Island Restoration

Bring Back Native Plants

The goal is to re-establish native plants and ecosystems through seed farming and large-scale seeding, which will support wildlife, build a more resilient Island and reduce fire risk.

Action Plans to Bring Back Native Plants

Native plants provide essential habitat for wildlife and crowd out invasive grasses that fuel dangerous blazes. They are nature’s best firefighters. Evergreen leaves capture moisture from fog, roots stabilize soil and shelter seeds, and many species rebound quickly after fire.

Our Approach

We’re rebuilding Catalina’s natural defenses by bringing native plants back to the landscape to help restore ecosystems. That includes strategic seed collection, seed farming, reducing invasive grasses that crowd them out, and landscape-scale seed planting timed with seasonal rains.

ACTION PLANS

COLLECTING NATIVE SEEDS

We plant with purpose, using seed adapted to this Island.

hand holding seeds

  • We collect wild seeds directly from Catalina’s native plants, ensuring the plants we reintroduce are adapted to this unique environment.
  • We use direct seeding because it is the cost effective way to restore native plant communities at landscape scale.
  • A diverse, locally collected seed mix lets natural processes take over to allow the most successful species to survive for that site.
  • Each species is collected at the right moment in its lifecycle, using careful, ethical practices that protect native plant populations.

FARMING AND PROCESSING SEEDS

Seeds are cleaned, stored or multiplied for future use.

Native plants nursery

  • Native seed is cleaned, dried and tested to ensure they’re healthy and viable.
  • Some species of seed don’t store well, so they’re planted right away.
  • Others are farmed and grown off-Island to produce more seed for future years.
  • This allows us to scale up native plantings while protecting rare and slow-growing species.

PLANTING NATIVE SEED

We plant when the Island is ready and adjust based on what works.

Native plants nursery

  • We apply seeds using the method that best fits the terrain: broadcast, hydroseeding, drill seeding or even seed balls in delicate areas.
  • Seeding is timed with seasonal rains to give native seedlings the best chance to germinate and survive.
  • We monitor the results and adjust the seed mix or method if necessary, because restoring nature isn’t a one-size-fits-all process.