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Native Plant
Restoration Partnerships

Key collaborations to restore California native plants

Restoring a native habitat takes community collaborations and dedicated volunteers. Elings Park works with these like-minded organizations that are also dedicated to native plant restoration.

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s Landscape Transformation in South Park

A one-acre plot in South Park has been cleared of invasive species and replanted with California natives for a collaboration with partners Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and Channel Islands Restoration (CIR).

The Landscape Transformation project began in Spring 2023 when Garden staff began monitoring plants, birds, bugs, and other pollinators to gather data about the site. Volunteers and CIR cleared the site and tested two methods to kill off invasive species and their seeds (tarping and mulching). Plants went in the ground in late 2023. One year later saw an explosion of leaves and blooms as the native plants took hold.

Monitoring and experiments continue throughout the three-year project as this restored ecosystem matures.

Find out more – and how you can participate
 
 
 
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Videos Dig Deeper into Landscape Transformation

A four-part video series produced by Santa Barbara Botanic Garden digs into this collaborative effort and the vital role of native plants in promoting biodiversity. It explores the challenges and rewards of native plant restoration, the impact of invasive plants, the science of native plant conservation, and how communities can work together to “grow” a brighter future.

Native Plant Restoration and the Food Web

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s Denise Knapp, Ph.D., digs into the ideas behind the Landscape Transformation project, including how native plants help the food web.

Learn More

Free Nature Walks Led by Botanic Garden

Free monthly Nature Walks guided by Garden professionals spread the word about the Park’s biodiversity, generally attracting 20 to 30 individuals per outing. Each walk has a different natural history focus: pollinators, invasive plants, bird watching, bugs, and Coastal Scrub habitat, among others.

See the events calendar for dates and details

Growing Grounds – An Oak Nursery

Growing Grounds is a nursery for growing California native oak trees from acorns gathered in the Park. Volunteers care for the seedlings, including youth from Alternatives to Violence Program, UCSB students, and Park neighbors.

Young oaks are currently being planted along the Valerio Trail, thanks to support from the Santa Barbara Foundation. The goal is to plant 400 trees to shade South Park trails.

Visit the Growing Grounds, located near the far end of the Administration parking lot, adjacent to the West Valerio Street pedestrian entrance.

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Bucket Brigade’s Humanitarian Garden

In partnership with the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade and a host of volunteers, countless invasive plants have been removed (including three roll-off dumpsters loads of castor beans) and replaced with hundreds of native species and 500+ oaks and pines.

Picnic tables and trails have been refurbished and a future “training garden” is envisioned — with convenient access to Madison Elementary School.

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Channel Islands Restoration – Ongoing Partners

Nonprofit contractor Channel Islands Restoration (CIR) is a longtime partner with Elings Park. CIR works not only on the islands but on land to restore habitat through invasive plant management, native plant propagation, and native plant installation. They also promote environmental education and conduct research and monitoring.

At Elings Park, they are actively involved in the Landscape Transformation project and native plant restoration in the area surrounding the Veterans Memorial Walk.

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SAGE

The Sage Trail Alliance has provided volunteer trail stewardship at Elings Park for decades. Thanks to a 2021 grant from the Trek Foundation, SAGE will work with the park on the improvement, expansion, and sustainability of nine miles (and growing) of public trails through 2041.

Learn More

Support the Park

Elings Park is not operated by the city or county. We depend on user fees and public donations to maintain and improve the park. You can help.

Donate NowLearn More

1298 Las Positas Road, Santa Barbara, California 93105
(805) 569-5611
info@elingspark.org

Operated by the nonprofit Elings Park Foundation, the park receives no government funds for upkeep or improvements.
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