Climate Action and Sustainability

Willow Springs Native Plant Nursery

Our native plant nursery is located at Willow Springs Park in Long Beach. The nursery grows a variety of California coastal sage scrub plants to support our efforts to restore native habitat in the restoration area. We are also working towards growing native plants for sale to supply our local gardens and residential landscaping, but retail sales are currently unavailable. By growing native plants, you provide habitat for local wildlife, birds, butterflies and other beneficial pollinators. Native plants are best adapted to local climate as well as climate change and they save water in landscaping. Together as a community we can make efforts to protect local wildlife and grow native plants.

Join us at a Native Plant Workshop to learn more and participate in 90 minutes of volunteering in the habitat restoration area after each workshop. Parking is available at 2710 California Avenue next to the Farm Lot 59 Farm Stand. Overflow parking is available on the other side of the park at 2755 Orange Avenue. View the map and instructions on how to find us.

Native Plant Workshops

In person workshops are on hold until further notice to prevent any potential spread of COVID-19. Join us for our virtual workshops instead. 

Get Notified of Upcoming Workshops 

Email us at sustainability@longbeach.gov to sign up for email notifications of upcoming workshops. Please specificy if you would like to be notified of Native Plant Workshops, Edible Garden Workshops, or both. 

Check out our virtual workshop playlist on Facebook to view all virtual sustainability workshop videos. 

Previous Workshops

Exploring Natives and Pollinators
In this short video we share the importance of native plant habitat and the fauna that depend on them. We talk about butterflies, birds and we even take a quick glance at what is an understory. Watch the video on Facebook and Instagram TV. 

Getting to Know Encelia Californica
Join us this spring as we explore our Coastal Sage Scrub habitat in a new series, Getting to Know Your Natives. We will highlight one plant in each workshop, including planting tips, basic botany, relationship building, and simple ways to incorporate them into your moments of joy. This March, join us as we get to know California Bush Sunflower or Encelia Californica. Watch the video on Facebook and InstagramTV.

Fall Planting Basics
Fall is here and we are excited to share with you some of the native plants you can grow. We will talk annual wildflowers, purchasing native plants, and we will demonstrate a planting of mugwort up at Longview Point! We hope these basics will encourage you to incorporate natives into your landscaping or garden. Watch the video on Facebook and Instagram TV. 

What Makes a Naturalist
In this workshop we explore all the different ways you can be a naturalist and how you can learn from the plants around you. Watch the video on Facebook or Instagram TV.

Native Plant Seed Saving Basics
Learn the basics of saving native plant seeds, including seed collecting, cleaning and storing. Watch the workshop video on Facebook or Instagram TV.

Native Plant Diversity in Urban Settings
In this three-part conversation with special guest Timothy Jones, we discuss connecting to the land in urban settings and we explore different ways we can encourage our youth to venture outdoors and become stewards of the land. Watch the videos on Facebook or Instagram TV. 

Native Plant Container Gardening
Explore the possibilities of growing and tending to native plants in containers with the digital Native Plant Container Gardening workshop. Watch the video on Facebook or Instagram TV. 

Native Plant Propagation
View the digital Native Plant Propagation workshop video on Facebook or Instagram TV and learn how to propagate native plants through divisions, rhizomes, and planting seeds.