Cheryl Birker speaks about Seed LA.

Seed LA is a Conze Grant recipient whom we previously heard from in early 2020.  They will be giving an update at our March 7th meeting on the important work being done by the collaborative that has occurred since they last presented.  This is a milestone report for SeedLA - one phase of the project is ending, but the SeedLA program continues on. There are some great projects in the works that will be shared, and continued funding sources are being pursued.

Seed LA is a collaborative of seven established non-profit organizations that are united in an effort to enhance ecosystem resilience in the greater Los Angeles region. The main focus of their work is to develop and provide a reliable source of locally adaptable native seed for use in landscape restoration projects by public and private entities, and to encourage public support for use of regional native seed in these projects.The scope of their mission is challenging given the highly urbanized, fragmented, geographically complex, and jurisdictionally-complicated nature of the Greater LA region. Also, despite the fact that many regional initiatives call for local native plants in projects, there are no regulatory mechanisms that currently exist to require the use of regionally adapted native plant materials for public and private projects including: parks, storm water mitigation, highways, road medians, and major landscape scale restoration projects. As such, Seed LA recognize that there is a benefit to collaborative approach and building upon the resources, experience, expertise of multiple partner organizations.Their partners are dedicated to the stewardship of biodiversity and include: Audubon Center at Debs Park (ACDP), Grown in LA (GILA), National Park Service (NPS), Northeast Trees (NET), Palos Verdes Land Conservancy (PVPLC), California Botanic Garden(CBG), and Theodore Payne Foundation (TPF).