The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands was established in 2001 by the Annenberg Foundation to advance public understanding of and appreciation for democracy and to address serious issues facing the country and the world.
The Annenberg Center at Sunnylands
The Annenberg Center at Sunnylands is a new project being built adjacent to Sunnylands, the historic winter home of Ambassador Walter and Leonore Annenberg. The Center, located on 15 acres of desert land, including a nine-acre garden, will offer exhibitions and programs explaining the architecture, art collections, renowned visitors to Sunnylands, the philanthropic legacy of the Annenbergs, and how the Center embraces an ethic of environmental sensitivity.
The building is expected to achieve LEED certification at a silver or gold level. The planning and design of the entire project included concern for environmental stewardship. An on-site solar field will provide 100% of electricity needs. Heating and cooling will be via geothermal systems. Water usage will not exceed 20% of the water district allotment for the landscape.
The Center will provide a carefully orchestrated garden experience rooted in concepts of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art (based on the world-renowned Annenberg collection). The landscape is defined by repetition and massing of desert plants. The impressionist planting design concept relies on the singular beauty and dramatic forms of a wide array of plants. Over 50,000 plants will be used to create this oasis.
The innovative irrigation system will push the limits of technology in both water distribution and management, allowing the landscape to be watered in its entirety through subsurface irrigation, minimizing evaporation and runoff. A system of soil moisture monitoring sensors will be installed providing a quantifiable view of water requirements, allowing the landscape to be irrigated on actual need and not on a predetermined schedule.
Green waste generated through shrub and tree maintenance will be recycled on an adjacent composting site and reintroduced into the landscape in areas such as the understory of trees and the native landscape set-aside areas totaling over three acres of the site. This project generated compost creates a rich organic fertilizer and a natural weed barrier, reducing the need for additional fertilizers and herbicides to maintain the property.
Once completed, this 21st-century oasis will serve as a beacon for what can responsibly be accomplished while conserving the desert’s most precious resource, water.
The Annenberg Estate - Sunnylands
This project will repurpose the 200-acre residence of Ambassador Walter and Leonore Annenberg into a public trust. Estate use includes public tours of the residence (designed by A. Quincy Jones) and the grounds (including a nine-hole championship golf course designed by Dick Wilson). It will also be used to host world leaders and dignitaries in the tradition of the Annenbergs. Renovation will modernize the underlying infrastructure with resource sustainability while preserving the estate’s historic fabric.
Plans include geothermal cooling/heating; solar-generated electricity; hybrid & electric mowers; alternative fuel sources (hydrogen & biodiesel); organic fertilizers & biological pest control; and an on-site composting center. On average 400 yards of green waste has annually been sent to off-site centers. Compost use includes the creation of a soil tacifer in areas where turf will be removed; creation of an evaporation barrier around trees; and the use of the rich organic nutrients to reduce the impact of seasonal winds on native blow sand.
Water consumption will be reduced by 50%. Turfgrass currently covers 178 acres, irrigated via overhead sprinklers using the original 1964 hydraulic block system. Renovations include single sprinkler head control with multiple hydro zones. All 5,000+ trees will be irrigated independently of the grass and subsurface flood irrigation will be installed. Soil moisture monitoring technologies will provide a real time quantifiable picture of water use. This project proactively meets the specifications and requirements for reclaimed water five years ahead of the implementation of a citywide plan. Next there will be a 30% reduction of irrigated grass. Overseeding using winter rye grass will take place on limited parts of the property. A secondary irrigation system will be installed for specific areas of the golf course (tees, fairways, greens) and for areas viewed by the public.
Eleven self-contained lakes interconnect via concrete streams and spillways. The lakes store well water prior to its being used for irrigation. All lakes will be renovated and restored. Aquatic planters will be added to act as bio-filters, reducing the nutrient load in the system and the reliance on herbicides to control weeds and algae. A resulting benefit will be the creation of a habitat for fish and water fowl.
Green Initiatives at Sunnylands
Sunnylands participants will document their ongoing green projects on this page.