Habitat Restoration in Urban Public Sites
Throughout Marin, native plant gardens are being installed in schools, universities, libraries, and other public sites in developed areas.
These spaces form wildlife corridors that provide opportunities for monarchs and other species to rest, eat, mate, and lay eggs as they pass through Marin on their east and westward migration cycle.
School Gardens
One example of a school garden is the Hawks’ Garden at Neil Cummins Elementary School in Corte Madera. Inspired and developed in 2016 by a group of parents and the Neil Cummins PTO, with support from SPAWN, Hawks' Garden offers a fun and engaging way for students to learn about nature and feel connected with their environment.
In 2020, Neil Cummins teacher and monarch enthusiast Dana Swisher took over management of the garden. In 2022 she and her students, along some other garden volunteers, created a monarch way station planted with native milkweed and nectar plants.
The project expanded again in 2023, when Swisher and the fifth grade Girl Scout troop at Neil Cummins replanted a long neglected planter with pollinator-friendly plants, most of them native.
Many school gardens have been developed to provide students with opportunities for hands-on learning while also improving habitat for wildlife.
Other school gardens have been supported by a program called Bringing Nature to School. Established in 2020 by Audrey Fusco of SPAWN and Charlotte Torgovitsky, founder of Home Ground Habitats Nursery, the program provides schools with plants and other supplies, helps design garden spaces, and works with students and teachers to plant the garden.
Bringing Nature to School has assisted with habitat gardens at Neil Cummins as well as Glenwood Elementary (San Rafael), Bolinas-Stinson School (Bolinas), Lagunitas School (San Geronimo), Bayside Martin Luther King Academy (Sausalito), and Marin Academy (San Rafael).
Other schools have received donations of plants and seeds from the California Native Plant Society (Marin Chapter) include Caulbridge School (San Rafael), Miller Creek School (Terra Linda), Walker Creek Outdoor School (West Marin), Brookside Elementary School (San Anselmo).
Charlotte Torgovitsky and Audrey Fusco
Gardens in Urban Spaces
Local environmental groups and individuals have created gardens at public sites throughout the county. These sites provide food and shelter for pollinators as well as offering visitors an inviting space to view and enjoy nature.
The Marin Art and Garden Center features a habitat garden with larval host plants that attract many species of butterflies. Michael Bogart, Garden Manager, works with high school student interns, teaching them about the care of plants and pollinators in the garden.
The Falkirk Cultural Center feature several demonstration gardens, including one devoted to California native plants. The gardens are maintained with the assistance of Marin Master Gardeners. They illustrate water conservation practices and include a variety of pollinator plants.
The Mill Valley Library used funds from a California State Library “Pitch and Idea” grant to create a demonstration garden that teaches the importance of native plants and the necessity of water management.
The Bay Model Habitat Garden in Sausalito was planted by the Marin Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. A variety of perennials and shrubs offer sustenance for pollinators. Each section of the garden focuses on some of the plants favored by a specific type of pollinator.
The Daniel Stralka Memorial Pollinator Garden at Dominican University features plants serving as pollinators for bees and butterflies as well as providing food and nesting materials. Irrigation is supplied via the rainwater catchment tank that collects water from the a nearby rooftop.
The Native Habitat Garden was established by Refugia Marin in 2021. Adjacent to the pond in Town Park, Corte Madera, its drought-tolerant plants offer sustenance and shelter for birds and insects and a monarch waystation provides native milkweed as well as nectar plants.
The Fairfax Library Garden was completed in 2022 with support from the county, SPAWN, and the community. The garden features milkweed and other native pollinator plants and provides a refuge for humans and pollinators alike.
The College of Marin native plant garden in Kentfield is located adjacent to the lawn outside the Student Services Center and is maintained with the help of the Sustainability Club.
In Larkspur, a mature garden can be found on the traffic median on Magnolia Avenue across from the Lark Theater, a second is located at the Central Marin Police Station on Doherty Drive, and a third is adjacent to a parking lot at the corner of Magnolia and Ward Streets.
Harvey’s Garden in Tiburon is a community garden maintained by Marin Master Gardeners. The garden is in Blackie’s Pasture, and features drought-tolerant plants. A small garden at Blackie’s grave is maintained by the Tiburon Green Team and is part of their native plantings along the Trestle Glen Roadway.
In 2009, Novato resident Marcia Basalla adopted two adjoining traffic medians on Alameda del Prado in Novato. With support from the Novato Streetscape Committee and the Novato Maintenance Department, Basalla created a thriving ecosystem of native trees, flowers, shrubs, and grasses.
