to reach the meeting spot.

“Please wear comfortable clothes and closed-toe shoes,” read the description. “We’ll provide all the necessary cleanup supplies, but feel free to bring your own gloves if you have them.”

Palisades Beautiful also accepts donations to cover costs of items used to clean up, including trash bags and protective gear, as well as new plants and trees.

“Our work is made possible entirely by donations,” read the Palisades Beautiful website. “Your donations go directly to trees and other plants, supplies for community cleanups, and essential materials, including soil, mulch and nursery pots.”

Another way people can contribute is by providing suggestions for areas they believe new items could be planted.

For more information, including a link to sign up for the Palisades Beautiful newsletter and receive news about future events and ways to get involved, visit palisadesbeautiful.org.