In the News

A six-acre plot of land in Cameron Parish sat empty, shelly and unused. It is surrounded by the Mermentau River and contains the same fertile soil that supports rice farms surrounding the area. But on this bare plot of land at the Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana 4-H members have begun the process to transform it into the Cajun prairie land it once was.

As the holiday season approaches, many look for Christmas trees. But maybe there’s an alternative.

By popular convention, we often use biologically arbitrary boundaries for native plants. For example, gardeners in California see plants labeled as “California native” and may assume these are well-suited for their landscape. However, consider the breadth of botanical and biome or ecosystem diversity in that state, which further spills over the borders. Using geographic areas defined by flora species, like the California Floristic Province (CFP), to help define native plants is an improved alternative approach but still not the silver bullet.

Birding has long been a hobby for nature lovers, but the pursuit has recently gone more mainstream—boosted by the rise of ecotourism and the surging interest in a safe and relaxing pastime during the pandemic, along with user-friendly apps that bird lovers can use to record and track different species. Now, the Gottliebs’ garden is a local landmark with close to 20 bird boxes, three seed feeders, four mealworm feeders and around 15 hummingbird feeders. Ms. Gottlieb said she goes through about 70 pounds of sugar a month making hummingbird nectar.

Exploring biodiversity in gardens seems simple at first glance. Many of us define it in relatively simple terms—how many species of plants? Birds? Insects? Our gardens are relatively small ecosystems, but if we consider the possible number of interactions in even a small urban garden, it is immediately evident that biodiversity is almost unimaginably complex. Why does biodiversity matter, and how is it measured? Here I connect with three scientists in our region to talk about their work on biodiversity.

Conservation works. In the past century or so, efforts to save American species like the peregrine falcon, the American bison, and the Pacific gray whale have succeeded.

A naturalist studying the Gottlieb Native Garden, a single acre in Beverly Hills, California, documented over 1,400 species in the past five years, from cougars and ospreys to varieties of bark lice previously unknown to science.

Southern California beaches serve as highly-prized recreation space for local communities and tourists. Los Angeles County beaches are visited by 50 million people annually, putting continual pressure on sandy beach habitat that historically served wildlife populations.

Los Angeles Audubon Society would like to thank Susan and Daniel Gottlieb for their major contribution in support of the Snowy Plover Program, helping Los Angeles Audubon to continue to monitor and protect this threatened species

City Plants is interested in understanding how residents feel about trees in the City of Los Angeles. A survey has been developed to inform the UFMP framework and we invite you to take part.

Join us and visit two horticultural stars of Los Angeles: The Gottlieb Native Garden in Beverly Hills and the nearby Getty Center. Traveling by private motor coach, we will first visit The Gottlieb Native Garden, home to more than 200 hand-selected native plant species and nearly 400 documented wildlife species.