FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Townhome Residents Plan Wildlife Habitat

Homeowners in the 20-year-old Tiburon townhome complex are planting the seeds to create an environment for native habitat and wildlife.

“Our vision is to create a permanent urban forest,” said Jim Christman, resident and chairman of the five-member planning committee for the environmental project.

Christman said about 40 residents are involved in planning the landscape improvements to the 50-acre, 513-unit complex, located east of Brookhurst Street between Talbert and Ellis avenues.

During development of the complex, which now has about 1,000 residents, greenery was planted to decorate buildings and provide a “pretty” environment, Christman said.

Now residents plan to plant trees, shrubbery and plants over the next 20 years to provide a living environment for birds, butterflies and other native wildlife, Christman said.

“It means that the selection of trees, shrubbery, flowers and ground cover is made with the sensitivity to supporting natural wildlife,” he said. “And instead of just a concern for looks, we’ll make it look pretty and support the habitat and wildlife at the same time.”

A small garden, with heather and coral bells, has been planted to symbolize the group’s commitment to habitat-supportive landscaping, Christman said.

A variety of birds already visit or make their nests in Tiburon, including house sparrows, finches, mockingbirds, hummingbirds, swallows, ducks, egrets and hawks. The Fountain Valley Homeowners Assn., composed of Tiburon residents, was recently recognized for its role in environmental planning by the National Wildlife Federation.

Christman said the neighborhood received a certificate to become part of the Backyard Wildlife Habitat Program, administered by the National Wildlife Federation.

The program is designed to create a nationwide network of mini-refuges in back yards where wildlife can find quality habitat, including food, water, cover and places to raise their young.

John Collins, a City Council member who was at a recent ceremony recognizing the work of the residents, lauded the project.

Resident Robin Larzelere, a planning committee member, said the habitat-conscious plan will improve the quality of life in the complex.

“We hope to make the place look more like a natural, romantic landscape, qualities you would find in regional parks left in the natural state,” she said. “We want to move away from the asphalt and manicured lawns.”

Christman said the move for a more natural environment--with pine trees, coffeeberry shrub, sage, buckwheat and myrtle--is economical. He said it won’t cost residents more for regular maintenance and landscape costs.

Christman said committee members and residents visited botanical gardens and nurseries and contacted environmental experts and organizations to learn more about developing their urban forest.

While the project will evolve as a natural process, Christman said that in time, an urban forest environment will become a legacy where “the people, with their houses, cars and roads, are simply visitors.”