We create California native plant restoration gardens that support wildlife in the urban environment.
WE BELIEVE that each garden can serve as an island for biodiversity - a landing place for birds, bees, and butterflies. Link enough of these islands it creates a corridor that supports pollinators throughout the urban landscape.
How do we do this?
- Create Learning Landscapes or Demonstration Gardens all over California
- Design gardens for private and public landscapes
- Observe and give tours and workdays in these landscapes
- Help developers, municipalities, urban planners and beyond understand the impact these gardens can have on life (biodiversity)
- Education via workshops and partnerships
Next:
- Map the square footage of our landscapes
- Observe who is coming to these landscapes using iNaturalist and other tools
Executive Director Update - August 30, 2024
Here at the Habitat Corridor Project we are enjoying a calm before our big planting season. We worked hard this spring with all of our wonderful students and volunteers getting the weeds up and gardens mulched. Now we take direction from my favorite tree the California Buckeye (Aesculus californica) who dries up and goes deciduous the minute it senses the hot weather - saving its energy while our summer dry climate does its thing.
Similarly, we habitat gardeners while the temperatures are in the 90's take time for a cold drink and a visit with the pollinators and birds in the garden. Too hot for work, we save our energy and watch who is vising our garden and where. We daydream about all of the new plants we can add in the fall offering a bit of overhead water in the evening to the existing garden as needed. Out of my office window I am enjoying watching the lively hummingbirds feeding on the California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum) blooms today. They sneak little drinks from the fountain and rest in the shade on a Coffeeberry shrub.
April
Get your hands dirty and learn about native plants at one of our garden days.
- Sonoma Botanical Garden California Native Garden Workdays - Friday September 27 and October 19. 10-12. Sign up at SonomaBotanicalGarden.org or email [email protected]
Our Story
April Owens and Nancy Bauer came together with a common passion for creating habitat in the urban landscape. Nancy, author of The California Wildlife Habitat Garden: How to Attract Bees, Butterflies, Birds, and Other Animals (UC Press), and April, a landscape design/build professional, bring our combined experience to create a growing urban landscape of habitat gardens.
April Owens
Executive Director and Co-Founder
April collaborates with a wide range of partners to create new corridor sites. She also oversees public landscape design services, serves as fundraiser and grant writer, gives talks, workshops, and more.
Nancy Bauer
Co-Founder
Nancy oversees habitat integrity for all of our demonstration gardens and creates wonderful content for our website and newsletter.
Penny Dalton
Demonstration Garden Maintenance Volunteer
Penny keeps all of the public corridor sites thriving and weed-free. She hand waters, weeds and supports the design and ongoing maintenance throughout their development.
The Habitat Corridor is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS tax code. Federal EIN #84-4353404