Want to smell the sun-dried sweetness of summertime? Want to feel the crunch of crispy golden brown pods?  Come and refresh your senses while giving back to Nature! Absolutely no experience required.

Sign up to help behind the scenes at the Irvine Ranch Conservancy’s one-of-a-kind Native Seed Farm in Irvine.  You will be harvesting seeds from our quirky native Summer wildflowers, like Yellow Pincushions and Heart-leaved Beard Tongue. Just bring a reusable water bottle for yourself,  and all tools and training with be provided.  You will get introduced to some of our beautiful native plants, and then we’ll get to work!

Led by Laguna Canyon Foundation in partnership with OC Parks. Join us at our native plant nursery as we care for native plants from their seed stage to their mature, ready-to-be planted stage. Volunteers may collect seeds, sow seeds in flats, bump plants up, plant at restoration sites, sterilize plan containers, and/or help maintain the facilities for the plants. Gain hands-on experience with habitat restoration while working alongside other zany and interesting plant lovers! Online reservations required are: www.lagunacanyon.org/activities. For questions, call 949-497-8324.

Thank you for the photo’s that you taking, it is a wonderful way to monitor the progress of the farm!

Margie Kim: 9/28/2016 – 1.0: Total Hours: 1.0

Do a good deed, get a dose of Nature, and learn about the plants around you, all at once! Come experience the cool mornings and the spicy aromas of a California autumn while working with us at our one-of-a-kind Native Seed Farm in Irvine. Absolutely no experience or special equipment required.

You will be harvesting seeds from robust native fall wildflowers and bushes— things like California Buckwheat and our iconic Sagebrush. Check here for details on the difficultly rating of this Level 1 Stewardship activity. 

Birds and other wildlife need healthy habitat to thrive. Simple things like weeding and watering can greatly improve habitat for wildlife. You can be part of that positive impact while enjoying the beauty of Buck Gully near Newport Beach. This activity takes place on sloped terrain and sturdy hiking boots are highly recommended. All training, tools, and gloves will be provided to ensure your safety and comfort. Rattlesnakes are occasionally seen here and generally avoid people, but protective gear will be provided.

Reviewing the 1-through-5 Difficulty Ratings will help you evaluate your readiness to participate in this level-3 activity on the land.

Are you a nature lover, hiker, gardener, or just want to get outside and enjoy the fresh air? Does the idea of adopting a canyon across four seasons and being part of a longer term project interest you? Please come help Irvine Ranch Conservancy restore local habitat, native plants and wildlife so they may thrive in Agua Chinon.

Reviewing the 1-through-5 Difficulty Ratings will help you evaluate your readiness to participate in this level-3 activity on the land.

Do a good deed, get a dose of Nature, and learn about the plants around you, all at once! Come experience the cool mornings and the spicy aromas of a California autumn while working with us at our one-of-a-kind Native Seed Farm in Irvine. Absolutely no experience or special equipment required.

You will be harvesting seeds from robust native fall wildflowers and bushes— things like California Buckwheat and our iconic Sagebrush. Reviewing the 1-through-5 Difficulty Ratings will help you evaluate your readiness to participate in this level-1 activity on the land. 

Join Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve staff and volunteers in enhancing the Bay’s habitat for local wildlife. Activities may include non-native plant removal, planting natives, watering, trash cleanup, and Butterfly Garden maintenance. No experience is necessary; please bring hat, sunscreen, snacks, etc. Water and tools are provided.

• Space is limited and pre-registration is required.
• Minors ages 16 and younger must have legal guardian present at all times.
• Rain or heat advisories cancel event.

California native grasslands are a disappearing habitat that is home to many unique and endangered plants and animals. Please join Irvine Ranch Conservancy staff and volunteers for an opportunity to participate in a hands-on habitat restoration activity.  Come join the team and help native plants and wildlife so they may thrive in West Loma.

Reviewing the 1-through-5 Difficulty Ratings will help you evaluate your readiness to participate in this level-4 activity on the land.

Please join us at the Community Stewardship Native Plant Nursery located at the Quail Hill Trailhead in Irvine. This month, help us to propagate native grassland plant species by planting seeds into containers. We will be working within the nursery compound off of the trailhead parking lot. This is a unique opportunity to help start native plants right at the same location they will be planted. Your work at the nursery will help to enhance the native habitat – directly benefiting the local wildlife!

Reviewing the 1-through-5 Difficulty Ratings will help you evaluate your readiness to participate in this level-1 activity on the land.

