Blog Archives

OC Waste and Recycling’s Free Compost Program

2/22/2023

OCWR delivers compost to wetland enhancement project site.

Sustainability is a practice at the core of Irvine Ranch Conservancy’s mission of restoring, protecting, and enhancing the ecological health of urban wildlands throughout Orange County. A new program offered by OC Waste and Recycling (OCWR) supports the practice of sustainability by offering free compost and mulch to the community.

Composting is a process that takes organic materials and converts them into a nutrient-rich soil amendment, helping to revitalize degraded soil when mixed together. Composting also helps reduce methane emissions that come from organic waste in landfills and limits the need for chemical fertilizers. OCWR’s new program is offering STA Certified compost and mulch for free from Bee Canyon Greenery at the Frank R. Bowerman Landfill in Irvine and from Capistrano Greenery at Prima Deshecha Landfill in San Juan Capistrano. Orange County residents, commercial businesses, local cities, and government agencies are now able to request and schedule an appointment to pick up free compost and mulch from OCWR.

Spadefoot Toad Pond Restoration and Enhancements

2/16/2023

IRC staff and volunteers monitoring a spadefoot toad pond

The Western spadefoot toad is a species that has been commonly found throughout California’s Central Valley and in coastal ranges from just south of Monterey County all the way to Baja California, Mexico. Though the spadefoot toad spends the majority of the year burrowing up to three feet underground, following the wet and rainy season they emerge to produce the next generation of toads. In order for the breeding season to be successful, spadefoot toads require temporary pools or shallow streams that retain water for at least 35 days. However, due to California’s historic drought, the population of spadefoot toads on the Landmarks and surrounding areas has significantly decreased in recent years, so much so that they’ve been listed as a species of special concern under the National Community Conservation Planning program.

The main cause of this population decline is likely southern California’s dry conditions, which make it challenging for spadefoot toads to locate the shallow bodies of water necessary for breeding. As a result, Irvine Ranch Conservancy alongside OC Parks, The Nature Conservancy and the USGS have joined forces to help spadefoot toad breeding and overall survival with the implementation of a major habitat restoration and enhancement project in OC Parks’ Limestone Canyon.

Learn About Native Plants and Orange County’s Ranching History at the New Bommer Canyon Nature Garden

2/8/2023

Bommer Canyon Nature Garden before & after restoration work. Images courtesy of Irvine Ranch Conservancy.

The City of Irvine and Irvine Ranch Conservancy welcome nature lovers to experience the new Bommer Canyon Nature Garden, where visitors can learn about native habitats, local plant life, Orange County’s rich ranching history and why the area developed into a nature preserve.

Originally overrun by weeds and invasive plant species, the area located near the Bommer Canyon Cattle Camp was designated as the perfect site for an interpretive nature garden, so visitors can learn more about why Orange County’s native wildlands are an important part of the local ecosystem. The Bommer Canyon Nature Garden will take visitors on a journey through the history of the Irvine Ranch, guided by interpretive informational panels installed by IRC’s Planning and Infrastructure team. These panels will help visitors learn more about ranching techniques and old cattle camp equipment, as well as native plants from local coastal sage scrub, riparian and grassland habitat.

Fire Watch Volunteer Program

2/2/2023

As Southern Californians enjoy the brief rainy season, the upcoming drier and warmer weather not only means more outdoor adventures, but also means that wildfire season is just around the corner. The wildlands in Orange County, covered in coastal sage scrub and chaparral, dry out significantly during the hot summer months and are left with very low moisture. This dry landscape combined with Santa Ana winds and high temperatures leads to extremely high fire risk.

Wildfires are a growing concern in California and are most often started by humans, igniting from roads or other urban wildland interface areas. These wildfires spread quickly and can damage acres of land at a time. Through a collaborative partnership with Irvine Ranch Conservancy, OC Parks, City of Irvine, City of Newport Beach and Orange County Fire Authority, the Orange County Fire Watch program calls on volunteers to help watch for accidental or intentional fire ignitions.

OC Waste and Recycling’s Free Compost Program

Spadefoot Toad Pond Restoration and Enhancements

Learn About Native Plants and Orange County’s Ranching History at the New Bommer Canyon Nature Garden

Fire Watch Volunteer Program

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