Build Biodiversity Workshop

Start your native plant garden now

Saturday, September 23, 2023
from 1PM to 3PM at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens

Join Johanna Brekke-Brownell and Cornelia Reynolds of the Fort Bragg Garden Club and learn to develop a garden brimming with birds, beneficial insects, and other wildlife.

Whether you are removing a lawn, starting a new bed, integrating plants into an existing landscape or planting in containers, the basics of building a biodiverse garden environment are the same. This class will help you to start where you are. We will consider the pros and cons of different ways to remove some or all of your lawn, talk about how to plan a drought-tolerant garden, show you how and why to ensure you are not just planting a flowerbed but developing a healthy environment with native plants to support native wildlife, especially local pollinators, and birds. 

Explore the Gardens to discover your favorite native plantings and show you how native plants and vegetables support each other. In addition, we will share a list of 24 drought-tolerant plants that grow in our gardens. Most of these are native to our coastal area and they all can help you achieve a variety of colors, shapes, and seasonality for a year-round biodiverse garden.

THE DETAILS

• The class will include indoor instruction and a guided walk through the Gardens. Be prepared for the weather with appropriate layers.
• Bring a water bottle, paper, and a pencil/pen.
• Masks are optional. If you are sick, please stay home.

WORKSHOP REGISTRATION
Class size is limited! Registration for this workshop must be completed in advance online. Please note, all workshop fees are non-refundable unless the workshop has been canceled or rescheduled by the Gardens.

Workshop Registration .......................... $25 per participant and includes Gardens admission for the day

Member Workshop Registration ............ $15 per current MCBG Member (verify membership to activate discounted rate)

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS

Johanna Brekke-Brownell loves getting her fingers dirty in the garden. She can be found propagating at the Botanical Gardens on Thursdays or working in her yard on a garden project. She is a Master Gardener and Fort Bragg Garden Club board member. 

Cornelia Reynolds, a lifelong gardener, was once a commercial garlic grower. She has been developing her acre of land as a Certified Wildlife Habitat for the past decade. She is President of the Fort Bragg Garden Club and Chair of Fort Bragg Bee City USA.