Get The Facts...Going Native Makes Sense!
Did you know?
- 20% of California's energy consumption is for moving and treating water.
- Up to 70% of residential water goes to watering landscaping in our county.
- Our landscaping is predominantly non-native tropicals and invasive species that consume on average seven times more water than our native plants.
- Non-native plants need fertilizers, unlike our native plants that evolved in our local soil.
- The abundant use of fertilizers is a huge source of pollution in Santa Monica Bay.
- Landscaping with native plants doesn't cost more, and can even reduce maintenance costs.
- We've lost 90% of our native songbird and butterfly populations in the last fifty years. This is no coincidence. A primary food source for most of these bird species is butterfly caterpillars. Nearly all the native butterfly populations can only eat the native plants.
L.A. Native is a coalition that got MTA to increase the percentage of native plants on the Expo Line from under 1% to over 90%
LA Native began when Palms Neighborhood Council (PNC) transportation advocate Charles Miller realized there was little overlap between groups of people who are advocating for more sustainable landscaping choices and people advocating for more sustainable transportation choices, even though the goals of the two groups are generally complementary.
Now their focus is to see all public spaces landscaped exclusively with California natives and to get natives promoted by programs like WaterWise and the LADWP Lawn Replacement rebate. They are working to educate people that there is no such thing as a "California Friendly" non-native plant, and other than edibles the path to sustainability requires that we use natives in landscaping.
It’s time to start making better choices for a sustainable urban environment. Please stop by on Sunday and have a chat.
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