California Native Plant Society
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February Newsletter
What's in this issue: Speaker Series, Eco-friendly Garden Tour, Spring in the Garden, Plant Walks Resume, Doran Beach Restoration Project Update, Fall Scholarship Recipients, Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities
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Speaker Series Third Tuesday of the Month at 7:30 pm
February 20, 2024 (In-person and on Zoom) Luther Burbank Art and Garden Center 2050 Yulupa Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95405
California OakWatch Project
Jose Esparza, Community Science Coordinator at the California Native Plant Society, will talk about the community science work at CNPS and how to get involved with the California OakWatch Project.
Abstract: Science has been historically exclusive and community science is one of the many ways in which we can increase accessibility to science, close equity gaps, and create opportunities in the conservation field. Community Science (often called participatory science or community science) is a form of research that provides everyone, regardless of their background, an opportunity to contribute meaningful data to further our scientific understanding of key issues. It is a powerful tool for conservation that can generate biodiversity data at scales that are intractable by other approaches. The California OakWatch Project utilizes community science and crowd-sourced data to activate and engage people in scientific research to answer questions not just relevant to the scientific community, but our local community as well.
Oaks are vital to supporting biodiversity, but many are in crisis – help us map where they are, especially young oaks! Globally, one-third of oaks are vulnerable, in California that number jumps to nearly one-half. Changes in land use and climate contribute to reductions in oak numbers. In many areas, oaks struggle to reproduce, and knowing where seedlings and saplings are is crucial information. This project collects data on oaks native to the California Floristic Province, with a particular focus on young plants.
Bio: Jose Esparza is the Community Science Coordinator at the California Native Plant Society. Since joining in 2021, he has managed community science projects that are community-driven and community-led. His roots in community science stem from his experience in conservation work with strong intersections in science, community outreach, and environmental justice.
Jose graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a BA in Geography/Environmental Studies. As a way to connect with his environment, he loves to spend time outdoors, hiking, playing soccer, and exploring creative outlets through drawing.
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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Save the Date for the Spring Plant Sale and Eco-friendly Garden Tour!
– Betty Young, Milo Baker Nursery Co-chair
The Eco-friendly Garden Tour and Milo Baker Spring Plant Sale at the Laguna–CNPS Nursery will take place on Saturday, May 18.
Each year our CNPS chapter partners with the water department for the Eco-Friendly Garden Tour. This year we will support three native gardens of the 26 total on the tour, including the garden at our wonderful partner organization, the Laguna Foundation. The website should be active in early March, so save the link above to register.
It's a fun day, seeing many gardens in our area that you can't visit otherwise. We will also have a plant sale at our Laguna–CNPS Nursery from 10 am - noon. The gardens will be open from 10 am to 4 pm.
Volunteers are needed to help get our three native gardens ready for the Eco-Friendly Garden Tour. Volunteers can signup for 2-hour shifts a few mornings a week to weed, prune, and help with whatever else needs to be done. The gardens are located in Graton, Sebastopol, and Santa Rosa. If you are interested in helping, text Penny Dalton at (707) 889-5500.
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Join the volunteers who make the plant sales happen!
Volunteers are needed for both the spring and fall plant sales. Positions needed:
- Volunteer Coordinator
- Volunteers for plant sale days
- 2025 Plant Sale Chair
This is a wonderful opportunity to volunteer with Nursery Co-chairs, Betty Young and Lynnette Bower and the Laguna Foundation team. Contact Natasha Granoff for more details at 707-696-7171, or njgranoff@sonic.net
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Spring in the Garden
– Liz Parsons, Milo Baker Vice President
The rain continues but the days are getting longer; spring will be here soon. There are maintenance chores to be done in the garden. General clean-up, pruning, and trimming are so important to make way for the new growth. Cut back the CA fuchsia. Muhlenbergia rigens, deer grass, Nasella pulchra, purple needle grass, and the other grasses that we grow in our gardens must be cut back to make way for the new green growth. Many people complain about the messy look of CA fuchsia (Epilobium canum and various varieties). It must be cut back now to make room for the new growth. The roots are well established and will not suffer. It is time to remove the seed pods and old flower stalks from Salvias, Iris, and other perennials. They look decorative during the winter, but new stalks will soon replace them.
The pruning of shrubs and trees is an art. Most native shrubs have moderate growth and require little pruning, just a little trimming to contain and direct growth as necessary. Each plant has a unique growth habit, so study them before determining its pruning needs. Professional help is necessary for large trees, especially oaks. I have a large coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) in my front yard now and an arborist will come soon to trim it up.
Know your first leaves! If you are going to cultivate annual wildflowers in the garden, you need to remove the weeds to make room for them. Recognizing the leaves of the weeds is an important part of this task. I have weedy geraniums, red henbit (Lamium purpureum), and assorted grasses. They are easy to recognize and remove. Every garden has its problem weeds; know yours and fight them. If you haven’t planted your annual wildflower seeds, do so now. Most of mine have sprouted and are well on their way. Baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii), CA Poppy (Eschscholzia californica), nightwatcher (Madia elegans), sky blue lupine (Lupinus nanus), meadowfoam (Limnanthes douglasii), and of course, farewell to spring—the Clarkias. I purchased a mix of Clarkia species at the plant sale and am delighted to see the various new leaves. The most successful is elegant Clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata) which reseeds so prolifically.
The best guide to gardening with CA native plants in Sonoma County is the Milo Baker Chapter’s booklet: "Native Plant Gardener: How to Get Started", 2022 (available at our monthly general meetings/speaker series). The book Growing California Native Plants by Marjorie Schmidt and Katherine Greenberg, Second Edition, 2012 is an invaluable introduction to and guide to growing our CA natives.
