The Gottlieb Native Garden plays host to wildlife in all its beauty, at the grandest and tiniest of scales. It provides an example of what every one of us can accomplish by prioritizing nature.  A National Wildlife Federation-certified Backyard Wildlife Habitat, it is brimming with nature yet located less than a mile from the busy streets of Beverly Hills. Her garden attracts so many hummingbirds that it has become a major research site for Dr. Lisa Tell, director of the UC Davis Hummingbird Health and Conservation Program. Susan Gottlieb, the dedicated environmentalist who created the garden believes we could save the world if we all understood the power of native plants. This is her story, as well as a larger one: the story of how to restore natural habitat and protect biodiversity with simple, individual actions.

Susan will be joined by Scott Logan, The Gottlieb Native Garden’s naturalist. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Scott knows California’s native wildlife intimately. Even though he has traveled the world in the pursuit of the pristine, Southern California’s wildlife has, and will always be, his anchor to the natural world, with The Gottlieb Native Garden his favorite living laboratory. 

After the event, the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden and School of Veterinary Medicine invite attendees to stay for a dessert reception. Complimentary copies of her book, The Gottlieb Native Garden: A California Love Story, will be available to lecture attendees. Suggested donation of $20 per book will benefit the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden and the UC Davis Hummingbird Health and Conservation Program. Both the event and parking in the Putah Creek Lodge parking lot are free. For more information, please call (530) 752-4880.

Learn more: Inspiration for California native habitat restoration