Home Ground Habitats is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, volunteer-run educational center and organic growing ground. Guided by our mission to be the North Bay’s leading habitat-focused landscaping resource, our board members and community stewards work together to promote sustainable, California-appropriate landscapes rooted in ecological balance.
(Home Ground Habitats Tax ID 84-3398667. All contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law.)
Founder Charlotte Torgovitsky has been a gardener and lover of plants for most of her life. She always needs to be growing something, no matter what else is going on in her life. Her passion became a vocation in 2001 when she became the Garden Education Manager and Volunteer Coordinator at the Marin Art and Garden Center in Ross, a job she created and held for 8 years. This led to careers as a garden educator, native plant propagator, landscape consultant, author, and local environmental leader. She has become known in Marin County for her knowledge of native plants and butterflies and her willingness to share her knowledge with others interested in learning. She founded Home Ground Habitats in 2011 as a native plant nursery and educational facility, a model of social enterprise with a local focus, where volunteers propagate both plants and ideas for a new paradigm in home landscaping.
President Inge Morrison has been a close friend of Charlotte’s for 35 years. After spending several years in the Middle East with her daughter and husband, she returned to California to pursue her college studies and run a small business. Following that, she spent 30 years in small and large financial institutions, such as Sutro and Merrill Lynch, before retiring as a Director. She loves walking the trails of Marin and identifying plants and birds with others who enjoy nature. She has always been in awe of Charlotte’s abiding love for and extensive knowledge of native plants and habitats, and the enthusiasm and energy she exerts to preserve and promote them. She looks forward to applying her energy and business acumen for the benefit of Home Ground.
Member & Facilities Manager Alan Good is a native plant horticulturalist and water-efficient residential garden designer. Alan studied landscape horticulture at Merritt College in Oakland, and has a BA from San Francisco State University. He owns Oak Hill Garden Design, and his practice has been enriched by extensive experience managing and developing large landscapes. Alan was Landscape Manager at Marin Art and Garden Center from 2005 to 2008 before his notable six-year leadership of the Landscape Exhibits Department at the California Academy of Sciences. While there, Alan established the plantings for the iconic 2.5-acre living roof, developing it from the original four species to over one hundred species of native plants. The roof environment was expanded to include beekeeping, honey production and habitat for California native pollinators and birds. Alan brings his knowledge of water conservation, soil management, and edible and native plant-based design to enrich Home Ground.
Member, Assistant to the Executive Director, & the Program Director Audrey Fusco. Audrey has more than a decade of experience working with California native plants, with a focus on restoring habitat for wildlife. In Marin County, she has led and supported over 15 acres of riparian restoration—managing all aspects of revegetation, from seed collection and propagation to planting and long-term site care.
She has worked closely with Home Ground Habitats for many years and co-founded the “Bringing Nature to School” program with Charlotte Torgovitsky, supporting teachers and students in creating pollinator gardens across Marin County. Audrey also serves on the Board of Directors of the West Marin Monarch Sanctuary and the Marin Monarch Working Group, and coordinates the People’s Watershed Collective. She holds an M.A. in Geography from the University of Kansas.
Operations Director Michael Cavette. For nearly two decades, Michael has dedicated his work to plants and the landscapes they shape. With a background spanning landscaping, farming, and nursery cultivation, he brings a depth of practical knowledge and steady care to every aspect of the nursery.
Before joining Home Ground Habitats, Michael spent many years at Las Baulines Nursery and was part of the team that helped revive Mostly Natives in Point Reyes. His experience reflects a longstanding commitment to growing native plants and supporting the ecosystems they sustain.
Ayano Hayes is the Outreach and Education Coordinator with Home Ground Habitats. Ayano has experience in biological monitoring, collecting population data, and conducting habitat assessments for the protection of endangered salmonid species along Coastal California. Her experience extends beyond hard science, drawing on the importance of individual and collective action for the conservation of natural resources that wildlife and humans depend on. Ayano has worked in habitat restoration, native plant identification, invasive plant management, environmental education, and community outreach throughout her career.
Ayano formerly worked with the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN) as the Watershed Biologist and Conservation Project Manager. Prior to SPAWN, she worked with the National Park Service at the Point Reyes National Seashore, and the Six Rivers National Forest Service, through the Watershed Stewards Program as an AmeriCorps member working in fisheries and environmental education. Ayano studied Environmental Science and Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Lilah Collins has cultivated a lifelong connection to gardening, tending plants and shaping outdoor spaces from an early age. Raised in West Marin, she developed a deep appreciation for the region’s native flora and fauna—an influence that continues to shape both her creative work and her relationship with the land.
Her devotion to the natural world is reflected in her art, which includes ceramics and installations inspired by the forms, textures, and rhythms of local ecosystems. Through this work, she expresses a quiet reverence for the landscapes that have guided her path.
Beyond her studio practice, Lilah has contributed to local educational communities, including Novato Charter School and The Caulbridge School, where she has supported the development of outdoor programs and garden habitats that help students connect more deeply with the natural world. In her free time, she is most often found in the garden.
Nyna Hong is a biologist and environmental educator working in Marin County, where she brings both field experience and a deep curiosity about local ecosystems. Over the past three years, she has worked in riparian habitat restoration, developing hands-on expertise with California native plants and the communities they support.
She holds a degree in Environmental Science from California State University, Chico, and is especially interested in connecting ecological knowledge with community-based conservation—helping people understand and care for the landscapes around them.
Gardeners tend the land with care and intention—propagating plants, shaping the gardens, and nurturing the living systems that make Home Ground thrive.
Volunteers bring energy, knowledge, and heart to every corner of Home Ground Habitats.
Our work is made possible by dedicated volunteers who help tend gardens,
support programs, and nurture this landscape with care.