In 2004-05, the Friends of the Arroyos, Granada High School students and numerous volunteers from the Livermore community built a native park called the Granada Native Garden.  Conceived by Louann Tung and designed by Alrie Middlebrook of Middlebrook Gardens, the Garden occupies a formerly vacant 1/3-acre lot owned by the Livermore Unified School District.  But with lots of help and donations of soil, plants and hard work,   it has been transformed into a native plant garden in which many species of native California plants are separated into chaparral, woodland, grassland and riparian communities.

The Garden also features picnic tables depicting mosaics of endangered frogs, fish and birds, as well as informational panels describing the layout of the Garden, the history of the Arroyo Mocho, and water issues affecting the Livermore community.

Funds for this project came through the CA Regional Water Quality Control Board in the amount of $12,000, but with the added value of donated time and materials, the actual cost of this park was estimated at a quarter million.

The Garden is maintained by a group of volunteers who prune and groom the plantings, remove trash, and relentlessly evict invading non-native grasses and weeds.  We are especially grateful to Jacquie Williams-Courtright of Alden Lane Nursery, whose generosity enables us to add or replace plants which we feel are of interest to visitors to the Garden.

We hope that this Garden will be not only an outdoor classroom and relaxing area for its visitors, but also an opportunity for all Livermore residents to recognize the environmental importance of native plants, and to reduce their household water use by incorporating native plants into their landscaping.