The Roots Program: Growing Habitat and Community Hand in Hand

July 10, 2025

Written by Emily Mecke

When I first took on the role of Roots Program Coordinator at Point Blue, I was excited to be part of a program to support restoration efforts to provide wildlife habitat across the state. As I have begun to witness and participate in the many projects across the state, an additional and equally important component of habitat restoration began to come into focus for me: the people. I began to see the many ways in which habitat restoration also restores and creates connections within communities. 

While a primary goal of Point Blue’s Roots Program, funded by a block grant from the California Wildlife Conservation Board, is to restore wildlife habitat on working lands, an equally important goal is to provide community engagement opportunities. Of the Roots Program’s current portfolio of 107 projects, over 40  (~40%) incorporate community engagement that help foster stewardship, build local conservation capacity, and ensure long-term sustainability of restoration efforts. These elements include: student/volunteer restoration days, educational tours, farm/ranch hosted workshops, and/or public access.

Some of the Roots projects take place on school campuses and actively involve students at every stage — from implementation to maintenance and monitoring. At Laurel Tree Charter School in Humboldt County (Roots 75, see our StoryMap for more information), students assisted with installing native plant hedgerows on the school campus. Native plant hedgerows are often planted on the perimeters of farms to provide important refuge and habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. Students also “adopted” a plant for the year, journaled its different growth patterns, and researched its characteristics. At the end of the school year, they presented their reports accompanied by their artistic interpretation of the plants.

Several of the Roots projects are implemented through Point Blue’s Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed (STRAW) program. STRAW was founded by a 4th grade teacher and her students in 1992 to help save endangered species through community-based habitat restoration. The program became part of Point Blue in 2011 and is now a model for how to effectively implement professional grade habitat restoration in communities. STRAW implemented a native hedgerow project on Fox Sparrow Farm in Sonoma County (Roots 103). Students there engaged with the farm owner, Erin Roscoe, to learn about the multiple benefits of sheep grazing, as well as planting the hedgerow. 

Roots projects are also hosting educational tours and/or workshops for local community members to attend and learn about restoring wildlife habitat. A project in San Diego County (Roots 102) partnered with University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR) to host an Agave Farm Field Day on their farm. The event brought a variety of agave production experts to present information on organic production, mites, selecting varieties, and more. Point Blue’s Partner Biologist, Sam Rapp, was a guest speaker and presented on the Roots Program and various wildlife practices funded such as native plant hedgerows, solarization and seeding, hazardous barbed wire fence removal, and structures for wildlife (Barn Owl Boxes, Songbird boxes, etc).

Through partnerships with schools, farmers, and local communities, the Roots Program is demonstrating that community and conservation go hand in hand and involving the community can further amplify conservation efforts.

Learn more about the Roots Program here and follow the program on Instagram here.