Restoring Habitats

Reweaving the Tapestry of Life
Building Ecological Resilience
Diverse native vegetation is essential for providing the slope stabilization, watershed protection, wildlife habitat, and other benefits that we rely on as humans — and we can all help by making sure that our wildlands don’t turn into big bare patches or a sea of weeds. From the preparatory surveys and prioritization to experimental trials and the dirty work of weeding and seeding, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden works with volunteers like you to create resilient communities.
LAndscape Transformations
Transforming our Public Spaces
Over the next five years, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden will be transforming public gardens and other open spaces around Santa Barbara County to native habitat havens.
Through this project, we will increase climate resiliency and biological diversity while improving human health and well-being.

Restored Habitats

Santa Barbara Ecological and Edible Garden Project: Use native plants for pollinator promotion in Santa Barbara food gardens, since 2021 (ongoing)

Experimental restoration trials to improve ecosystem services in the Piru Fire scar area, 2021–2023

Uncovering and mitigating the impacts of invasive crystalline iceplant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum) on San Nicolas Island, 2016–2019

Informing habitat restoration in the Zaca Fire and Jesusita Fire scar areas, 2017–2019

Informing habitat restoration in the Zaca Fire and Jesusita Fire scar areas, 2017–2019

Planning for recovery and resiliency in the Thomas Fire and Whittier Fire scars, 2019–2022

Starting in 2021, Mission Canyon Restoration project focused on the removal of invasive species and reestablishment of native species in the Mission Creek watershed.

The Landscape Transformation Project is a collaborative effort between the Garden, Elings Park, and the public to transform an acre of the Elings Park from invasive to entirely California-native plants and document the effects.