Explore, learn, and connect at California Botanic Garden & Sustainable Claremont's
Native plant festival
Saturday, March 28, 2026
10 AM - 3 PM
RESERVE YOUR TICKETS
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 28th
($5 suggested donation to support CalBG's education and conservation programs). - Fun and informative exhibitor booths featuring local nonprofits and agencies, including*:
City of Claremont Park Rangers, Friends of the LA River, San Gabriel Valley Mosquito & Vector Control District, Santa Ana Regional Water Board, Eaton Canyon Nature Center Associates, Day One / Fire Safe Foothills, TreePeople, Chino Basin Water Conservation District, Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy, California Native Horticultural Foundation, Santa Monica Mountains Fund, The Xerces Society, Rivers & Lands Conservancy, LA County Public Works, Altadena Seed Library, Lopez Urban Farm, California Native Plant Society Riverside/San Bernardino Chapter, Sierra Club San Gorgonio Chapter Los Serranos Group, Inland Empire Waterkeeper, Friends of the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park, LA Master Gardeners, Golden State Water Company, and San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians Gabrieleno/Tongva. - Area landscapers specializing in native and drought tolerant design, including:
Cedar and Steel Landscapes, Architerra Design Group, Jonescape, Natural Earth - Mini-workshops on native plant landscaping featuring CalBG experts.
- Family-friendly storytime and craft stations.
- Live musical performances curated by Living Earth (schedule coming soon!), including:
Paul Livingstone & Alma Cielo, Diego Gaeta & V Ontiveros, Alex Wand & Nelle June Anderson, and Two Point (Sharada Shashidhar & Caleb Buchanan). - Food and drink for sale, including Word of Mouth Vegan Food Truck, Crepes Bonaparte Food Truck, and Marigold Coffee Collective.
- A nature-themed artisan market with vendors including*:
Quiet Quail Books, Seniman Calligraphy, Kathie Studio, Wild Vessel, Squirrel Bait Ceramics, Lizzie Sampson, LA is Not a Desert, One With the Sun Projects, Sarah Demonteverde Art, MyArtTable by Esther, Shop Cadenza LA, Material Forms/DUNCO, Sierra Honey, Studio Botan/Superbloom Initiative, Bloom Wild Bookshop
Plant themed face painting with Heady Painting and henna designs with Van Gotti. - California native plants available for purchase at the Grow Native Nursery.
- Raffle prizes including nursery gift certificates, CalBG merch, and much more!
*subject to change
SCHEDULE OF TIMED EVENTS
Schedule subject to change (topics of gardening workshops coming soon!):
10:15 AM: Intro to Native Plants Talk
What is a native plant anyway? Get the basics on native plant ecology before you explore the rest of the Festival.
10:30 AM: Production Nursery Tour (available in both Spanish and English!)
Behind the scenes with the team that produces tens of thousands of native plants each year for community gardening and habitat restoration projects across the region.
10:30 AM: Gardening for Wildlife Workshop (30 mins)
10:30 AM: Herbarium Tour
Behind the scenes in CalBG's library of pressed plants
10:30 AM: Flowers & Trees Story Time
Gather 'round for nature stories.
11:15 AM: Tongva Ethnobotany: White Sage and more
Join Samantha Morales Johnson Yang, Tribal Ethnobotanist, San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians Gabrieleno/Tongva, for a conversation about the importance of traditional ecological knowledge in plant stewardship.
11:15 AM: Production Nursery Tour (available in both Spanish and English!)
Behind the scenes with the team that produces tens of thousands of native plants each year for community gardening and habitat restoration projects across the region.
11:30 AM: Herbarium Tour
Behind the scenes in CalBG's library of pressed plants
11:30 AM: Ask a Horticulturist: Q&A with CalBG Experts (50 mins)
12:00 PM: Flowers & Trees Story Time
Gather 'round for nature stories.
12:00 PM: Production Nursery Tour (available in both Spanish and English!)
Behind the scenes with the team that produces tens of thousands of native plants each year for community gardening and habitat restoration projects across the region.
12:30 PM: Seedbanking for Native Plant Conservation Talk
Learn more about how seeds power conservation efforts with CalBG's Seed Conservation Program Manager Cheryl Birker.
