How DC Natives Works
DC Natives supports a healthy climate by increasing pollinator habitats and creating the local beauty we believe every resident deserves. Since our inception, we’ve created hundreds of pollinator gardens around the city. This has been made possible by our volunteers including Block Captains who work together to identify community members who want to have pollinator gardens, help them select plants, learn about plantcare, and design and create beautiful spaces.
The process begins with Block Captains learning about their community members who are interested in having a garden. They may do so by posting on their local social media groups, at community events, or through conversations with friends and neighbors. Block Captains send community members our online interest form and invite them to attend a DC Natives informational Zoom call to learn more about our work, calendar, and process. Afterwards, we schedule a site visit with the community member to discuss site prep options and select flowers for their garden or planters. We also schedule a time for the community member, our block captain, and other members of the DC Natives team to work together to plant flowers, install soaker hoses, etc. Our model is collaborative and educational ensuring community members are actively part of creating beauty in their gardens, yards, and neighborhoods.
Every year, we start our work around DC with site visits for the following spring in December, January, and February, garden prep in March, and planting pollinator gardens in April and May. We repeat the process again for the fall season, starting with site visits in June and planting gardens in October. We welcome members of our community to join us in the work of creating pollinator gardens around our city.
2026 Pathways to Help Expand the Pollinator Pathway
- Block Captain-led DC Natives Garden – this option pairs gardeners with a DC Natives Block Captain in order to prepare and install a residential pollinator garden. This option is intended for individuals that may need assistance with aspects of soil preparation and garden installation processes. For DC areas with a Block Captain or for Ward 7 or 8, DC Natives will introduce prospective gardeners with a Block Captain. The Block Captain will contact the gardeners to set up a site visit consultation to confirm that the site(s) meet the requirements for a native garden to be installed. If approved, the Block Captain will assist the gardener in selecting which native plants they would like to install and provide the gardener with information on how to properly prepare the site prior to garden installation. The gardener is expected to remove any weeds, grasses, bushes, or impediments to the garden installation. The gardener is also expected to supply compost and the appropriate hoses and accessories needed to route water to the new garden. DC Natives and other volunteers will assist the gardener on planting day with installation of the native plants, weed suppression materials, and mulch. DC Natives will assist the gardener on planting day to install the garden and then provide information on yearly maintenance.
- Attend a Demonstration Garden – this option includes in-person, on-site workshops. A typical demo garden event involves a two part “how-to” workshop demonstrating the various aspects of installing a pollinator habitat. Topics that will be covered are: site selection, site preparation, garden design, plant selection, garden installation, irrigation/water management, maintenance, and upkeep. This option is intended for new gardeners to learn and understand the entire process so that they can self-install the pollinator garden. This option does not include physical assistance or garden resources from DC Natives and is intended for gardeners that may not want to wait to be selected from our waitlist, individuals that do not have a designated block captain, or may not be located in Ward 7 or 8. However, the events are open to anyone regardless of location or level of expertise. The expectation is that the gardener will utilize the information from the demo garden to create the pollinator garden on their own.
- Community Cooperative Project (CCP) – this option is for several members of one community/neighborhood that would agree to assist each of the other gardeners through the process of site preparation, garden design, plant selection, garden installation, irrigation/water management. This option is for community groups of four to six gardens. The gardeners of the community group will select a LEAD gardener(s) to help organize the effort and be a point of contact for DC Natives. We encourage the gardener that will be the LEAD gardener(s) to attend the DC Natives info session and at least one DC Natives Demonstration Garden Series as they will be guiding the other gardeners within the group, with minimal assistance from DC Natives, to the completion of each of the individual gardens. The rest of the group gardeners may also attend to help increase overall knowledge of the process. DC Natives will complete site visits with each gardener in the group to agree on a final pollinator garden site. All gardeners are then expected to remove any weeds, grasses, bushes, or impediments to the garden installation. The gardeners are also expected to supply compost and appropriate hoses and accessories needed to route water to the new garden. All questions are to be directed to the LEAD gardener who will then await advice from a DC Natives Block Captain. Upon successful completion of the process, each gardener will receive a DC Natives pollinator garden sign to affix within their garden or on the gate certifying that the garden meets the criteria of a DC Natives pollinator garden. This option assists in building community connections and helps all gardeners achieve the same results with the help of their community. This option DC Natives will provide the native plants. The cooperative is responsible for site prep, irrigation materials, and mulch. Spaces are limited and must complete a CCP application.
Updated 1/22/2026