Native Garden – Animal Habitat

  • Location
    Burbank, California
  • Status
    Complete
  • Age Level
    Any Age

The Problem

We noticed very little wildlife when we mapped our community. Upon further research, we discovered that Native plants are critical for feeding helpful pollinators like butterflies, hummingbirds and native bees. They also provide natural habitats for other animals such a lizards, which our children are desperate to have living in our yard. We learned that if we plant native plants, we will be inviting all this important wildlife into our garden and even help protect endangered native plant and animal species!

Our Plan

Our action was to plant native plants that support local, native wildlife. We will use this native plant database to search for native plants in our area by entering our zip code: https://www.audubon.org/native-plants

Themes Addressed

  • term icon
    Biodiversity Loss
  • term icon
    Climate Change
  • term icon
    Endangered Species
  • term icon
    Wildlife

The Benefit

  • term icon
    People
  • term icon
    Animals
  • term icon
    Environment

Here is how the project went:

Things have gone extremely well. We planted more than 10 native species in our front yard, one of those is endangered. And we have measured a significant increase in wildlife (native bees, butterflies, lizards and other insects)

Through this project I/we learned:

We learned that we are incredibly connected to our natural world, even in our urban setting. We also developed a strong sense of community through this project, meeting many new neighbors and working with other local collaborators.

What I/we might change:

If we did this again, we might devote more time and attention to our plans for watering. This is a native, low water garden but we didn't plan for any sort of irrigation. We are hand watering and this works very well for us and for the plants, however it does consume more time than some other alternative options would.

My/our favorite part of this project was:

Our garden is beautiful! Far more beautiful than a lawn and it feels good to feel apart of our natural, native habitat rather than working agains it.

Some tips, tricks or fun facts about the project:

Look in your community for experts! We found a native plant nursery plus many native plant societies to reach out to for resources.

Relevant Links

About Roots & Shoots

We are nurturing the compassionate leaders of tomorrow.

Get To Know Our Model

New Report

Close