12:30 PM: Gardening for Wildlife Workshop
12:45 PM: Production Nursery Tour (available in both Spanish and English!)
Behind the scenes with the team that produces tens of thousands of native plants each year for community gardening and habitat restoration projects across the region.
1:00 PM: Herbarium Tour
Behind the scenes in CalBG's library of pressed plants
1:30 PM: Ask a Horticulturist: Q&A with CalBG Experts
1:30 PM: Flowers & Trees Story Time
1:45 PM: Panel Discussion: Plant/People Connections
Join panelists Jason Wise (aka @jasonjourneyman), Alyssa Walker (TreePeople), Monica Curiel (Chino Basin Water Conservation District), and Bianca Ustrell-Friend (Lopez Urban Farm) for a conversation with moderator Naomi Fraga (CalBG Director of Conservation Programs) about fostering connections with plants and ecosystems across different urban communities.
2:30 PM: Gardening for Wildlife Workshop
10:15 AM: Intro to Native Plants Talk
What is a native plant anyway? Get the basics on native plant ecology before you explore the rest of the Festival.
10:30 AM: Production Nursery Tour (available in both Spanish and English!)
Behind the scenes with the team that produces tens of thousands of native plants each year for community gardening and habitat restoration projects across the region.
10:30 AM: Gardening for Wildlife Workshop (30 mins)
10:30 AM: Herbarium Tour
Behind the scenes in CalBG's library of pressed plants
10:30 AM: Flowers & Trees Story Time
Gather 'round for nature stories.
11:15 AM: Tongva Ethnobotany: White Sage and more
Join Samantha Morales Johnson Yang, Tribal Ethnobotanist, San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians Gabrieleno/Tongva, for a conversation about the importance of traditional ecological knowledge in plant stewardship.
11:15 AM: Production Nursery Tour (available in both Spanish and English!)
Behind the scenes with the team that produces tens of thousands of native plants each year for community gardening and habitat restoration projects across the region.
11:30 AM: Herbarium Tour
Behind the scenes in CalBG's library of pressed plants
11:30 AM: Ask a Horticulturist: Q&A with CalBG Experts (50 mins)
12:00 PM: Flowers & Trees Story Time
Gather 'round for nature stories.
12:00 PM: Production Nursery Tour (available in both Spanish and English!)
Behind the scenes with the team that produces tens of thousands of native plants each year for community gardening and habitat restoration projects across the region.
12:30 PM: Seedbanking for Native Plant Conservation Talk
Learn more about how seeds power conservation efforts with CalBG's Seed Conservation Program Manager Cheryl Birker.
12:30 PM: Gardening for Wildlife Workshop
12:45 PM: Production Nursery Tour (available in both Spanish and English!)
Behind the scenes with the team that produces tens of thousands of native plants each year for community gardening and habitat restoration projects across the region.
1:00 PM: Herbarium Tour
Behind the scenes in CalBG's library of pressed plants
1:30 PM: Ask a Horticulturist: Q&A with CalBG Experts
1:30 PM: Flowers & Trees Story Time
1:45 PM: Panel Discussion: Plant/People Connections
Join panelists Jason Wise (aka @jasonjourneyman), Alyssa Walker (TreePeople), Monica Curiel (Chino Basin Water Conservation District), and Bianca Ustrell-Friend (Lopez Urban Farm) for a conversation with moderator Naomi Fraga (CalBG Director of Conservation Programs) about fostering connections with plants and ecosystems across different urban communities.
2:30 PM: Gardening for Wildlife Workshop
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.
- We highly recommend taking public transportation, carpooling, or riding your bike to the Festival (convenient bike parking will be available in the Main Lot). California Botanic Garden is accessible by bus (5 minute walk from Foothill Transit Rt. 188 stop at Dartmouth Ave. and Foothill Blvd.) and train (c. 20 minute walk or short bus ride via Rt. 188 from the Claremont Metrolink Station). Parking is free but availability will be highly impacted by the Festival. Parking is available in the main CalBG lot, on North College Ave. (north of Foothill Blvd.), and in the remote parking lot located on the south side of 12th Street between College and Dartmouth (see map below). 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.
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