New Greenhouse Grows Native Plants for Palo Alto Baylands

Last week, environmental group Save the Bay offered a solution to restoring the Palo Alto Baylands Preserve: a greenhouse.

Unveiled through a ribbon cutting ceremony last Wednesday, the new greenhouse will help to restore the Palo Alto Baylands Preserve’s ecotone, an ecological transition zone right situated right next to the water’s edge. It will also increase native plant horticultural learning opportunities for the public, according to Save the Bay.

The new greenhouse, two years in the making, boasts 30,000 all-native species, according to Darcy Collins, the Habitat Restoration Director for Save the Bay. The plants sprout from the seeds of indigenous plants such as the lush green “sticky monkeyflower”. Save the Bay Staff collected five to ten percent of the seeds from them to ensure that they do not inhibit future growth.

The greenhouse “will be able to provide the habitat that birds and insects need,” said Doug Serrill, Save the Bay Native Plant Nursery Manager, adding that it will also protect against invasive species.

The greenhouse, a warm, humid space insulated from the chilly sea breezes that drift past it, is an ideal environment for plants to begin their lives, said Daren Anderson, the City of Palo Alto and Open Space Division Manager.

Once they have grown into plants, they are transferred to Save the Bay’s Native Plant Nursery, which Serrill likened to a high school, giving plants “more freedom to grow on their own and enter the wild successfully,” he said.

The plants are replanted in the field with their natural roots so that “there’s a greater chance they will survive in the field,” said Collins.

The native plant nursery has been in operation since 2004, and its neighboring greenhouse in the works since 2009. Save the Bay raised funds for the effort through donations, grants, and funds from membership, said Amy Ricard, media relations manager for Save the Bay.

Volunteers will have the opportunity Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings to get their hands dirty by participating in all phases of plant propagation: seed cleaning and seed pre-treatments, sowing, transplanting, plant health maintenance, and pruning.

For upcoming volunteer opportunities with Save the Bay, visit their volunteer page.