Dear Friend of the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour,

Registration for the free, virtual Seventeenth Annual Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour <https://www.bringingbackthenatives.net/> , which will take place on Sundays April 25 and May 2, 16, and 23, 2021 from 10:00 to 3:00, is now open <https://www.bringingbackthenatives.net/register-2021> .  This award-winning tour will be kicked off with a presentation by the inspirational Doug Tallamy, feature twenty five beautiful native plant gardens, Q and A sessions with garden hosts, "Ask the Experts" opportunities, garden design and plant selection information, and more. Check out the schedule of events here <https://www.bringingbackthenatives.net/welcome-to-our-2021-virtual-events> , and Register for the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour <https://www.bringingbackthenatives.net/register-2021>  now.

Already registered?  We have you! (Now can you help us promote the Tour?  See below.)

Companion Green Home Tour—Join garden tour host Kathy Kramer and electrification advocate Amy Kiser at a free companion event: the first annual virtual Green Home Tour <https://www.eastbaygreenhome.com/> , which will take place on Sundays June 6 and 13 from 10:00 to 2:00.  Learn how you can save money and time, and improve your health by greening your home. This Tour will be kicked off with tour of my own recently-remodeled home in San Pablo—I hope you'll come tour my home with me! Register for the Green Home Tour <https://www.eventbrite.com/e/east-bay-green-home-tour-tickets-141756566707>  here.

Can you help us promote these Tours? – We’d be so grateful if you would "share" and "like" the Tour on Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/BringingBacktheNativesGardenTour/> , forward this announcement on to your friends and family, post announcements on your Facebook pages or on NextDoor, create a Meet-Up, or any other social media ways you can think of to encourage your friends and family members to join us. The Tour is coming right up, and we'd love for as many people as possible to attend! Sample text you can use is at the bottom of this e-mail.

Videos of the presentations made during last year's virtual Tour can be seen on the Tour's YouTube page <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLIN_S5D0pZjeO59HBi2HyA> ; check them out!  While you're there, subscribe to be notified when additional videos have been uploaded, and be sure and watch the talk Doug Tallamy gave last year, if you haven't seen it yet; it changed the way I garden:

Restoring the Little Things That Rn the World: Why it Matters and What We Can Do <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKe0UzqazuU>

Seeking Volunteer IT help for the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour

We are looking for volunteer IT help to run the upcoming virtual Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour. If you can lend a hand, please contact Tour Coordinator Kathy Kramer at Kathy@KathyKramerConsulting.net <mailto:Kathy@KathyKramerConsulting.net>  or (510) 236-9558.

We need some help:

1) Native Plant Garden Ambassadors are needed to answer questions and respond to posts on Zoom and YouTube as the Tour is taking place.  Choose any of the four days of the Tour: Sundays April 25, and May 2, 16, and 23. The event runs from 10:00-3:00.

2) Website help - We need someone with knowledge of WordPress and PHP coding to help with the custom web work.

Please e-mail me at Kathy@KathyKramerConsulting.net <mailto:Kathy@KathyKramerConsulting.net>  if you can lend a hand!

Native Plant Extravaganza shopping helps support the Tour!

A percentage of the proceeds from sales made this week-end will go to support the Tour. 

East Bay Wilds <http://www.eastbaywilds.com/>  (at 28th and Foothill in Oakland) Open Saturday, April 17 - Shop in-person at East Bay Wilds from 10:00 - 4:00 this Saturday and browse among hundreds of species of natives, many of them hard to find. Manzanitas are a specialty; in addition, in stock are large quantities of California lilacs, buck wheats, leafy reed grass, lupines, irises, and more. The entrance is on 28th Street; feel free to pull into the small nursery parking lot if there is room.  Cash or checks only. Mask up, shoppers!  See the plant availability list here <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tVOY81URjrwAa_mT4rD3XgNsr_cptHNn7xCptenfyWE/edit#gid=0> .

You can also shop on-line through Green Thumb Works <http://greenthumbworks.net/>  on Saturday or Sunday, April 17 or 18.  Native sages, fuchsia, penstemon, seaside daisies, irises, See their plant availability list here <https://www.greenthumbworks.net/s/shop> .

Steeply discounted memberships in the California Native Plant Society <https://www.cnps.org/>  offered to Tour registrants - Whaaat?? You're not a member CNPS yet?  Tour registrants can take out an Individual Membership with CNPS for just $30. (That’s 40% off the regular price.) This offer is good through June 13, and does not apply to current or renewing members. Use this link: http://bit.ly/bbng2021-cnps <http://bit.ly/bbng2021-cnps>  and enter Code: BBNG2021.  (Just be brave and continue right on through the form; you'll enter the discount code on the very last page.)

2022 Tour - Applications for the 2022 Tour are now being accepted. You can download the application form <https://www.bringingbackthenatives.net/garden-host-application>  from the Tour website.  This is the perfect time to offer your own garden for next year’s Tour! 

Donations  <https://www.bringingbackthenatives.net/please-donate>  - If you have enjoyed the Tour in the past, or expect to take part in it now, we hope you'll help ensure the Tour’s continuation by donating generously; we are counting on your support. Donate here <https://www.bringingbackthenatives.net/please-donate> , through the Tour's Go Fund Me <https://www.gofundme.com/f/bringing-back-the-natives-garden-tour>  page, or send a check to: Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, 1718 Hillcrest Road, San Pablo  CA  94806.

Check out this list <https://www.bringingbackthenatives.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Tallamy-Plant-reproductive-value-bar-chart-large.pdf>  of typical native and non-native plants and their value to butterflies and moths.  (Reader alert!  You'll want to start replacing your Australian, Mediterranean, and South African plants with California native plants immediately!)

I hope you enjoy this year's Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, and its companion event, the first annual Green Home Tour. Register for these free events now to be sent reminder e-mails about them; I'll see you on the Tours!

Warmly,

Kathy Kramer
Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour Coordinator
(510) 236-9558
kathy@kathykramerconsulting.net <mailto:kathy@kathykramerconsulting.net>
www.bringingbackthenatives.net <http://www.bringingbackthenatives.net/>
Visit the Garden Tour on Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/Bringing-Back-The-Natives-Garden-Tour-274551462627781/>