DonateBuilding Habitat & Community
Join the Native Plant Movement
Building Resilient Communities
Through our Landscape Transformations, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is revitalizing public gardens and open spaces across Santa Barbara County. These ambitious transformations focus on replacing thirsty, barren, exotic, and invasive plants with drought-tolerant native plants that are perfectly adapted to the region’s climate and ecosystems. Native plants not only conserve water but also play a crucial role in supporting intricate food webs by providing habitat and resources for pollinators, insects, birds, and other wildlife. By creating thriving landscapes teeming with life, we aim to restore balance and resilience to these vital spaces.
Our work extends beyond planting. We’re actively monitoring the plants, insects, and birds that rely on these transformed habitats, gathering critical data to understand how these changes impact local ecosystems. By asking important ecological questions, we aim to refine our strategies, ensuring that each project maximizes its ecological and community benefits. This adaptive approach allows us to learn from each project and continuously improve as we move forward.
Through these endeavors, we’re contributing to a healthier, more sustainable future for Santa Barbara County. Our landscape transformations bolster climate resilience by creating habitats that can better withstand the challenges of a changing climate, such as drought and increased heat waves. They enhance biological diversity by providing homes for native species, some of which are at risk due to habitat loss. Additionally, these projects promote community well-being by creating beautiful, climate-adaptive spaces where people can connect with nature and one another.
By fostering a stronger connection between human and natural communities, we’re building a future where native plants have a central role in ensuring the ecological health, resilience, and beauty of Santa Barbara County for generations to come. Join us in shaping this vibrant, biodiverse legacy!
Elings Park
As the largest privately-funded park in America, Elings Park is a hub for our community and wildlife. Join us as we transform a site on the Park’s South Bluff into a thriving native plant habitat.
The Cuyama Valley
In partnership with community partners and residents, we’re putting native plants to work on farms, in schools, and around businesses across the Valley. Watch this transformation come to life!
Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden
Proving native plants can be both beautiful and beneficial, we’re working with the City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation to add native plants to this historic display garden. Stop by and take in the beauty of the web of life.
