Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

If you envision a world where every person understands the interdependency between people and plants and you're ready to act to preserve this precious natural world, we want to hear from you. The Garden is currently hiring for five full-time positions across several departments. Explore our available positions and apply today: https://bit.ly/3Hi91zI 🌿 Applied Conservation Ecologist: In this position, you’ll work with the Conservation Director and rest of the Ecology Team to implement, communicate, and design restoration ecology projects at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. 🌿 Donor Relations Manager: $3.1M of Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s $8.2M in annual revenue comes from donations and memberships. Overseen by the Development Director and reporting to the Sr. Donor Relations Manager, this donor-focused, full-time (40 hours) exempt position is at the center of securing funds for our essential conservation mission. 🌿 Director of Finance: The Director of Finance is a strategic, hands-on accounting specialist and financial analyst, providing dynamic support and guidance to the Executive Director, department directors, managers, and the Board of Trustees. 🌿 Plant Genomics Lab Manager: In this position, you will support the Garden’s Biodiversity Team by maintaining laboratory facilities and managing their use by research scientists, staff, and volunteers. You will participate in Biodiversity Team research activities and occasionally collaborate on projects with other staff of the Conservation and Research Department. 🌿 Rare Plant Technician 1: The Rare Plant Technician is part of a close-knit team that is focused on conserving California’s rare plants. In this position, you will assist with a range of field, lab, and office work supporting the inventory, conservation, and restoration of California’s flora.

It's thought provoking, it's witty, it's engaging & educational — it's Ironwood Issue 35! The digital edition of our latest Ironwood, the Garden’s bi-annual magazine, is now available online. Issue 35 features an eclectic mix of short stories, history, scientific discovery, and even poetry. Written by our dedicated team and respected contributors, each article offers a unique perspective on why native plants are critical to the health of our planet – and ourselves! Take a peek at a few of the highlights from this issue, and stay tuned for an in-depth exploration of the rest of the edition. Whether you’re a long-time reader or newly joining us, this issue promises to delight. Read Ironwood Issue 35 here: https://lnkd.in/gbXggKCD.

From a private day trip to Santa Cruz Island to an exclusive birthday party in the Backcountry to VIP Beer Garden tickets, we’ve got something for everyone. In conjunction with our Forage & Feast fundraiser, we're offering one-of-a-kind auction items to support our Plant With Purpose initiative. This initiative is dedicated to healing and protecting the planet, ensuring a better future for generations to come. Carrying out our mission to conserve native plants and habitats is made possible only through the generosity of our supporters. We are so thankful to have such an amazing community that loves the Garden, the people behind it, and most of all, California's native plants. We can't wait to get to know more of you through these special experiences. Explore all our available experiences and place your bid here: https://bit.ly/3zMsJTn Auction ends on July 27, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. PST.

We're growing the Garden team! The Garden is looking for talented and passionate individuals to join us in advocating for native plants and habitats. We are currently seeking: Restoration Field Manager | As the Restoration Field Manager, you’ll lead the implementation of habitat restoration and research projects. You’ll work together with the rest of the Garden’s Ecology Team and our project partners to design and implement projects that help make restoration more effective. Applied Conservation Ecologist | As the Applied Conservation Ecologist, you’ll work with the Conservation Director and the rest of the Ecology Team to implement, communicate, and design restoration ecology projects. Rare Plant Technician 2 | As a Rare Plant Technician Level 2, you'll assist with a wide range of field, lab, and office work supporting the conservation of California’s rare flora. Communications Coordinator | As the Communications Coordinator, you’ll help us continue to engage and grow our community of supporters – from our staff, volunteers, members, and donors, to everyday visitors, partners, and future collaborators – using traditional and emerging channels of communication. Guest Services Associate | As the Guest Services Associate, you'll be the first point of contact for our visitors. You'll perform a variety of visitor-focused tasks to build and strengthen relationships with the public and improve understanding and support of our mission. Join our dynamic team and make a difference in a beautiful environment that fosters growth and learning. Learn more about our open positions here: https://lnkd.in/gmxaJhJ8 📷 Christopher Smee, @nativeglendalegarden

The Garden is thrilled to announce the official opening of our first 2024 Casita, "Spinning Petals," designed by Los Angeles-based writer and artist Robyn Coburn. Inspired by the wind, Coburn's dynamic collection features freestanding fabric structures resembling petals and leaves. When designing the Casita, Coburn envisioned an interactive space full of movement. She wanted a whimsical structure where wind and water could dance through, and children could play and explore. Each petal, made from hemp fabric, showcases a different artistic medium, including paint, turmeric and avocado skin dye, embroidery, beading, and more. Coburn experimented extensively to find environmentally friendly materials. The influence of California native plants is woven into each petal, with details like embroidered Latin names and stamps traced from bay leaves. We invite children and adults alike to come explore this interactive space and let their imaginations come to life. Thank you, Robyn, for creating such a colorful, dynamic, and magical structure that is sure to inspire joy and wonder. Come check it out! @Robyn Coburn

Congratulations to our May CNPLC graduating class! Another cohort has successfully completed our California Native Plant Landscaper Certification job training course, ready to become leaders in the evolving central coast landscaping industry. Over the past four weeks, these individuals have worked closely with Horticulture Educator Alejandro Lemus, mastering the skills needed to successfully manage native plants and create California-friendly landscapes. Programs like this are part of our educational initiatives, designed to equip individuals with the knowledge necessary to ensure biodiversity thrives across California. We’re incredibly proud of our recent graduates and the positive changes they will bring to backyards across California. We hope you’ll join us as we continue to grow our community of native plant advocates, landscaping professionals, and home gardeners. You can learn more about CNPLC and our upcoming sessions here: https://bit.ly/4aggOes

