Join us in-person at Congregation Beth Israel at 6 p.m. or on Zoom at 6:45 p.m. on August 8, 2022, as past SDHS Horticulturist of the Year, Greg Rubin, presents Fire Resistant Native Landscapes are NOT an Oxymoron!
Registration is required for the hybrid meeting. Members attend free, and guests are welcome for a nominal fee at the time of registration.
"Nearly two dozen of Greg's installations have been involved in major fire events without the loss of a single home. This talk will explore the basic principles in creating a native landscape that is appealing throughout the year, consumes less water, is lower maintenance, is unequaled for erosion control, serves as great habitat, and, yes, is fire resistant! Greg will be discussing the results of a four-year research project with the US Navy entitled 'Ecologically Sustainable Fire Risk Reduction' (ESFRR) which looked at the relative fire resistance of lightly hydrated native landscapes, thinned natural vegetation, and unmodified controls in creating defensible space around dwellings. This is the only study of its kind to date, and the results help to substantiate our successful approaches. Although there are no guarantees that a home will not burn in a firestorm, so far, our track record is excellent (knock wood)."
Greg Rubin was named the 2018 Horticulturist of the Year by the San Diego Horticultural Society. He is the president and founder of California’s Own Native Landscape Design, Inc., and is a licensed landscape contractor (C-27 No. 717147) who has been working with California native plants since 1985. By 1993, Greg fully transitioned out of his career as an aerospace engineer to devote himself to his successful and unusual landscaping business. His company has designed nearly 800 residential, commercial, and institutional native landscapes in Southern California. Specialties include year-round appeal, low maintenance, water efficiency, rich habitat, and fire-resistance. Greg has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, San Diego Union Tribune and Los Angeles Times, and magazines such as Sunset, San Diego Home and Garden, California Gardener and Kiplinger's. Media coverage includes appearances on all of San Diego's local news outlets, CNN & MSNBC. Greg regularly gives presentations and workshops on native plants to conferences, garden clubs and other organizations throughout Southern California.
Greg is co-author, with Lucy Warren, of "The California Native Landscape: The Homeowners’ Design Guide to Restoring its Beauty and Balance," published by Timber Press, 2013. This popular native horticultural literary work covers all aspects of native landscape design, installation, and maintenance. He and Lucy published a second book, "The Drought Defying California Garden", also published by Timber Press in 2016. His website is: www.calown.com
Meeting location:
Congregation Beth Israel is located in San Diego’s Golden Triangle at:
9001 Towne Centre Drive, San Diego, CA 92122