Do a good deed, get a dose of Nature, and learn about the plants around you, all at once! Come experience the cool mornings and the spicy aromas of a California autumn while working with us at our one-of-a-kind Native Seed Farm in Irvine. Absolutely no experience or special equipment required.

You will be harvesting seeds from robust native fall wildflowers and bushes— things like California Buckwheat and our iconic Sagebrush. Reviewing the 1-through-5 Difficulty Ratings will help you evaluate your readiness to participate in this level-1 activity on the land.

Birds and other wildlife need healthy habitat to thrive. Simple things like weeding and watering can greatly improve habitat for wildlife. You can be part of that positive impact while enjoying the beauty of Newport Bay and Big Canyon. All training, tools, and gloves will be provided to ensure your safety and comfort. Note that this activity is held on the 2nd Thursday of each month.

Reviewing the 1-through-5 Difficulty Ratings will help you evaluate your readiness to participate in this level-3 activity on the land.

Come on out and help restore the wild lands we so enjoy! There’s no better way to start a Saturday morning than by joining Laguna Canyon Foundation and OC Parks staff in an invigorating project of non-native plant removal and/or planting native plants. Help us make a healthier environment for the native wildlife and for ourselves. Little Sycamore Canyon Staging Area/Nix Nature Center (west side of Laguna Canyon Rd/SR-133, approximately 3.5 miles south of I-5/405). Online reservations required: www.lagunacanyon.org/activities. For questions, call: 949-497-8324. Parking: free for Keep It Wild Volunteers!

Do a good deed, get a dose of Nature, and learn about the plants around you, all at once! Come experience the cool mornings and the spicy aromas of a California autumn while working with us at our one-of-a-kind Native Seed Farm in Irvine. Absolutely no experience or special equipment required.

You will be harvesting seeds from robust native fall wildflowers and bushes— things like California Buckwheat and our iconic Sagebrush. Reviewing the 1-through-5 Difficulty Ratings will help you evaluate your readiness to participate in this level-1 activity on the land.

Help improve native habitat at Peters Canyon Regional Park by remove non-native invasive plants, which steal light, water and nutrients from native species. Please bring sunscreen, drinking water, light snacks, and gloves, and wear a hat and closed-toe shoes.

Led by Laguna Canyon Foundation in partnership with OC Parks. Join us at our native plant nursery as we care for native plants from their seed stage to their mature, ready-to-be planted stage. Volunteers may collect seeds, sow seeds in flats, bump plants up, plant at restoration sites, sterilize plan containers, and/or help maintain the facilities for the plants. Gain hands-on experience with habitat restoration while working alongside other zany and interesting plant lovers! Online reservations required are: www.lagunacanyon.org/activities. For questions, call 949-497-8324.

Join Irvine Ranch Conservancy Land Stewards in hunting down and removing invasive woody plants like castor bean, tree tobacco, tamarisk, and Spanish broom from Santiago Creek. These plants invade stream beds and take water and space from native plants and wildlife. Volunteers have helped to restore Santiago Creek by removing most of these weeds over the last years. But we need to return every year to make sure that they don’t come back! We will be working in rocky stream beds and on uneven terrain and will use various tools to extract and treat plants. Wear sturdy shoes, sun protection and be ready for some serious searching and vigorous work, depending on how many weeds we find. Training, tools, gloves, and chaps will be provided. Activity will involve bending, stooping, kneeling, and pulling.

Leave your park better than you found it! Join Irvine Ranch Conservancy staff during monthly habitat stewardship activities at Santiago Oaks Regional Park, aimed at keeping the park’s habitat healthy. Identified in collaboration with the Park Rangers that patrol the trails everyday, stewardship projects can include planting to combat the effects of hiking, biking and riding off-trail, removing invasive plant species that threaten to crowd out the diversity of native plants, and more!

No previous experience is needed, however please note that we will be hiking at least one mile up a steep trail (Oak Trail and Bumble Bee Trail) to reach our planting site, and then back down upon conclusion of the activity.

Reviewing the 1-through-5 Difficulty Ratings will help you evaluate your readiness to participate in this level-4 activity on the land.

The Tecate Cypress is a rare species found only in southern California and northern Baja California. Unfortunately, the northern most population in the Santa Ana Mountains is in severe decline due to too-frequent wildfires. In effort to protect this rare species, locally genetic trees have been planted in Fremont Canyon, in close proximity to the staging area. Join us as we deeply water and weed around the young trees. Your work will ensure the newly-planted Tecate has all they need to thrive, and will directly help the effort to ensure the persistence of this unique forest community here in Orange County!

Reviewing the 1-through-5 Difficulty Ratings will help you evaluate your readiness to participate in this level-2 activity on the land.