In 2025, CRFPD started a full revitalization of the grounds at Locke Station — and saw in it an opportunity to put good firescaping principles into practice. The goal was to create a landscape that, even if it cannot fully protect the structure from a wildland fire threat, at minimum avoids adding fuel that would make a fire worse. The result is a working demonstration of firewise landscaping: plantings and design choices that reflect best practices for properties at the wildland-urban interface. We hope the station grounds will serve as a practical reference for community members thinking about changes to their own landscapes.

To bring this vision to life, CRFPD commissioned Owen Dell and Associates, a locally based, internationally recognized landscape architecture firm with a long track record in sustainable and firewise design. Their work produced a complete site plan along with a plant palette cross-referenced by code and by zone. After consulting with several landscape contractors, CRFPD selected Gaia Landscapes Inc. to carry out the installation. Working closely with both CRFPD and Owen Dell and Associates, Gaia helped adapt the original design to address budget considerations and aesthetic refinements, and substituted a number of specified plants where availability required it. Final Plant List

Installation began in February 2026 and was completed in March 2026. As with any garden, this is a living project — one that will continue to develop and mature into the full vision that this collaboration set out to achieve.