California State University Northridge Botanic Garden

The Vision:

The University needs a diverse Garden to serve students taking more advanced courses.  And the San Fernando Valley region deserves what it currently lacks: a great public garden.

The expanded garden that the Biology Department envisions will contain a greater variety of trees, shrubs and herbs representing the major vegetation types found in Southern California; it will also have an ethnobotanical area.  These two themes recur in upper and lower division Biology courses and in a number of other courses across disciplines at CSUN.

Expanding the Garden's offerings will better serve the community.  Short courses on a wide variety of garden topics can be offered to the public by horticultural experts.  As an example, the Garden demonstrates contemporary water-conserving landscaping using native Southern California species; but while many native species are beautiful and need almost no care, successful cultivation requires specialized information.  Through the CSUN-al Gardening classes we can provide this information to gardeners and hobbyists.

The expanded Garden will present more educational exhibits for visiting students and community groups.  The Garden will also be available for rental as a beautiful setting for important events such as weddings, retirements, receptions and art exhibits.