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Plant Walks Resume
– Lynn Houser, Milo Baker Field Trip Coordinator
Our plant walks resume starting in February. We are extremely fortunate to have such a qualified new Field Trip Chairperson. Please welcome Lynn Houser in her new role and plan to attend an upcoming plant walk.
Saturday, February 24 from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Manzanitas at Lake Sonoma
Meet at Big John's Market off Dry Creek Road in Healdsburg at 9:45 to carpool or caravan to Lake Sonoma, where we will see blooming manzanitas and views of the lake. Or you can meet us at the Little Flat parking lot off Rockpile Road at 10:00 am. We will hike about 1-2 miles to see manzanitas on serpentine and other chaparral locations and look for historically reported manzanitas off Rockpile Road.
Bring lunch and water, be prepared for cool weather, and wear sturdy boots. Rain cancels, but we may reschedule.
Photo credit: Gary Hundt
Please RSVP by Feb 17 at milobakerevents@gmail.com
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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Beach Restoration Delivers Nesting Habitat for Snowy Plovers
– Jan Lochner, Milo Baker Invasive Plant Co-chair
The following is an excerpt from an article written by Cal Robinson of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The article describes the joint project, between Sonoma County Regional Parks and the California Native Plant Society, to remove invasive plants from the Doran Baylands and restore habitat including nesting sites for the Western Snowy Plover. Led by our Invasive Plant Co-chair, Jan Lochner, each Wednesday volunteers have been clearing out the European beachgrass and ice plant. Recently the project has expanded to planting natives to rehabilitate the dunes. In late November over 1000 were planted by Jan and her crew, along with folks from Regional Parks, Laguna Foundation, USFWS, and Bodega Marine Lab.
Photo credit: USFWS-Pacific Region/USFWS
Excerpted from the article:
“Funded by a small grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Coastal Program, we’re planting native plants that have been grown for us over the last year by the Laguna Foundation,” said Minona Heaviland, park program supervisor in the natural resources division of Sonoma County Regional Parks.
After applying for and receiving the grant from the Service, park staff and California Native Plant Society volunteers joined the Laguna Foundation last year to collect the native seeds and vegetative samples that will form the foundation of the native plant community in the Doran Beach dunes. American dunegrass, seaside daisy and yellow sand verbena are just a few of the species being planted.
“The native plantings will create an ecosystem that is a more diverse and dynamic habitat for snowy plovers,” said Bridget Giblin, biologist in Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office’s Coast-Bay Division. “Now that native plants can be restored to the area, the plovers will have a habitat that provides for better foraging and nesting sites. We hope this will encourage more plover activity at this site in the future.”
Determined individuals of both the Milo Baker chapter of the California Native Plant Society and Sonoma County Regional Parks have carried the torch for the project forward, believing in the vision of a restored ecosystem.
Read the full article here.
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Fall Scholarship Recipients
Milo Baker Fall Research Scholarship recipient – Shirah Strock
My name is Shirah Strock and I am so grateful to have received a Milo Baker Award to help further my studies! I am currently a master's student at Sonoma State University studying Biology with a focus on conservation and restoration research for a California native species, the bull kelp. My lab, the Hughes Lab, cultures bull kelp for restoration initiatives and performs research projects to improve our restoration techniques. My project focus will be to analyze the development of bull kelp under conditions with multiple stressors, specifically looking at varying temperature and salinity conditions. This project will help inform our restoration techniques and help us better understand the development of bull kelp in varying conditions. The CNPS Milo Baker Scholarship that I received will help me purchase supplies and put together the infrastructure for this study. I am so excited to get started with this project, growing kelp cultures, and improving our understanding of this foundation species!
Milo Baker Fall Merit Scholarship recipient – Dora Avanzi Mesquita
My name is Dora Avanzi Mesquita and I am a student at Santa Rosa Junior College, studying psychology. Research has always fascinated me, and propelled my desire to work in the science/medical field. My project will look at how P. ramorum (plant pathogen) infection will cause chromosomal reorganization of U. californica cells. By collecting root apical meristems from the California Bay Laurel, we can observe, and work with, active dividing plant cells. We developed a protocol for DNA visualization by optimizing DNA stains so we can see and analyze the chromosomes. As a part of Dr. Hua's lab at Sonoma State University, I am able to carry out this research with the guidance of the lab, my mentor Jason Romero, and Dr. Hua. I'm very excited to be granted this opportunity to research California Bay Laurels, and in the future to present my data to the Milo Baker chapter of the California Native Plant Society.
Milo Baker Fall Merit Scholarship recipient – Veronica Wade Lewis
My name is Veronica Wade Lewis. I have a deep love and knowledge of plants. Currently, I am an apprentice at Point Blue Conservation Science, STRAW program. At STRAW I am learning about how to restore local riparian and wetland habitats. I am also learning how to work with students in the field and the classroom to increase community awareness of the importance of native plants. I have studied Sonoma County plant life as a certified herbalist for many years and am excited to continue to learn. Most weekends you can find me hiking with my family at a local Regional or State Park. I am a mother of an adult with special needs, for whom I've spent many years running an at home play therapy program for. This fall I will be transferring to Sonoma State University in pursuit of a BS in environmental science. I am grateful to receive the CNPS Merit Scholarship that will help me on my career path of connecting and learning more about local plant and human ecosystems.
Please see our website to read about all of our 2023 scholarship recipients.
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Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities
![volunteers planting natives at Doran Beach](https://secure2.convio.net/cnps/images/content/pagebuilder/planting_natives_doran_beach_600x225.jpeg)
Photo: In late November, volunteers planted over 1000 natives at Doran Beach; 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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