Gardeners and landscape designers all have the power to make a difference in conserving biodiversity by creating habitat for wildlife. Residential, commercial, and public spaces are increasingly dedicated to the rewarding and vital endeavor of supporting birds, beneficial insects, and other wild creatures whose natural habitats are threatened by habitat loss, pollution, toxic pesticides, and the unchecked spread of invasive species. This presentation offers guidelines for designing and tending gardens that welcome wildlife, including some of the best California native plants for the Los Angeles region.

Biography:  Carol Bornstein is former Director of Living Collections at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, whose mission is to inspire wonder, discovery, and responsibility for our natural and cultural worlds. For 8 ½ years, she oversaw the museum’s 3.5-acre Nature Gardens and the Live Animal Program. For nearly 30 years, she was Horticulturist at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. She co-authored two books, the award-winning California Native Plants for the Garden and Reimagining the California Lawn. She has selected and introduced several popular cultivars for California gardens, including Verbena lilacina ‘De La Mina’ and Corethrogyne filaginifolia ‘Silver Carpet’ and she continues to share her knowledge of plants native to California and other mediterranean regions through her teaching, writing, and design work.