Author: admin

Take the $5 a month Pledge!

Dear BTN Supporters, (Volunteers, Members, Advisory Council, Board, Donors), We NEED YOU! Without your financial support mpo007, this could be the final year of Back to Natives Restoration. Have you volunteered with Back to Natives? Interned? Served on the Board of Directors or Advisory Council? Back to Natives Needs YOU! Funding is tight, and we have projects that need staff to lead and train volunteers to perform…

All good things…

Dear Back to Natives, I never imagined when interviewing for this position just a few short months ago that I would come away with the knowledge I now have about the Orange County wildlands. This summer internship has taught me not only a lot about the various native plants of the Orange County area, but additionally about the operations of a non-profit. When first applying for this internship, I did so because I really bought into the message of restoring and conserving the…

Help prevent the mowing of our native plant reserve

What is about a mile from the Pacific Ocean, less than a ½ mile from San Juan Creek, and along Del Obispo Drive in Dana Point? That’s right! It is Back to Natives’ very own Native Plant Reserve – and it’s in jeopardy! First, a bit of background on the reserve… The Native Plant Reserve is 2.5 acres of undeveloped land that was donated from the Kato family in December of 2015. “We are extremely grateful to have received such an amazing and openly generous gift, and we look forward to being…

What College Major do we recommend?

by Reginald Durant, Executive Director, Back to Natives Here at BTN we are asked all the time: “what College Major do we recommend?” This is not an easy answer on the one hand, but a very easy answer on the other. First and foremost we recommend you major in specialty that YOU love and enjoy and can see yourself working in the rest of your life! That is the key to success and happiness. To love what you do, and do what you love. Be sure that you know what this is,…

Estimating Landscape Costs

by Reginald Durant, BTN Executive Director Folks ask us all the time what it would cost to landscape their yard with natives. Landscape costs are difficult to estimate. EVERY project is different. The variations are not necessarily a visual, as irrigation and Landscape drainage, the most expensive part of any project (besides grading) are all buried and unseen once completed. There are many things to consider before you even begin thinking about costs. Irrigation, most times, cannot even be designed until the landscape has been designed and watering needs are known….

Spring Garden Show at South Coast Plaza

If you’ve never visited the Spring Garden Show, now is your chance! As South Coast Plaza enters their milestone year celebrating their 50th Anniversary, they present the 28th Southern California Spring Garden Show at the beautiful South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, themed “At Home in the Garden”. The Spring Garden Show showcases a number of organizations that contribute to “green living” in the community in a number of different ways. Back to Natives has been invited to participate for the 8th year. The Spring Garden Show will be held from Thursday, April 27th to Sunday, April 30

2017 California Native Plant Society Garden Tour

by Cassandra Winston, BTN Communications Intern It’s about that time again…On Saturday, April 8th, the California Native Plant Society is holding their Annual Spring Garden Tour! A Back to Natives design in Santa Ana’s celebrated Floral Park Neighborhood will be featured on the tour! Every year the California Native Plant Society, also known as CNPS, holds a garden tour that showcases beautiful landscapes that are mostly made up of native plants. The gardens demonstrate that native plants look as attractive in a front or back yard as they do in wide…

Why Back to Natives does not grow, sell or plant hybrids or cultivars.

At Back to Natives Restoration we use only locally native species with no hybrids or cultivars in the mix.  Cultivars and hybrids are two of the leading causes of species loss, right alongside habitat destruction and exotic species. California is one of 35 biodiversity hotspots, we are home to over 5,000 native species (and subspecies and varieties) within the California Floristic Province, with more than 2120 endemic to this floristic province. Most of these species are very much localized in the various parts of California, and taking those localized species…

Farewell Fountain Grass

by Cassandra Winston, ENC Communications Intern The rainy season is upon us, and the aftermath is perfect for some weed pulling. Saturday January 14th, Back to Natives and roughly 20 volunteers took part in a habitat restoration effort at Santiago Creek. Santiago Creek is overpopulated with Pennisetum setaceum, also known as fountain grass, and this grass is not native to Orange County.  Back to Natives’ Board President Mark Sugars explains in depth, how this effects the ecosystem below: Biodiversity is crucial for our environment, and to…