California Native Plant Society
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March Newsletter
What's in this issue: Speaker Series, Volunteers Needed for the Plant Sales, North Bay Science Fair, Tree Ordinance Update, Plant Walks, Sonoma Botanical Garden Welcome Center, Ask This Old House TV Features April Owens, Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities
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Speaker Series Third Tuesday of the month at 7:30 pm
March 19, 2024 (In-person and on Zoom) Luther Burbank Art and Garden Center 2050 Yulupa Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95405 Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87221561926
Protecting and Perpetuating California’s Native Oaks
Angela Moskow, director of the California Oaks program at California Wildlife Foundation
Abstract: The presentation will provide an overview of the importance of native oaks for California’s above- and below-ground biodiversity. It will focus on endangered, threatened, and candidate terrestrial or amphibian vertebrates that are dependent upon, and plants and invertebrates that are associated with oaks. This will be followed by a few slides with information from an upcoming report on California oaks and their associated mycorrhizae. The presentation will then provide a brief overview of California’s limited oak protections, followed by an overview of the California Oaks Coalition, an initiative of the California Wildlife Foundation/California Oaks, which brings together international, national, Tribal, state, regional, and local organizations to conserve and perpetuate the state’s primary old growth resource.
Bio: Angela Moskow directs the California Oaks program at California Wildlife Foundation. The foundation is committed to conserving, restoring, and maintaining habitats and corridor linkages to ensure biological diversity. California Oaks works to conserve and perpetuate the state’s primary old- growth resource through the development of the California Oaks Coalition, publication and dissemination of informational resources about oaks, preparation of comment letters about projects with oak impacts, advocacy for stronger local and statewide oak protections, and engagement in and development of work groups focused on imperiled oaks.
Her earlier posts include Urban Sprouts, which delivers community nutrition and garden-based education in San Francisco; The Bay Institute, which promotes the ecological health of the San Francisco Bay and its watershed; the University of California (UC) Small Farm Center; UC Genetic Resources Conservation Program; Consumer Action; and Whiskeytown Environmental School.
Angela earned a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and Philosophy from Oberlin College and a Master of Science in International Agricultural Development from UC Davis.
We are resuming the before-meeting dinners at the Kirin Restaurant, 2700 Yulupa Ave, Santa Rosa. We will meet there at 5:45 pm. Please contact Liz Parsons at (707) 508-8345 if you plan to go.
Follow this link to view past presentations on the Milo Baker YouTube Channel
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Join the Volunteers Who Make the Plant Sales Happen!
– Natasha Granoff, Plant Sale Chair
The Spring Plant Sale and Eco-friendly Garden Tour is May 18th, 10 am – 2 pm. This year's Fall Plant Sale is October 11th, 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm for members and October 12th, 10 am – 1:00 pm for the public.
Volunteers are needed for both the spring and fall plant sales. This is a wonderful opportunity to volunteer with Nursery co-chairs, Betty Young and Lynnette Bower and the Laguna Foundation team. The plant sales continue to have a steady and dedicated volunteer committee, and an established volunteers list to fill volunteer duties for the sale days. The procedures and organization are documented and well established, but there is always room for improvement, and new volunteers bring new perspective and enthusiasm.
Positions needed:
Volunteer Coordinator for 2024: Schedule volunteers for the various tasks each sale day; provide the description of volunteer duties; coordinate with volunteer committee and plant sale chair.
Volunteers: Duties include set-up, break down, parking, greeters, talliers, cashiers, plant carriers/plant pickup; possibly additional volunteer opportunities to be described later.
Plant Sale Chair (2025): Coordinates with nursery co-chairs and volunteer committee, organization and process flow, rover during sale days. There are more details to this position and I would be happy to discuss directly. See below for my contact information.
Commitment for Volunteer Coordinator and Plant Sale Chair: we begin plant sale meetings with a sale review the week after the fall plant sale including plans for following year. For the spring sale, meetings are in April and May, and for the fall sale, meetings are in July and September. For volunteers, Volunteer Coordinator will email or call our list of volunteers in February/March for the spring sale and July for the fall sale to begin filling positions.
If you have questions or would like more details please call me at 707-696-7171, or email: njgranoff@sonic.net
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North Bay Science Discovery Day – Saturday, March 9 Volunteers Needed
The Education and Outreach Committee would like your help with this year’s Milo Baker exhibit at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. Volunteers are needed for staffing, and to provide native plant specimens for the displays. Volunteers can sign up for 2-hour shifts on either Friday March 8 (afternoon only), or on Saturday between 9 am and 5 pm. Help is also needed for set up and take down. Exhibit volunteers will be provided with fact sheets. Come join us for a stimulating day!
For complete information please see our website
Questions? Contact Catherine Lipson at clipson@berkeley.edu or Virginia Hotz-Steenhoven at 707-217-9815 or vbsteenhoven41@gmail.com.
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Tree Protection Ordinances Update
– Wendy Smit, Milo Baker Conservation Committee
In January the Board of Supervisors (BOS) once again failed to approve the language drafted by the county staff. Both Gore and Hopkins went on a field trip with a diverse group including a few foresters who had objected to the proposals and felt their concerns had not been heard. Staff is now working on some changes, and will be presenting ‘options’ at the next BOS meeting on March 5. The changes may require that the Planning Commission take it back up, which would further delay approval. Another possibility is that the language will be fine tuned and the BOS will make a final approval in April. The tree removal moratorium was extended to May 31.
The Milo Baker Conservation Committee has been working with other groups to plan how to advocate for approval and to gather others interested in showing support. A group will be going to the meeting on March 5 Tuesday at 10:00. Join us, or please write to the BOS to express your interest in seeing the tree protections strengthened. Write to Robert Aguero (staff planner) who will pass on all comments to the BOS. Robert.Aguero@sonoma-county.org.
