Come see what you can do with an old garden...and learn from a local naturalist!
Over the past three years, since the 2015 garden tour, this "California Garden" has been evolving. Come see what’s changed and what’s stayed the same. Gardens are dynamic, the challenge for owners is to be aware of what’s happening, and sometimes, just go with it. This garden is a mix of new California natives and some non-native plants introduced years ago by the original owners.
One of the oldest California Avocado trees in the neighborhood is in their backyard. It has its own set of challenges and they've landscaped around it accordingly. The garden is hand-watered and includes rain barrels and a rain garden. It is a Certified Wildlife Habitat, Xerces Pollinator Habitat and Monarch Waystation.
Birds are an important part of the Coolidge
Garden. They are welcome! This is the Year of the Bird, as designated by National Geographic Society and their partners the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, and BirdLife International.
One of the garden owners is the former Executive Director of the Friends of Ballona Wetlands as well as a landscape designer (Giardino della Vita). She is now the Dan and Susan Gottlieb Environmental Leadership Fellow in the Center for Urban Resilience (CURes) at Loyola Marymount University.
Organizations Lisa Fimiani is affiliated with or knows something about:
· Center for Urban Resilience at Loyola Marymount University: CURes works with faculty, staff, students and community members to develop research and other interventions that lead to more resilient and just communities. The goal is to pair the study of urban ecology with local issues that can benefit from the talents and resources at LMU: http://cures.lmu.edu/
· Friends of Ballona Wetlands – they not only do tours in the Wetlands, but also provide expertise on how to put in pollinator, rain, and edible gardens, as well as provide Summer Camp opportunities: http://www.ballonafriends.org/
· Los Angeles Audubon Society – their “Kill Your Lawn” cartoon book drawn by children will be available as handouts: http://losangelesaudubon.org/photo-galleries-section/photo-galleries-category/kill-your-lawn-comic-book-gallery
· Los Angeles Audubon Society –Tree Trimming Guidelines: https://losangelesaudubon.org/tree-trimming-guidelines
· Monarch Waystation Certification – through Monarch Watch
· National Wildlife Federation – Certified Wildlife Habitat Program
· SoCal Water $mart Residential Turf Removal Program –Bewaterwise.com
· Xerces Society – Pollinator Habitat Certification
How to register your garden as a Wildlife Habitat Yard
- Audubon At Home http://audubonathome.org/
- National Wildlife Federation http://www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife/create.cfm?CFID=7177856&CFTOKEN=176461acda590e96-4839F373-5056-A868-A0F00601F3124B08
- Monarch Waystation Program http://www.monarchwatch.org/waystations/certify.html
- Xerces Society http://www.xerces.org/
Lisa Fimiani Contact Information:
Board Member, Friends of Ballona Wetlands http://www.ballonafriends.org/
Treasurer, Ballona Discovery Park Partners http://cures.lmu.edu/our-programs/education/ballona-discovery-park/
Gottlieb Fellow, Loyola Marymount University, Center for Urban Resilience http://cures.lmu.edu/
Master Gardener and Restoration Specialist, Giardino della Vita http://giardinodellavita.com/
Wetlands Restoration Principles Coalition Partner http://wetlandsrestoration.org/
Visit my website: www.giardinodellavita.com “Garden of Life”
