The Lindsay Museum, a 6.7 million dollar natural history museum and state-of-the-art wildlife hospital in Walnut Creek, California, was created by literally thousands of people coming together to collectively create a change.

For 38 years the Museum has educated people to be responsible stewards of the environment. (Sound familiar?) Each year over 1,000 volunteers and 21 staff members treat nearly 8,000 injured and orphaned wild animals; teach 30,000 school children science and ecology; help reintroduce endangered species, prevent water pollution, restore creeks and educate 100,000 Museum visitors in the fine art of living with nature.

To meet the growing demand for services, a new 28,000 square foot facility was created which includes classrooms, a 5,000 sq. ft. wildlife hospital, a "Living with Nature" exhibit, and a Nature Garden.

The 1.1 acre garden that surrounds this new building complements the Museum's overall theme of "Living with Nature." It uses water in respectful ways in order to accommodate attractive and colorful landscaping in the midst of a Mediterranean climate. Landscape contractor Roger Fiske and his crew installed the garden and worked with the museum to get donations from irrigation companies and some nurseries.

In response the Lindsay museum developed an interpretative garden based upon three main principles:

• Demonstration of gardens that use drought resistant native and Mediterranean plants, which attracts desirable wildlife while at the same time discouraging damage from it.

• Education about responsible ways to landscape with respect to water usage and wildlife.

• Appreciation for the native vegetation of the region by displaying the four representative plant communities native to Contra Costa County.

Lutsko Associates Landscape Architecture, with a long history of creating public gardens (Strybing Arboretum, UC Berkeley Botanical Garden and Santa Barbara Botanical Garden) with native plants, were chosen to design the project. They have gained a reputation for selecting unusual plants for gardens, when in fact the native plants chosen are usually quite appropriate to the area. The Lindsay Museum created an opportunity to educate the public about these plants - to show the benefits that these less commonly known native plants bring to the garden.

Lutsko Associates had to contact specialty nurseries from Eureka to San Luis Obispo to contract grow many of the plants. Composed of four plant communities, Oak woodland, Chaparral, Redwood forest, and Meadow; as well as a nectar garden and public space for group activities, this garden is more than a collection or a botanical garden. Through an innovative use of plant materials it integrates the cultural landscape with the natural landscape to create a unique setting for public life.

The living classroom designed for the museum contains over 9,000 plants. It is complex, varied, colorful, and because the plants are native to the area the garden's water use will be conservative. Though many of the plants that have been selected for the garden are not typically used for landscaping, Lutsko Associates have learned through experience that they are indeed well suited to the built landscape.

Not only were plants chosen for their botanical characteristics, but also for their wildlife benefit. Butterflies, birds, lizards, and many beneficial insects will be attracted to these created habitats. With proper planning and installation, this East Bay haven has come alive with the sounds and the movements of nature. LASN