Learn and play at California Botanic Garden & Sustainable Claremont's
Native plant festival
Saturday, March 29, 2025
10 AM - 3 PM
Explore, learn, and connect at the Native Plant Festival at California Botanic Garden! This free, family-friendly event celebrates California’s incredible biodiversity and highlights how we can all make a difference to protect and restore the landscapes around us. Join dozens of regional nonprofits, landscapers, and agencies for info on native plant landscaping, wildlands conservation and restoration, crafts, music, storytime, food, and more!
The festival features:
The festival features:
- FREE ADMISSION to California Botanic Garden on Saturday, March 29th. Note: As of Wednesday, March 26, advance ticket reservations for the Native Plant Festival are sold out. Walkup tickets will be available based on event capacity - entrance may be delayed dependent on venue crowding.
- Fun and informative exhibitor booths featuring local nonprofits and agencies including: Chino Basin Water Conservation District, CNPS San Gabriel Mountains, Tree People, Day One & Safe Clean Water Program, Greywater Corps, Theodore Payne Foundation, Claremont Wilderness Park, Lopez Urban Farm, Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy, Descanso Gardens, Active SGV, Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians, and Eaton Canyon Nature Center.
- Area landscapers specializing in native and drought tolerant design, including: Natural Earth, Architerra Design Group, Cedar and Steel Landscapes, and Noe Cardenas/Arbor World.
- Mini-workshops on native plant landscaping featuring CalBG experts (see schedule below).
- Family-friendly storytime and craft stations.
- Talks and tours on native plant ecology, conservation, and restoration (see schedule below).
- Live musical performances curated by Living Earth. Performers include: Mutual Benefit, Nighttime, Sonoda, and Barry Archie Johnson (see schedule below).
- Food for sale: Food trucks (Crepes Bonaparte and The Tropic Truck).
- A vendor market featuring plant-oriented artists and artisans, including: Sarah Demoteverde Art, Seniman Calligraphy, Sierra Honey, Lizz Redd Glass, Wild Vessel, MyArtTable by Esther, and LA is Not a Desert.
- California native plants available for purchase at the Grow Native Nursery.
- Raffle prizes including nursery gift certificates, CalBG merch, and much more!
SCHEDULE OF TIMED EVENTS
Schedule subject to change (times and topics of landscaping workshops coming soon!):
10:00 AM: Environmental Music in the Cultivar Garden
10:30 AM: Intro to Native Plants Talk
What is a native plant anyway?
10:45 AM: Landscaping Workshop: Top 10 Waterwise Native Plants
11:00 AM: Herbarium Tour
Behind the scenes in CalBG's library of pressed plants
11:00 AM: Music: Nighttime
11:15 AM: Landscaping Workshop: Choosing Native Plants for Every Garden Space
11:30 AM: Restoration Nursery Tour
Behind the scenes with the team that produces tens of thousands of native plants each year for habitat restoration projects across the region.
12:00 PM: Seedbanking for Native Plant Conservation Talk
Learn more about how seeds power conservation efforts with CalBG's Seed Conservation Program Manager Cheryl Birker.
12:00 PM: Landscaping Workshop: Top Ten Waterwise Native Plants
12:00 PM: Music: Sonoda
12:30 PM: Herbarium Tour
12:45 PM: Landscaping Workshop: Gardening for Butterflies and Caterpillars
1:00 PM: Restoration Nursery Tour
1:00 PM: Music: Mutual Benefit
1:30PM: Flowers & Trees Story Time
Gather 'round for nature stories.
1:30 PM: Panel Discussion on the Ecology of Fire in Southern California Join Naomi Fraga, Joseph Algiers, and Loralee Larios for expert perspectives on the benefits and risks of wildfires in a changing climate.
2:00 PM: Music: Barry Archie Johnson
2:15AM: Landscaping Workshop: Choosing Native Plants for Every Garden Space
10:00 AM: Environmental Music in the Cultivar Garden
10:30 AM: Intro to Native Plants Talk
What is a native plant anyway?
10:45 AM: Landscaping Workshop: Top 10 Waterwise Native Plants
11:00 AM: Herbarium Tour
Behind the scenes in CalBG's library of pressed plants
11:00 AM: Music: Nighttime
11:15 AM: Landscaping Workshop: Choosing Native Plants for Every Garden Space
11:30 AM: Restoration Nursery Tour
Behind the scenes with the team that produces tens of thousands of native plants each year for habitat restoration projects across the region.
12:00 PM: Seedbanking for Native Plant Conservation Talk
Learn more about how seeds power conservation efforts with CalBG's Seed Conservation Program Manager Cheryl Birker.
12:00 PM: Landscaping Workshop: Top Ten Waterwise Native Plants
12:00 PM: Music: Sonoda
12:30 PM: Herbarium Tour
12:45 PM: Landscaping Workshop: Gardening for Butterflies and Caterpillars
1:00 PM: Restoration Nursery Tour
1:00 PM: Music: Mutual Benefit
1:30PM: Flowers & Trees Story Time
Gather 'round for nature stories.
1:30 PM: Panel Discussion on the Ecology of Fire in Southern California Join Naomi Fraga, Joseph Algiers, and Loralee Larios for expert perspectives on the benefits and risks of wildfires in a changing climate.
2:00 PM: Music: Barry Archie Johnson
2:15AM: Landscaping Workshop: Choosing Native Plants for Every Garden Space
IMPORTANT EVENT INFO
- Advance, timed ticket reservations highly recommended. Please plan to arrive during your half-hour scheduled arrival time. Entrance for late arrivals is subject to event capacity. Limited walk-up tickets will be available on the day of the event subject to event capacity.
- Parking is free but availability will be highly impacted by the Festival. Please consider taking public transportation or riding your bike to the Festival (convenient bike parking will be available). Parking is available in the main CalBG lot, on North College Ave. (north of Foothill Blvd.), and in adjacent labeled lots as directed. Please follow all posted signs and parking attendant instructions during the event.
- CalBG asks visitors to leave pets, drones, and other prohibited items at home. Trained service dogs are permitted in the Garden. Please stay on Garden paths at all times - walking through plant areas and climbing trees endangers our invaluable Living Collection.
available parking
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