WaterNow partnered with Moulton Niguel Water District and the California Native Plant Society to develop a program that provides the education and tools necessary for nurseries to adapt their business models to accommodate the seasonality of native plant stock. The purpose of the program is to: 1) encourage nurseries in the pilot area to consistently carry more regionally native plant species; 2) develop free nursery staff training materials on the care and maintenance ofCalifornia native plants in the nursery setting; 3) make California native plants more easilyidentifiable with point of sale educational and promotional materials; 4) encourage consumer demand and increase sales of California native plants at local nurseries; and 5) connect consumers to local nurseries and a wide variety of California native plants with free web resources.

Our web-based training curriculum for Southern California nursery managers and staff, which covers caring for and promoting sales of native plants, was originally undertaken for 1 water provider; the program has grown to include 12 retail agencies and is expected to save ~425 million gal/yr.