CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY'S CONSERVATION CONFERENCE 2018
No matter where you live, the native plants of that area help define the beauty, history and meaning of all life there – from the soil, to the birds and bugs and mammals – four legged and two legged. On Cultivating Place this week we’re joined by Executive Director Dan Gluesenkamp and Marketing and Communications Director Liv O'Keeffe of the California Native Plant Society to hear more about the state of our native plants and the society's upcoming Conservation Conference Jan 30 - Feb 3, 2018.
The topic of native plants is so important to me – no matter where you live, I am firm believer you should know and love and advocate for your native plants – the local natives, the regional natives, the state natives and so forth. They thrived in this spot you call home - wherever that might be - for so many reasons and in their journey is so much for us to learn.
Across the US, as well as in other countries, native plant societies convene people interested in learning about and doing what they can to support and protect native plants, the complex layers of specific plant communities and the significant remaining native landscapes. Of all the native plant societies I’ve had the privilege of belonging to, the CNPS, as they are affectionately known, stands out in its scope, vision and reach.
"It's an odd organization. It's something of a professional organization for scientists who are trying to understand one of the world's 33 biodiversity hotspots, it also includes a ton of gardeners, people who appreciate the science but really what they're into is gardening. And it includes conservation activists- people who are fighting to save places. " Dan Gluesenkamp, ED CNPS
Every three years in February, the CNPS hosts a Conservation Conference attended by plant people scientists, educators and advocates of all varieties from around the world. They gather to share knowledge, to inform and to inspire through workshops, lectures, poster sessions and field trips. Themes about Plant science, Conservation and Horticulture run throughout the five total days of of the conference and the field trip and workshop days leading up to the formal conference.
In February of 2018, this conference will be held in the Los Angeles area and this week on Cultivating Place, we’re joined by Dan Gleusenkamp, the Executive Director and Liv O’Keefe, the Director of Marketing and Communications for this large and diverse organization representing a large and diverse group of people and plants who call California home.
I’ve lived gardened hiked and camped in interior Northern California for more than 10 years now. And I fall in love with it more every day. Its oak trees, its grasslands, its foothills and alpine regions - each defined by time and geology and weather patterns, as well as by human influence and impact.
The California Floristic Province as a whole, which ranges from southern Oregon to the Baja Peninsula, is one of the world’s 33 biodiversity hotspots and as gardeners we could not be more blessed with this native plant diversity to work with and wonder at. The CNPS ranks as one of the largest and most influential native plant advocacy organizations in the world.
Dan and Liv join us via Skype from their offices to tell us more about the mission and work of the CNPS and the importance of this upcoming Conservation Conference.
EARLY REGISTRATION FOR THE CONFERENCE ENDS OCT 31! For more information on the conference and registration: CLICK HERE.
Join us!
