Environmental News

A curated set of environmental news stories brought to you by the Gottlieb Native Garden team.

Santa Rosa Island Wildfire Highlights Conservation Challenges for California’s Islands

The largest wildfire recorded on California’s Channel Islands in more than a century is serving as a reminder of the unique environmental challenges facing the state’s offshore islands, including nearby Catalina Island.

California’s newest craze? A trip to the botanical garden

Sigmund Freud was onto something when he said that “flowers are restful to look at” as they have “neither emotions nor conflicts.”

Creating Your California Native Habitat Garden: Building Around the Blue Oak

Have you ever thought about creating your own native habitat garden? Have you heard the term, native habitat garden, and wondered what exactly it was and how you could create one? If so, you have come to the right place!

Climate determines which invasive plants become successful

Plants have puzzled biologists for more than 150 years with a question that even Charles Darwin could not fully answer. Why do some arrive in a new place and spread rapidly, while others barely survive?

Can a Water Renaissance Put California on a Sustainable Path?

The state’s dependence on imported water is threatened by climate change and aging infrastructure

Why are scientists planting tiny forests in big cities?

Healthy forests help combat climate change, provide humans with drinking water and even improve mental and physical health. But it’s hard to imagine an entire forest in the middle of a big city

Bend program helps grow habitat for native pollinators

Pollinator Pathway Bend distributed 1,800 native plants to 330 households Saturday during its fourth annual native plant giveaway at Bear Creek Elementary.

These California wildflowers could save other plants

As wildflowers go, the mountain jewelflower is demure, clever and quietly unbreakable. It has spread across many of California’s iconic landscapes, from Sonoma wine country to the oak-dotted foothills, even over the Sierra Crest, where snow covers the ground during winter.

California Poppy – What You’d Want to Know About This California State Flower

There’s quite a lot worth knowing about this flower, which is one of North America’s most celebrated native wildflowers.

SB Botanic Garden conservation director: Santa Rosa Island fire a ‘wake-up call’

Firefighters have contained 97% of the fire, which, driven by high-powered winds, spread to over 18,300 acres, torching through one-third of the island.