California Natives Garden

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Five years into this project, we have a native garden community!  We started with barren dirt (couldn't even find anything alive under a microscope), aside from the two trees, which were struggling to survive.  We now have a family of rabbits, a family of wood rats, shrews, nesting pairs of hummingbirds, at least one gopher snake, many bird visitors, including hawks.  Students can see a whole food chain on our narrow-leaf milkweed!  Our California poppies have self-seeded, and are STUNNING!  Art students come to the garden to sketch the contrast of the angular buildings with the soft lines of the plants, and students enjoy sitting in or near the garden during lunch, watching the birds.  I enjoy stepping outside my classroom and being greeting with LIFE!!!

Our garden includes a desert section, chaparral natives, Channel Island natives, and coastal species (the less-sensitive ones that can take the Ojai heat!)