Our goal is to complete the creation of an ethnobotanical garden that highlights medicinal, edible, and cultural uses of native plants. The 2-acre space we are restoring emphasizes the importance of the indigenous culture. We are fortunate to be working with a member of the Chumash Tribe who has provided us a plant list that supports our goal. This garden will provide the necessary native grasses, shrubs and trees that support traditional basket weaving, thus supporting plant use from an indigenous approach. We hope to be the first to provide the SLO community with a unique garden that emphasizes the importance of indigenous cultures and California native plants with medicinal, edible, and sustainable purposes from an educational standpoint.

The design and implementation have been carried out through undergraduate research students, support from Chumash members, collaborative non-profits, SLO businesses, and Cal Poly interns, as well as advice from plant nurseries and other professionals.

The significance of this project is to provide SLOBG and the community with a new educational garden that celebrates local space, indigenous cultures, and traditional uses of native plants, that tend and use these plants