Changes in the Native Area

I haven't mentioned the Native Area on this blog before because... well, it changes so often that it's kind of hard to keep up with. I won't go into details, but basically it was dug, swamped, dug, irrigated, dug, flooded, mowed flat, and now dug again. It's constantly changing, but I think it's starting to take a form that so beautiful, I have to show it off!

Our native garden is comprised of native California plants and trees. We never have to water the area since it's all native and does pretty well on its own. One day, when I figure out what all the trees and plants are, I'll repost details for those of you who are interested. Right now, though, Lisa Novick, a great volunteer from the Theodore Payne Foundation, comes in every Friday and teaches two 1-hour long classes on the native vegetation. I sat in and learned more about CA plants than I ever knew before.

Our new covered teaching area in the Native garden. This is picture shows less than half of the actual size.

Also, that's not our full pond. It's our pond in the making. Lisa leading an experiment on the rate of evaporation with water and oil.

A class you want to sit in on.

Fully prepared instructor and a captivated audience.

Did you know this? Fascinating!

The students begin observing and classifying native leaves.

Lisa's such a great instructor and I believe the students (and myself!) are going to learn tons about native California plant life.

BTW, no one can ever accuse Nat of not working hard. He lugged bales of hay and tons of large tree stumps across the school yard for the students to sit on. Here's proof!