Back to Natives Restoration

Connecting the community to habitat restoration through service learning and native plant education.
•Restore open space (private and publicly held land) with
appropriate plant species, while reaching out to the
community through restoration-based education programs and volunteer opportunities.
•Coordinate with land managers to provide
service-learning programs using curriculum aligned with the California state science and social science standards.
•Assist land managers with the recruitment, training and
retaining of volunteers to assist with the task of
restoration and education at their sites.
•Promote native plant gardening to local schools and
public facilities
*Provide Bird and Butterfly Habitat through our Cuesta Kato: Back to Natives Restoration Native Plant Reserve in Dana Point
*Provide an ongoing work-force-development program through our Internship program and through our USFS & Back to Natives Restoration Training Program in Partnership with the Cleveland National Forest

To that end, Back to Natives serves the growing number of land managers in need of restoration services by facilitating dialogue with the community, promoting awareness of and public support for restoration and restorative management; and, of course, bringing about the recovery of damaged ecosystems through ecological restoration!

Back to Natives Restoration has successfully cooperated with City, County, State and Federal Land Managers since 2005, in recruiting, training, and utilizing volunteers in land resource management. With a proven track record of successful restoration projects and governmental agency cooperation, Back to Natives successfully leverages community members in fulfilling short term and long term habitat restoration goals while providing extensive educational and service learning opportunities. Through our work-force development program our Internships are specifically focused on different aspects of the major goals. In this manner, educational and professional Interns have the opportunity to earn real world experience in the field of their major studies or professional interests. Back to Natives has demonstrated its dedication to the fruition of project goals and educating the community on 'why' we perform habitat restoration and propagate native plants for use in landscapes as well as our restoration sites. The Back to Natives Intern work force development program sees 10-20 participants annually leaning real-life professional skills while using their education in the field. We have a long term volunteer base of over 100 volunteers from various professions and fields, and regularly enjoys the assistance of 1-2,000 volunteers per year, either as one-time events, or repeat volunteer event experiences, showing the community is supportive of Back to Natives' goals and mission.

2006-2010 Caspers Wilderness Park Oak Savannah Restoration Project
 2006-2012 Jeronimo Creek Riparian Scrub Mitigation Project California Fish and Game certified complete and successful 6/5/2012
 2007- 2011 Mason Regional Park Habitat Restoration Project
 2008-2009 Santiago and Poomacha Fire Recovery Habitat Assessment and Weed Survey , became #8 to have seen Santiago Peak Phacelia, Phacelia souvelons keckii in the wild! Dozens of rare and endangered plants catalogued with many documented for the first time in OC.
 2010 Heritage Museum of Orange County restoration effort
 2010-present Elsinore Peak Star Thistle Removal Project - 3 miles along South Main Divide
 2010-present Santiago Creek Habitat Restoration Project
 2011-present San Mateo Wilderness Italian Thistle Removal Project
2011-present Back to Natives Nursery @ Santiago Park
2015-Present Back to Natives Restoration Native Plant Reserve at Cuesta Kato
Awards
 2008 BTN receives Land Steward of the Year award from Orange County Wild
 November 2009 BTN receives the Excellence in Volunteerism Award from County of Orange
 April 2011 Reginald and BTN receive Certificate of Recognition and 2011 Community Building Award Friend of the Environment from City of Santa Ana
 April 2011 Reginald and BTN receive Certificate of Recognition and 2011 Community Building Award Friend of the Environment from County of Orange
 April 2011 Reginald and BTN receive Certificate of Recognition and 2011 Community Building Award Friend of the Environment from California Legislature Assembly
 April 2011 Reginald and BTN receive Certificate of Recognition and 2011 Community Building Award Friend of the Environment from State of California Senate
 April 2011 Reginald and BTN receive Certificate of Recognition and 2011 Community Building Award Friend of the Environment from The United States House of Representatives, Congressional Recognition.
 November 2011 BTN receives Certificate of Recognition for achievement at the BTN Nursery @ Santiago Park
 2012 BTN receives Environmental Non Profit of the Year award from Orange County League of Conservation Voters
 2012 BTN recognized by California Legislature Assembly for Environmental Non Profit of the Year Award