First Native Plant Work Party at Elings Park

Elings Park and Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s Landscape Transformation Project breaks ground with the first Volunteer Restoration Work Party on Saturday, September 16 from 10 a.m. to noon, following the monthly Elings Park Nature Walks led by Garden experts from 9 to 10 a.m. These work parties will continue on the third Saturday of the month, at least through Spring 2024, and additional dates will be added.

To register, visit www.SBBotanicGarden.org/classes-events/landscape-transformation-project-volunteer-opportunities.

The project needs volunteers willing to get their hands dirty by controlling invasive plants and planting California-natives on a one-acre site on the Park’s South Bluff. The first phase of the project involves installing black plastic (and later, cardboard) to discourage weeds. Earlier this spring, Garden staff began monitoring plants, birds, pollinators, and other bugs and will follow up after planting to gather additional data on the site’s vitality. The restoration project and science experiences concentrate California’s native plants in this area and will compare the abundance, diversity, and composition of plant and animal life both before and after the transformation.

The public can attend the final of four free Public Forums held on Wednesday, September 13 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s Blaksley Library. It is led by Dr. Knapp and Scot Pipkin, the Garden’s director of education. The public will hear about the project, offer input, and find out how to get involved.

Donations of clean, wax-free, cardboard are also needed to be used together with wood chips and mulch, as eco-friendly “sheet mulching” to block sunlight and prevent weed seeds from germinating in the project site. Boxes must be broken down. Donations are now being accepted at the Elings Park Administration Building on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and at the Garden on Wednesday, September 20 from 3 to 5 p.m.; Friday, September 29 and Wednesday, October 4 from 8 to 10 a.m.; and Friday, October 13 from 3 to 5 p.m.

 A series of free Nature Walks at Elings Park led by Garden experts continues through December 2023. Each hike has a different natural history focus, such as plants, pollinators, or birds. Walkers meet at the Elings Park Office parking lot.  Visit www.SBBotanicGarden.org/calendar.

Saturday, September 16, 9 to 10 a.m. – Pollinators: Led by Sarah Cusser, Ph.D., the Garden’s terrestrial invertebrate conservation ecologist, and Kylie Etter, conservation technician.

Saturday, October 21, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. – Birds: Led by Scot Pipkin, the Garden’s director of education, and Zach Philips, Ph.D., terrestrial invertebrate conservation ecologist

Saturday, November 18, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. – Plants and Bugs: Led by Zach Philips, Ph.D., the Garden’s terrestrial invertebrate conservation ecologist, and José Flores, conservation technician

Saturday, December 16, 9 to 10 a.m. – Birds: Led by Scot Pipkin, the Garden’s director of education, and Zach Philips, Ph.D., terrestrial invertebrate conservation ecologist