Audubon California had a great day in the San Joaquin Valley last week, planting a new habitat restoration site on property owned by the Lange Twins Wine Company. Working with private landowners is one of our key strategies for increasing the amount of useful bird habitat statewide. We used this opportunity to teach students from Stockton’s Middle College High School some useful conservation skills, as well. They participated as part of SLEWS, a joint project of Audubon California and the Center for Land-based Learning. Recent rains produced perfect conditions for planting purple aster, evening primrose, sticky gum plant, and mugwort – flowering plants that will attract nectar-feeding and insect-eating birds. We also planted valley oak, live oak and buckeyes collected from the site this past fall. More photos below the fold: