OC Habitats

OC Habitats (OCH) was founded in July 2017 and is based on the clear need for more habitat protection throughout the county. First, our founders felt that the natural habitats in Orange County needed more attention, conservation, and protection through monitoring and data collection, education, and restoration. We monitor coastal dune habitats (beaches), collect habitat and species data, and share this data with key players in habitat and ecosystem protection to ensure healthy and viable habitat and species populations for years to come. An equally important goal of OCH is education and outreach. We at OCH believe that knowledge is power and the more individuals we can empower the better off our environment will be. We educate directly on-site during field monitoring, during scheduled habitat tour events, and through our habitat education programs that we provide to public, private, and home schools in and around Orange County. Our programs are in-person, virtual, and a combination of the two. Our goal is to promote environmental education and stewardship to our students and the public in general to expand advocacy of our natural environment. Restoration of degraded habitats is the third arm of our organization. In 2019, we began to make an impact in earnest here in Orange County by targeting coastal sage areas that were affected by the 2017 fires. Since then we have expanded to work in riparian and salt marsh habitats with the intent of removing invasive species and planting native species, which will increase biodiversity and provide support for species that rely on them. OCH has partnered with various nonprofit and government agencies for many of their projects and programs. These include Project Grow, Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy, OC Parks, OC Coastkeeper, Discovery Cube's Ocean Quest, Sea and Sage Audubon, Bolsa Chica Conservancy, USFWS, California Coastal Commission, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and California State Parks, to support the furtherance of these protections.