The Garden’s New Impact and Advocacy Program is Taking Root

Although Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s Impact and Advocacy Program is still in its infancy, the past nine months have seen our program make tremendous headway in our drive to grow the native plant movement, regenerate ecosystem health, and leave a legacy for future generations. As the Director of our Impact and Advocacy program, it’s been heartening to see and hear the feedback from our peers as we begin engaging them in new and different ways in pursuit of policy outcomes, partnerships, and programmatic activities that elevate native plants while addressing the biodiversity crisis regionwide.

As you’ll read below, we’re off and running! After planting seeds and cultivating key relationships, our activities have started to generate some beautiful blooms throughout the Central Coast community – and even statewide. Below are some of the early wins we’ve achieved in our first few months alongside some current activities that will feed our work as we head into 2026.

$6.3M in State Funding for Native Seeds Secured

The Garden and our partners have successfully secured $6,300,000 in funding for the collection, identification, and seed banking of “G0” native seeds (the initial, first-generation seeds collected directly from wild plant populations) for research and restoration statewide. Coming from Prop 4 funds, the Garden engaged our elected leaders diligently in partnership with our friends at the California Institute for Biodiversity, California Crop Insurance Association, California Native Seed Supply Collaborative, and the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance to request and secure this funding to meet the increasing demand for native seeds. Funding for eligible projects will be distributed via grants by the State of California’s Wildlife Conservation Board. Special thanks to Assemblymen Steve Bennet and Greg Hart, along with Senator Monique Limón, for their leadership in getting this funding signed into law by the Governor.

Native Plants Coming to the Heart of Downtown Santa Barbara

In partnership with the City of Santa Barbara and Friends of State Street, the Garden is collaborating on an exciting pilot project to get native plants into downtown Santa Barbara as part of the State Street Redevelopment Master Plan project. This pilot project focuses exclusively on the 1200 block of State St, bringing the vibrancy, color, and habitat value of native plants to the heart of the city!  Soon, you’ll see Orange Monkeyflower, Seaside Daisy, Douglas Iris, Santa Ana Coral Bells, and more as you take your downtown stroll. If successful, the project could expand to additional blocks.

Fire Resilience Top of Mind

This summer, the Garden hosted Congressman Salud Carbajal and Congresswoman Angie Craig in an invite-only stakeholder meeting to address fire risk and safety at the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), with a focus on the Los Padres National Forest. The meeting was attended by local fire agencies and fire experts, and intended to provide elected leaders with insights into resource needs and constraints when considering fire resilience in WUI communities throughout the region. It is our hope that feedback from the gathering is incorporated into decision-making at the federal level. 

Also, over the summer, the Garden hosted our first virtual forum addressing fire resilience in our communities. Entitled Ready for Wildfire: Smart Strategies for Fire-Safe Living, the forum was attended by over 300 people and featured Laura Capps, Chair of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, Steve Windhager, Executive Director of the Garden, and other community leaders as we discussed fire and fire safety at a time of increased fire risk. Clearly, an ongoing ‘hot’ topic.

Biodiversity Coalition off and Running

Since the beginning of the year, the Garden has secured the support of over 40 regional organizations as signatories to the Community Vision and Policy Platform in Support of Biodiversity on the Central Coast, established in 2024 by a community-driven process spearheaded by the Garden. This is a huge accomplishment in and of itself, but in addition to this support, the policy platform has launched a coalition known as the Biodiversity Working Group to help address critical biodiversity issues in our region. Co-chaired by the Garden and our friends at the Community Environmental Council, committees are currently hard at work on wildlands and habitat connectivity, fire resilience, endangered species, and agricultural landscapes – all in the context of addressing ecosystem health and biodiversity solutions.

Local Policy Efforts Underway

We’re hard at work ensuring policy outcomes at the local level that place an emphasis on native plants for the many benefits they provide to people and the planet. This, of course, in an effort to achieve 30% native plant cover in the places that we live, work, and play. Examples of some of our current policy work and activities include:  

• Meeting with City Council members from Carpinteria to Buellton to Guadalupe and everywhere in between to build the political will that supports native plants and policies that protect and enhance biodiversity.

• Engaging in Santa Barbara County’s Open Space Element update, which will determine how our treasured open spaces will be utilized now and in the future.

• Submitting letters to local governments and agencies countywide that encourage native plants as part of redevelopment projects, large-scale landscape designs, resource protection ordinances, and more.

• Submitting letters to state and federal agencies to promote and protect ecosystem health in our state parks, national forests, roadless areas, and more.

Access for All

The Garden is for everyone, and new partnerships are being fostered daily to ensure that our entire community is aware of the resources and splendor the Garden has to offer. New projects are now underway with Evolve Equity, the Fund for Santa Barbara, Latino Elder Outreach Network, Latino Outdoors, and others – adding to our already existing programs aimed at inviting diverse segments of the Central Coast into the Garden’s open arms. 

As we hope you can see, there’s a lot of momentum building to help expand the vision and mission of the Garden beyond our historical 78 acres tucked into the foothills of Mission Canyon. Through our Impact and Advocacy Program – and other programs happening across the Garden – we hope to truly build a movement that crosses generational, geographic, and political divides to foster love for native plants while building up the next generation of stewards.  

To learn more about the Garden’s advocacy work or to plug in, please fill out the form below.