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California Native Plant Society
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December 2022 Newsletter
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 Marin Chapter Annual Meeting
"A Preview Of The “Pinnacles Jewelflower” - an undescribed species - and other botanical rarities of Pinnacles"
Monday, December 12 @ 7:30 pm
Guest Speaker: Amelia Ryan, Vegetation Ecologist, Pinnacles National Park
Though identified nearly 20 years ago as a probable new species, the “Pinnacles Jewelflower” has languished undescribed. In this “preview” talk, National Park Vegetation Ecologist and CNPS Member Amelia Ryan will tell us what we know so far about this extremely rare endemic species, its characteristics, and its preferred habitat, and discuss the distribution and status of other similar species in the area. Amelia will also show us some other interesting and unusual plants found at Pinnacles National Park.
Register for this Zoom meeting here.
Read more. . .
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Annual Membership Meeting
Our December membership meeting will be our official annual meeting to elect a slate of officers for the 2023 Marin Chapter Board of Directors.
We have space on the board and call for additional nominations. If you are interested in serving, please contact Kristin Jakob at 650-608-1274, akristinjakob@gmail.com.
The proposed slate for 2023 is as follows:
 Co-President: David Long
Co-President: Kristin Jakob
Treasurer: Kate Wing
Recording Secretary: Woody Elliott
Eva Buxton
Paul da Silva
Ann Elliott
Carolyn Longstreth
Laura Lovett
Eddie Robertson
We need a quorum of 10% of Chapter members voting at the meeting, please attend, vote, and enjoy Amelia Ryan's talk about the Pinnacles.
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 Ring Mountain Docent Program Starts Spring 2023!
Become part of the first group of Ring Mountain Preserve Wildflower Docents. Join the Marin Chapter of CNPS and Marin County Parks for this fantastic opportunity to share your love of Ring Mountain’s unique ecology, wildflowers, and unusual serpentine grassland habitat with the general public, while also fostering stewardship of this Marin landmark. This opportunity will run weekends from April through mid-June 2023, with training in March. No experience is necessary, but familiarity with native plants is preferred.
Additional details and a formal sign-up will be available early next year. For more information and to receive notice of the registration website for the docent program, please contact Stacey Pogorzelski at marincnpsvolunteers@gmail.com
Read more. . .
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 New! Bay Area Regional Garden Planner
Rachael L. Olliff Yang, PhD
Plant Ecologist & Marin CNPS Volunteer
This past month CNPS released a new Bay Area Garden Planner as part of its Calscape website, making planting natives in the Bay Area even easier than before!
After choosing your ecoregion, habitat type, and gardening preferences the Planner provides lists of locally native plant species that are better adapted to your local microclimate and provide the most benefit to wildlife and insects in our area.
Read more. . .
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 International Biodiversity Meetings Reconvene December 7th
The UN Biodiversity Conference - 15th Conference of Parties (COP-15), which began in Kunming, China in April 2022, will continue in Montreal, Canada, from December 7 to 19. Biodiversity loss is one of the biggest threats to our planet.
Because native plants are a big part of global biodiversity, this meeting is of special interest to CNPS members. An important question that the meeting will address is: What should be the revised goals since the targets for the Biodiversity Decade from 2010 to 2020 were not met?
Read more at Canada's host site.
The United Nations Environment Programme site has the schedule and link for live streaming the conference.
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 Green Visits to Green Spaces: Bothin Marsh
Check out Bothin Marsh along Marin Transit Route 17. This rich habitat is a remnant of the vast salt marshes which once surrounded the San Francisco Bay. Bothin Marsh filters runoff pollution from nearby urban areas, reduces erosion into Richardson Bay, and reduces flood risk when water levels are high. Home to the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse and Ridgeway's rail, it also provides a rest stop for hundreds of migratory birds traveling the Pacific Flyway. Take your binoculars to watch the birds more closely.
 Getting there: Parking is at a premium at the marsh, so connect with Marin Transit Route 17 bus in San Rafael, Mill Valley, Sausalito, or anywhere along its extensive route. The well-used Mill Valley-Sausalito Pathway and the Charles F. McGlashan Pathway travel through and along Bothin Marsh. To access these trails, get off the bus at the Shoreline Hwy & Pohono St. stop or the Almonte Blvd. & Miller Ave. stop. The current trails flood regularly during higher tides; check a tide table for better accessibility at lower tides.
 Resilience: Marin County Open Space District and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy are collaborating in the Evolving Shorelines project to assess and plan for sea-level rise resiliency by restorating native plant habitat and improving recreation trails. Fill out the Preliminary Design Survey to help them assess public attitudes about their proposed rerouting of the pathway to the edge of the marsh.
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CNPS has adopted the goal to become carbon neutral in its activities by 2030. Visiting our favorite spaces for viewing native plants involves some kind of transportation. Walking to a park, forest, or seashore is a very green transportation option. To go farther from our home, public transportation, bicycles, electric cars, and car pooling are good ways to reduce our carbon footprint. |
 Upcoming Marin Chapter Events
- 12/16 2023 Micro Grant Deadline for projects to benefit native plants, native plant knowledge and education, and/or the organizations and people who care for the lands where these plants grow
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 Other Activities of Interest
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 Chapter News Submissions
This digital newsletter is emailed monthly to inform CNPS members and other Marin CNPS followers about the activities, events, and issues concerning native plants in Marin County and California.
Please send articles, information about related events, photography, art, prose, and poetry relating to native plants for inclusion in upcoming newsletters to Ann Elliott, Newsletter Editor annonfire@gmail.com .
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