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 County, Contra Costa County and Santa Clara County in addition to their Alameda County origin. We are currently looking for more local sponsors to continue the program expansion. Contact the Coalition 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.

The Bay-Friendly Landscape Maintenance Training & Qualification Program

A six 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 is working to develop a third party rating system for Bay-Friendly Landscapes.  This program would be similar to Green Building as implemented through LEED or Green Point Rated Homes administered by Build It Green.  With a Bay-Friendly Landscape Rater 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.  The development of a third party rating system for sustainable landscapes is dependent upon interest and support in the greater Bay Area especially among local governments. Click here to download the Scorecard.