CALIFORNIA NATIVE
AN INDEPENDENT BOTANICAL PROJECT
MY WORK
For every plant identified on California Native, there is a full gallery of photos which I took over years of hiking and exploring. Check out the identification pages to see more!
SUSTAINABILITY
Native plants are the backbones of their ecosystems: they provide food and shelter to wildlife, stabilize the ground with their root systems, control temperature with their canopies, purify water with their roots, clean the air with their leaves. The services they provide to the environment — and us — are crucial. To elucidate the importance of native plants to environmental sustainability, every native plant on the site has an informational section detailing its "Ecological Role."
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To learn more about how native plants can be used to restore habitats and tackle growing climate issues including wildfires, droughts, and mudslides, check out the Sustainability tab. If you are interested in helping end these environmental issues, go to the 'Get Involved' page, where you can learn about different volunteer organizations that use native plants to solve real world climate problems.
USES OF NATIVE PLANTS
For thousands of years, native plants have been an integral part of human life. They were and are used to make food and medicine, heat and light, shelter and tools. They are critical resources, environmental assets and culturally significant species.
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To highlight native plants' expansive influence on human history, every identified plant has a section on its historical uses, primarily by Californian Native American peoples. In sharing the the historical uses — as well as the ongoing uses — of native plants, I hope not just to inform people of native plants' importance, but to inspire people to truly care about the diverse native plant ecosystems all around them.
SUSTAINABILITY
Native plants are the backbones of their ecosystems: they provide food and shelter to wildlife, stabilize the ground with their root systems, control temperature with their canopies, purify water with their roots, clean the air with their leaves. The services they provide to the environment — and us — are crucial. To elucidate the importance of native plants to environmental sustainability, every native plant on the site has an informational section detailing its "Ecological Role."
​
To learn more about how native plants can be used to restore habitats and tackle growing climate issues including wildfires, droughts, and mudslides, check out the Sustainability tab. If you are interested in helping end these environmental issues, go to the 'Get Involved' page, where you can learn about different volunteer organizations that use native plants to solve real world climate problems.
California Native, 2022.