This Kangaroo Rat has been caught red-handed! Have you ever wondered what 'field season' entails for our conservation team? It’s the time of year when our conservationists are actively conducting research and monitoring projects in the field. Each year, they discover fascinating and often unexpected 'Field Finds'. For years, Senior Rare Plant Conservationist Heather Schneider has observed that something has been snacking on the rare and endangered California Jewelflower (Caulanthus californicus). As part of a larger research project tracking the life cycle of the California Jewelflower, Heather and Rare Plant Technician Matt Wang placed wildlife cameras at three locations in Carrizo Plain National Monument. To their surprise, the footage revealed an unexpected culprit: the rare and endangered Kangaroo Rat! This was an unusual discovery, as kangaroo rats are generally known as granivores, primarily consuming seeds. Not only are both the Jewelflower and Kangaroo Rat federally listed as endangered, but this is also the first recorded instance of their interaction. Moreover, the giant kangaroo rat is a crucial prey species for the endangered San Joaquin kit fox. The members of this food web are also connected to other animals in the community – jewelflower is a source of food for pollinators, rattlesnakes and other carnivores eat the kangaroo rat, and coyotes and bobcats prey on the kit fox. So how exactly is an ecosystem affected when an endangered predator consumes an endangered herbivore that feeds on an endangered plant species? While we don’t have all the answers yet, this novel discovery has sparked a much larger collaborative project aimed at studying this fascinating relationship. However, this midnight snacking kangaroo rat has already taught us something important—we must work on protecting entire habitats and their ecological networks. Rare plants play an extremely important role within ecosystems, which is why our conservation team is dedicated to ensuring no native plant goes extinct. These vital ecological connections are fragile, and we must protect all the pieces to keep these intricate relationships intact. Conservation efforts like this are only made possible through the generous support of our donors. By making a donation here https://bit.ly/3KlV9pg, you can help researchers like Heather and Matt continue to protect entire ecosystems. Join us in reaching our $250,000 goal.

Organized and implemented by the Ancient Forest Society and under the attention of the media, the world’s largest tree, General Sherman, was climbed and inspected for beetle activity for the first time on May 21, 2024. Dr. Rikke Reese Næsborg, the Garden’s Tucker Lichenologist and Curator of the Lichenarium, was part of this groundbreaking effort. While ascending the 275-foot tree, she also took the opportunity to study the lichens growing on it. During the climb, the team inspected the 2,200-year-old tree for evidence of bark beetles, an emerging threat to giant sequoias. Although these beetles have coexisted with sequoias for many years, they have only recently begun causing fatal damage. The information gathered from this climb will help researchers understand this sudden ecological change and, hopefully, prevent further damage. Read more at https://lat.ms/4bEaRs4. @Ancient Forest Society 📷 Allison Green Kidder

On Guadalupe Island's rugged offshore islets, Toro and Zapato, lie the only known populations of the spectacular island endemic, Malva lindsayi. Guadalupe Island, the largest of the Baja California Pacific islands, supports a unique flora that is closely tied to the eight California Channel Islands. For years, human activity and feral goats have devastated Guadalupe Island, leaving many of the most spectacular endemic plants surviving only on the inaccessible offshore islets. After years of planning, the Garden, in collaboration with Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas (GECI) and The Nature Conservancy, will embark on an expedition to the southern islets, Toro and Zapato, in the spring of 2025. The goal of this mission is to study and map these rare plant populations, with the aim of preventing their extinction. The multidisciplinary team will count, map, and sample each of the target plant species while also collecting seeds to establish critically important new populations on the main island. Matt Guilliams, the Garden’s Tucker Plant Systematist and Curator of the Clifton Smith Herbarium, has dedicated years to studying island flora. He has long anticipated the day his team will finally set foot on these islets and observe the rare Malva lindsayi firsthand. But accessing these islets is no easy task, and time is running out to save these rare species. Due to strenuous conditions, only one previous botanical expedition has ventured to Islote Toro. Consequently, the flora of the islet remains poorly known, leaving much work to be done. Although Guilliams has made numerous trips to the California Islands, he has only seen the rocky, vertical walls of Toro from afar. The success of this expedition depends on sufficient funds and support, not only for the team's safe arrival but also to maximize the limited time they have to study the plants of these special places. Your support means the world to us — and to the countless species that call the California Islands home. Donate today and help us reach our $250,000 goal by June 1: https://bit.ly/3KlV9pg

This year's International Day of Biodiversity theme is 'Be Part of the Plan'. As a global community, we are dependent on healthy and vibrant ecosystems. Today encourages us to re-examine our relationship with the natural world and the role we play in its preservation. Here at the Garden, we believe that it starts in your own backyard. One of the most direct solutions to our climate and biodiversity crises lies within our ability to harness the regenerative power of native plants. By choosing native plants, you contribute to the unique and ecologically resilient biodiversity of your community. A key part of our mission is to provide our community with the knowledge and tools to plant native species. Today, we encourage you to learn more about the power of native plants through our website resources, horticulture classes, or by visiting the Garden and our nursery. Learn more at https://bit.ly/4dJpoE7. #InternationalDayofBiodiversity 📷 Saxton Holt