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March Plant Walk
– Lynn Houser, Milo Baker Field Trip Coordinator
Pomo Canyon Fern Hike with Liz Parsons and Wendy Born
Sunday, March 17, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Join us to hike the Pomo Canyon Trail from Pomo Canyon Campground on Saint Patrick's Day to experience the native ferns and see early wildflowers. Participants will learn how to identify ferns by observing types of fronds, types of stems, scales, and growth habits. Pomo Canyon Campground has a large population of the native Five Finger Fern (Adiantum aleuticum) and the seldom seen Spreading Wood Fern (Dryopteris expansa).
Meet at the parking lot at highway 1 and Willow Creek Road at 11:00 am. Dress for changeable weather and bring a bag lunch. If you want to carpool from River Road Park and Ride (west side near power lines) in Santa Rosa, meet there at 10:00 am.
Please RSVP at Milobakerevents@gmail.com Questions? Email Lynn Houser at lynnaeus@gmail.com.
Save the Date – April Plant Walks
Mark your calendar for this series of special access outings in the southern Mayacamas to see wildflowers and fire recovery. Details and sign up info will be in the April newsletter.
Saturday April 6, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm, Auberge Ceanothus with Sonoma County Agricultural and Open Space District. Science trip.
Sunday April 14 10:00 am - 2:00 pm, Ranchero Mark West Preserve with LandPaths: redwoods and chaparral after Glass Fire.
Sunday April 28 10:00 am - 3:00 pm, Saddle Mountain with Sonoma County Agricultural and Open Space District. We helped protect it!
For more information about our plant walks please check our website. To sign up for email alerts contact milobakerevents@gmail.com
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California Native Plant Demonstration Garden at Sonoma Botanical Garden
– April Owens, CNPS Board of Directors Secretary
We are excited to rally a team of volunteers for this important project in the Sonoma Valley! Another island in our corridor throughout Sonoma County and beyond. About the project:
Sonoma Botanical Garden (SBG), in partnership with Sonoma Ecology Center and Habitat Corridor Project, proudly announces a dynamic, new collaboration to design and establish a leading-edge California native plant demonstration garden at SBG. The project aims to create a learning landscape surrounding SBG’s Welcome Center to showcase the beauty and practicality of native flora in safeguarding against wildfires, promoting water conservation, and sustaining local wildlife.
Illustration: California Native Visitor Center Landscape (Design by the Habitat Corridor Project and the Sonoma Ecology Center – drawing by Nadja Quiroz)
The initiative represents a significant stride towards sustainable landscape design and environmental stewardship in Sonoma County. The project will include installing 20 Vinehill Manzanita from the Milo Baker/Laguna nursery; the first rare California native in the SBG collection.
“We are thrilled to embark on this innovative project alongside Sonoma Ecology Center and Habitat Corridor Project, generously supported, in part, by the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation”, says Jeannie Perales, Executive Director, SBG. “This important collaboration leverages the expertise and resources of three esteemed regional organizations dedicated to conservation, education, and ecological resilience and builds significantly on SBG’s recently opened California Oaks Trail and the Garden’s enhanced mission to inspire an appreciation of the beauty and value of California native plants alongside its Asian plant collection.”
We need help planting – the best part. Volunteer days:
March 2, 8, 27 from 10 am – noon. Meet at SBG 2841 Sonoma Highway. Please follow all parking directions and meet at the Welcome Center. Bring your favorite gloves and planting tools – we will provide some too.
Please RSVP to april@habitatcorridorproject.org for more directions and we will send you a complimentary entrance to the full Garden after our workday including an Oak Woodland Trail and the Asian seed collected collection– a biodiversity hot-spot in its own right. Bob Schneider from the Sonoma Ecology Center, Jen Roberts working with HCP, and Jeannie Perales the Executive Director of the Sonoma Botanical Garden, will lead the first day on March 2 and I will be there on the 8 and 27. We will introduce you to the project, discuss the plants and design, and get to a fun workday.
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Ask This Old House Features Our Very Own April Owens
The latest Ask This Old House TV episode visited the Bay Area to explore various ways that homeowners can protect their homes against wildfires. April is featured as she designs and helps install a fire-wise front yard landscape. Watch the episode here.
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Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities
![pulled ice plant piles at Doran Beach](https://secure2.convio.net/cnps/images/content/pagebuilder/pulled_ice_plant_doran_beach_600x300.jpg)
Piles of pulled invasives at Doran Beach; photo credit: Jan Lochner
Living Learning Landscapes Workday – second Friday of the month (9:30 am - noon). Meet at 1808 Albany Drive in Santa Rosa. Please RSVP to April Owens aprilleeowens@gmail.com so we know to expect you!
Weekly Doran Beach Ice Plant Removal – every Wednesday (9:30 am - 11:30 am). Bring clippers and gloves and knee pads if you like. One of the most pleasant workdays happens every week – a trip to Doran Beach to pull ice plant. We are clearing out the ice plant that is in the marshland to make room for natives. It is very visual and quite satisfying, with the sound of the waves, birds, and foghorn. To join us, please text Jan Lochner at (707) 569-4724, to let her know you are coming.
Bodega Head Ice Plant Removal Project – second Sunday of each month (10:00 am - 1:00 pm). CNPS is leading volunteers at Bodega Head to save native species from getting smothered by ice plant. Meet at the main parking lot near the bathrooms. Bring water, clippers, and gloves if you have them. Email Alynn at alynnkjeldsen@gmail.com for more information and to let us know that you are coming.
For more information, please visit the Volunteer Opportunities page on our website.
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