The Bay-Friendly Coalition is working in partnership with many local agencies and organizations to expand the Bay-Friendly Programs throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. To date, one or more of these Bay-Friendly programs have been expanded to Marin, Contra Costa, and Santa Clara counties in addition to their Alameda County origin. We are currently looking for more local sponsors to continue the program expansion. Please contact us to discuss how to best incorporate the multifaceted Bay-Friendly program into your community.

Home Gardener “How To” Workshop Series

Offers beginner and intermediate home gardener tools for creating a beautiful and healthy Bay-Friendly garden through hands-on workshops. The workshop series includes 8 stand alone 3-hour classes. Workshop topics include an overview of Bay-Friendly Gardening, composting, soil health, integrated pest management, gardening with edibles, planting for pollinators, water conservation, and garden design. Workshop participants also receive the Bay-Friendly Gardening Guide, a comprehensive reference on the design and day-to-day maintenance of home gardens.

Bay-Friendly Training & Qualification Program for Maintaining Existing Landscapes

A 7-week comprehensive training and qualification program that provides instruction to landscape professionals in managing landscapes by working with nature to reduce waste, conserve valuable resources, and prevent pollution – to nurture landscapes that are as healthy as they are beautiful. The training is based on the 7 principles of Bay-Friendly Landscaping and provides participants with many excellent resources including the Bay-Friendly Landscape Guidelines: Sustainable Practices for the Landscape Professional. 

Click here for a list of current Bay-Friendly Qualified Landscape Professionals throughout the Bay Area.

Bay-Friendly Rated Landscapes

The Bay-Friendly Coalition has developed a third-party rating system for Bay-Friendly Landscapes.  This program is similar to Green Building as implemented through LEED or Green Point Rated Homes administered by Build It Green.  With a Bay-Friendly Landscape Rating system in place, local governments will be able to require that their public or private landscapes are built to a Bay-Friendly standard, just as many have already required that their buildings are built to a LEED or Green Point Rated Home green building standard.  Click here for more information.