REWILD certified GARDENS

A sign indicating a certified native plant garden part of the Rewild Ojai project, surrounded by various green plants and a large rock in the foreground.

Let’s Get this garden party started!

Download the Garden Certification pdf and self-certify your native plant garden. Once you have met the qualifications therein, fill out the form below and pay $25 for registration to schedule a visit with a OVLC docent certifier. Once your garden has been approved and a point total calculated, you will receive a link to buy your garden sign through the OVLC webstore.

Fill out my online form.

Rewild Garden Certification program boundaries

Ready to Rewild?

When you add native plants to your garden, you join the movement to build habitat connectivity and increase climate resilience in the Ojai Valley. The OVLC’s Garden Certification checklist helps you evaluate your garden’s value as habitat, providing forage and nesting sites for pollinators, birds, and mammals. We address native plant composition and coverage, invasive species, sustainable gardening practices, and safe wildlife practices, all of which when combined can make a real difference for your local fauna. 

Plants that have evolved in our specific local conditions provide the most benefit for wildlife. Gardens should include multiple types of plants and multiple canopy layers for most diverse habitat creation. Plants chosen from the Southern Oak Woodland, Coastal Sage Scrub, and Chaparral plant communities are appropriate, visit calscape.org for a complete directory.

To become certified, download the Garden Certification Checklist pdf to see if you qualify. If you are ready to certify, sign up using the form and pay the $25 registration fee, and our friendly garden docents will schedule a visit to verify your score and address any questions you may have. Once qualification criteria are met and your status is verified, you will be able to order your garden sign through the web store ($45), which will display the corresponding tier that you have achieved. 

When you display your Certified Garden sign you inspire your neighbors to think differently about their gardens. Be a leader in your community and demonstrate the beauty and value of native plants.

A sign indicating a certified garden at Rewild Ojai in a natural landscape with tall grasses, orange flowers, with a clear blue sky in the background.
Three badge-like elements labeled Habitat Helper, Habitat Steward, and Habitat Hero, each with different certification levels (Bronze, Silver, Gold) and corresponding background colors (brown, gray, gold).
Two people standing in a greenhouse surrounded by rows of potted plants.

OVLC Nursery

Native plants from local seed

Close-up of a yellow flower with orange accents, surrounded by similar flowers and green foliage, on a sunny day.

Native plant guide

See what we grow in the nursery

A bee collecting nectar from a white flower on a green plant, with blurred green foliage in the background.

Why grow natives

Benefits