In the News

Stories about the Gottlieb Native Garden and our partners and projects.

UCLA becomes first California campus awarded a Green Grounds Certification

UCLA is rooted in keeping its grounds green and healthy

Examining the Environmental Impacts of the LA Fires

Urban fires cause more damage to the environment than fires in the wilderness because of the toxins created by the burning of all sorts of toxic materials, which release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into both air and water.

What trees survived in our terrible fires? And why didn’t they burn?

Certain trees survived, according to Cal Fire, because they have a natural adaptation to withstand fire, such as thick bark, a shape that sheds embers and higher moisture content than the structures that caught fire. “While trees may still be singed, they are often less flammable than structures,” according to the post.

Voices of the West; New Science on Life in the Garden: Native Plants

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.

The Wall Street Journal – Birding Goes Extreme

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.

Voices of the West; New Science on Life in the Garden: Biodiversity

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.

National Geographic Magazine – Scott Logan’s work in the garden


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.

Los Angeles Audubon

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

UC Davis

RFID technology has been used to monitor hummingbirds before, but this is the first time it has been used to monitor multiple hummingbirds at feeders at the same time, which is critical when studying their interactions.
The study, conducted September 2016 to March 2018, recorded about 65,500 visits to seven feeding stations across three California sites. These included the UC Davis Arboretum Nursery, a private home in Winters and The Gottlieb Native Garden in Beverly Hills.

LA Sanitation - Biodiversity Team

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.