California Native Plants

This course is designed to help students develop California native plant layouts and plans for common urban settings based on an understanding of site-specific conditions.  Students will learn how to incorporate California native plants into existing and planned landscapes. This series of classes combines classroom presentations with field trips to local urban landscapes, such as campuses, gardens, arboreta, and nurseries where students will explore the range of possibilities for creating successful and resilient California native landscapes.

Participants will study the elements of a successful native landscape including, but not limited to:

• Self-sufficient, self-reproducing native plant communities and ecosystems, and the importance of pollinator species
• Endemics, appropriate non-local native species and cultivars, nursery selections, and plant sourcing
• Site preparation, soil inoculation with microbiomes, and mulching to promote healthy soil
• Installation techniques and erosion/stormwater runoff controls
• Irrigation, non-irrigation, and rainwater use
• Desired design outcomes
• Maintenance and adaptive measures