Our native plant nursery began as a simple shade structure to grow and house plants to be used in initial the revegetation of Aramburu Island.  After a majority of the planting on Aramburu Island was completed, the nursery transitioned its focus to grow native pollinator plants for the National Audubon Society’s Plants for Birds initiative.  These plants were used in demonstration gardens at the center to showcase the natural beauty of native plants and the wildlife they provide for.  Currently, we have a greenhouse used to propagate native plants from locally collected seeds and a shed in which we store our tools and supplies all built by Audubon Youth Leaders.  Over the years, summer camps, corporate volunteers, and community members interested in native plants have contributed to the ongoing success of our native plant nursery.

Haymar and Paige are beginning work to get our native plant nursey back up to speed.  One of their major goals is to propagate a handful of species for outplanting on Aramburu Island.  A recent site walk on Aramburu Island determined that a few select location on the site were in need of alkali heath (Frankenia salina), marsh jaumea (Jaumea carnosa), creeping wild rye (leymus triticoides), and coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis).  This work will be completed with the help of our Audubon Youth Leaders who recently collected and prepared coyote brush seed for planting.  In the near future we hope to begin planning and starting to grow plants for a native plant demonstration garden to feature on our property.

We will be continuing to enforce best management practices for Sudden Oak Death which is caused by the soil-borne pathogen, Phytophthora.  Dirty pots will be stored next to the shed until they can be scrubbed clean and sanitized and a diluted bleach solution.  Clean pots will be stored next to the greenhouse.  Remember to remove excess dirt/mud from shoes before entering the nursery area.  Disinfectant will be provided for bottoms of shoes.  You can learn more about Phytophthora here.

If you are interested in working in our native plant nursery, we offer drop in hours every Thursday from 2-5pm.  No prior experience is necessary!  We encourage members of our community to come learn about native plants while helping with tasks that include weeding, taking plant cuttings, re-potting plants, removing invasives, watering plants, collecting seeds, and more.  Please RSVP to Haymar Lim at haymar.lim@audubon.org so we know to expect you.  If coming out to the center on Thursdays does not work with your schedule, keep an eye on our website, social media accounts, or your email inboxes for future nursery related events!