Laguna Beach author’s first novel is a labor of ‘Love’
Laura Ford loves cats so much that the two at her Laguna Beach home sometimes act more human than feline.
Ford and her husband Michael Russell have a pair of Siamese cats. They are potty trained.
Butterflies take flight in Laguna Beach thanks to habitat gardens
The migratory monarch butterfly was placed on the endangered species list on Thursday by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Monarchs were once plentiful, but habitat destruction and rising temperatures have shrunk their estimated numbers to a fraction of their population in the 1980s, scientists say.
Charitable Causes: Local nonprofits are making a big impact in town
A wide range of nonprofits are working hard to benefit the community, from helping the homeless to assisting animals, advocating for the arts and preserving our open spaces. And as the year comes to an end, many residents look to make a difference for those in need or support a cause that’s important to them.
Butterfly garden taking shape in Malibu
Two former Malibu residents devoting time and energy to protect and grow the local butterfly population
American songstress and enduring personality Dolly Parton once wrote, “Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing.” Parton, along with many people are enamored with the winged creatures. Now, a former Malibu couple is devoting their time to creating a welcoming habitat for the beautiful insects and essential pollinators.
Laura Ford, founder of the Pollinator Protection Fund, dons a butterfly-inspired hat
The Gate & Garden Tour is the primary fundraiser of the Laguna Beach Garden Club, which has provided funding for school gardens and scholarships totaling more than $300,000 over a 20-year period. It also supported the creation of The Good of the Hive mural by Matt Willey outside the Laguna Beach County Water District building and many other community projects.
La Jolla’s Estancia resort invites winged guests through new garden and ‘butterfly hotels’
With the iconic monarch butterfly having joined an international “endangered” list last year, a Southern California couple has planted a native-plant butterfly garden at the Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa, hoping to increase the resort’s winged guests.
Local nonprofit plans giveaway of “habitat hotels” for monarch butterflies, other pollinators
A local organization is planning a giveaway next weekend with the aim to help the iconic, but imperiled monarch butterfly – and other important pollinators – thrive in the region.
Laguna Beach-based Pollinator Protection Fund will be handing out pollinator “habitat hotels” on June 8 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Tree of Life Native Nursery in San Juan Capistrano. They’re hoping to do a giveaway event at a Laguna location in the near future, noted PPF Managing Director Laura Ford in an email to Stu News Laguna.
Apodaca: The big purpose behind a small upgrade at Blue Heron Park
Tucked away in a serene residential neighborhood in Newport Beach’s Eastbluff community lies Blue Heron Park, a recreational rectangle boasting a thick emerald-colored carpet of newly laid turf; swings, slides, a tether ball set and other playground gear; a free library box and lovely pine trees with twisty branches bent so low to the ground they’re just begging to be climbed.
Soon a change is coming to this little slice of suburbia — one that might easily be overlooked. But it shouldn’t because it could serve as a model and inspiration for similar projects throughout the region.
