BTN Restoration Projects
Restoration Services.
Back to Natives Restoration is dedicated to the ecologically sensitive repair and management of ecosystems through habitat restoration projects. Based on an 'arthro-centric' research emphasis, Back to Natives investigates arthropods historically present at the location to be restored and specifically targets the species of plants associated with those arthropods. An exhaustive research is initiated through historic data compiled with CalFlora, Cal Jepson and other resources. This informaton is compared against present day species surveys onsite to determine the most inclusive listing of species to consider for seeding, and when applicable, container planting. Not all species are available commercially, and a real world check will be made to determine availability previous to reccomendations and proposals. restoration(at)backtonatives.org or call 949-509-4787
Community Outreach
Restoration projects have been proven to be more successful when the community is involved. Providing volunteer opportunities within a restoration project brings the local community into the installation and implementation stages of the project. This gives a sense of ownership and partnership to the community that will be affected or is near the Restoration site.
Service Learning
Education opportunities are there for the creating during a Restoration project. Service learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. Back to Native’s service learning program is designed to introduce students to ecological concepts through field trips and community service. Equipment and instruction are provided for habitat quality monitoring, biological assessments, and wildlife surveys. The program is intended to generate interest in the environment, and introduce potential careers in the environmental field.
Restoration projects will include, when appropriate, community outreach and education components. Restoration projects will provide opportunities for the public to volunteer, and become involved in the actual process of habitat restoration, at actual restoration sites.
Niche
Back to Native’s niche, our unique corner of the market, is to serve land managers interested in restoration projects that incorporate a strong volunteer and education component. No one else does this. We also corner the market in providing school garden programs. NO one does this either. We have the knowledge, expertise and passion necessary to meet our client’s needs, and our own expectations of our work and ourselves.
Restoration Volunteer Training Program
The US Forest Service Through Cleveland National Forest has just approved the preliminary budget for Back to Natives to lead a Restoration Volunteer Training Program. Over the course of one year Back to Natves will lead 7 training sessions that will educate volunteers in dry restoration practices. Dry restoration is weed abatement and seeding where applicable, as water is a scarce resource in the National Forest. This leaves out the possibility of container planting in most locations within the National Forest.
Back to Natives Restoration will provide training and recruitment for restoration volunteers over the course of a 12 months training program. Each training session will focus on specific aspects of the restoration process from rudimentary tool identification and tool and trail safety training, to non native weed identification and native species identification, proper site entry/exit protocol as well as mechanical/physical abatement techniques to reduce soil disturbance and possible weed seed germination. "If you don't know it, don't pull it!
Why our Work is Important
In California, there are over 5,000 native plant species, more than in the central and northeastern US and Canada combined. More than 1500 of these plant species are endemic to (found only in) California, and most of these endemic species are found in Southern California.
Southern California is one of the 34 global biodiversity “hotspots.” Hotspots are where the largest number of different species can be found, especially those species found nowhere else. More than 60 percent of the Earth's total species live in hotspots, which cover only 1.44 percent of its surface. In California, 20 percent of the naturally occurring species of amphibians, birds, reptiles and mammals are classified as endangered, threatened, or “of special concern” by the state or federal government.
Orange County is “a hotspot within a hotspot”, with more native plant species per square mile than Yosemite National Park. Orange County has over 1200 species of native vascular plants.*
As the human population grows, many of Orange County’s open spaces are vanishing. Only one percent of native grasslands, 15 percent of Coastal Sage Scrub, 15 percent of riparian areas, and 25 percent of the perennial stream habitat in California is left. It is imperative that Orange County residents understand the value of the last remaining wild places, and protect them from threats of all kinds.
*On page 6 of A Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Orange County, California, second edition, by Fred Roberts (1998, F.M. Roberts Publications), he lists 1,269 taxa.
