Grow Gardens
Through our Grow Gardens program we focus on the following elements:
1. Watershed Health: Storm water run offs and bio swale to keep the water in the yard.
There are several methods to conserve water in your garden. Most water when it rains or when we have snow melt at the end of the winter runs through drains and concrete tunnels out into the ocean. By capturing rain water and using it to recharge deep ground water reservoirs, effects of drought on trees and other plant life will be reduced. Trees keep our air cleaner and our city cooler and they need deep ground water reservoirs to survive months without rain in our LA watershed. Building a vegetated bio-swale or dry creek bed in your green space can be useful by capturing storm water runoff and use it to recharge the groundwater in your home garden.
2. Bio Diversity: A way to build sustainable habitat.
Los Angeles is a unique city where nature and people live in close proximity. Because of this population growth and loss of habitat it’s vital for us to build and replace habitat for pollinating insects, native and migrating birds. Many native butterfly and bee species need specific host plants or dead wood to build nests and survive the climate. California is the most biodiverse state in our nation and Southern California has a Mediterranean climate only found on 2% of the entire globe. To preserve our local ecosystem we can create habitat right in our backyards!
3. Regenerative Agriculture:
Regenerative living is the idea that we are no longer able to simply sustain our current practices in order to combat climate change. The time for sustainability has past and now we must regenerate as many natural ecosystems as possible and then sustain their healthy balance. Building regenerative gardens that support food systems and ecosystems is vital to restore the balance of the greater Los Angeles ecosystem. Increasing urban green space reduces the Urban Heat Island effect felt in most major cities, improves air quality and positively effects the health paradigm of the community by encouraging outdoor activities.
Greening backyards with native landscapes
This program may include bi-weekly, monthly, or seasonal support for maintaining a beautiful green space or a consultation to assess and build a sustainable site, such as:
- Design and build veggie gardens and rain gardens with pollinator habitats.
- Installation of compost system, soil enhancement and remediation.
- Conversion to drip-irrigation system to support watershed health.
Memberships:
Our team will collaborate with you to design beautiful green spaces with California native and drought-tolerant plants to help reduce water use and cost. Raised beds for vegetables can be included in the concept, as well as beautiful flowers for pollinators, and bioswales. We cultivate these landscapes organically, using permaculture and agroecology methods. Become a member today to help us sustain our program:
Apple Membership
A monthly sustainable support includes veggie bed cultivation, California native plant and drought-tolerant care and education to nurture your green space. Must be local.
Orange Membership
Seasonal support may include veggie cultivation for seasonal crops, education on pruning California native plants and improve water retention for your green space. Must be local.
Oak Tree Membership
A fee-based program to assess a space and to improve watershed health through water rebate programs, and to build an extensive educational concept for a sustainable and green environment. Must be local.