
| Chapter
Meetings
Chapter meetings are open
to the public; there is no charge. Come early and browse our books.
Stay after the program for conversation and refreshments. We meet in
the heart of San Diego, in Balboa Park, in Casa del Prado, room 101
or 104. Casa del Prado can be reached by car from Village Place off
of Park Boulevard (served by the #7 bus), and is across from the west
entrance of the Natural History Museum. The meeting room is handicapped
accessible. (Balboa Park
map and driving directions) 6:30 pm -7:30 pm is a time for discussion, camaraderie, visiting, and enjoying the sales table. The meeting starts at 7:30pm Room 101 or 104, Casa del Prado, Balboa Park
New Feature at Chapter Meetings: 7 - 7:30 pm Mystery plants identified ! Bring your unknown plant and we will help you learn to identify it!
October 16, 2010 - Cedros and Guadalupe Islands: Pacific Coast Islands with diverse and unique species and habitats. Speaker - Thomas A. Oberbauer Isla Cedros is the largest of the California and Baja California Islands. While it lies within an arid climatic region where the lowland seasonal rainfall is only 85mm., it contains stunningly sharp environmental gradients on the upper elevations which range up to 1,194m. This has resulted in presence of a diversity of vegetation community associations. These range from sarcocaulescent desert, made up of succulent-stem trees and shrubs, to coastal sage scrub, chaparral and maritime pine forest typical of southern and central Alta California. Because of the fog enhanced climatic conditions, the gradient between the pine forest and desert is particularly steep. The Island supports approximately 230 native taxa with those representing a flora from the north including Alta California, a number representing a flora from the south and roughly a dozen may be endemic. Isla Guadalupe was discovered in 1602. Seal hunters and mariners released goats onto the island in the early 1800’s. They ravaged the vegetation for nearly 200 years growing in population to nearly 50,000 animals. Their impacts resulted in the extinction, extirpation and near extinction of species of plants and several endemic varieties of birds. It appeared that all hope was lost until a cooperative effort between several agencies in the Mexican Government and conservation groups worked over a period of 6 years to remove the goats entirely from the island. Since the removal of the goats and prior to it as the numbers were greatly reduced, the vegetation has begun to show signs of natural recovery. Shrubs that were confined to a few individuals on cliff sides are now appearing in widespread clusters over the upper reaches of the island. Endemic pines and cypress that appeared doomed to extinction are reproducing with thousands of seedlings. Barren slopes are now becoming covered with bushes and a mixture of annual grasses with Mediterranean origins but also native annual herbs. Shrubs that had not been seen in more than 100 years have appeared in open lands indicating that even after 100 years, a seed reserve still resides in the eroded remnants of the soil. While much of the vegetation has not yet assembled itself into real community associations, its reestablishment appears promising. With the growth of vegetation, there are new challenges including the issue of fire, but with appropriate management, the vegetation appears to be growing back at a rate that is greater than what would be expected. Thomas A. Oberbauer – Tom is a third generation San Diegan and was educated in local schools with a Master’s Degree from San Diego State University. He has been a member of the San Diego Chapter of the California Native Plant Society for 35 years and past chapter president and director at large. He has also worked for the County of San Diego for nearly 35 years and is currently Chief of the Multiple Species Conservation Planning Division where he supervises the preparation and implementation of the regional preserve system in this County. Since 1998, approaching 40,000 acres of land have been preserved under this program.
July 20, 2010 - Watershed Avengers: engaging urban and diverse communities in habitat restoration through youth leadership Speaker - Dylan Edwards
Watershed Avengers is a program of Ocean Discovery Institute and is lead by a team of eight students from Hoover High School. These students engage, educate and inspire the community of City Heights to steward and restore their local canyons, watersheds, and habitats. Over the last two years, this program has connected over 2,000 volunteers in the restoration of Swan Canyon. The community has transformed what was once a canyon degraded by invasive plants, trash, and illegal activity, to a community resource where people can reconnect with nature and learn about native plants and animals. Come learn about our recent success, our exciting next steps in the project, and how you can get involved.
June 30, 2010 - The Live-Forevers Speaker - Fred Roberts The live-forevers, members of the genus Dudleya, are a popular and easily recognized group of succulent plants. Of the about 45 species, most live in southern California and northern Baja California, Mexico. Among the live-forevers are many narrow endemics and rare species. Some are obscure, others dramatic. Join Fred Roberts, the San Diego Chapter Rare Plant Botanist, as he talks about this interesting group of plants, where we can expect to see them, and introduces us to their diversity in San Diego County and adjacent areas. Fred is better known for his work on Orange County plants and oaks but he has has a passion for the genus Dudleya since he was an undergraduate at UCSB. Directions to Agua Hedionda Lagoon Discovery Center, 1580 Cannon Rd, Carlsbad: Exit I-5 east @ Cannon Road, turn left at Faraday Ave. signal into driveway.
June 15, 2010 - Making the Most of the New Edition of the Manual of California Vegetation Speaker - Dr. Todd Keeler-Wolf May 18, 2010 - The Goodan Ranch/Sycamore Canyon Open Space Preserve By Carol Crafts President of the Friends of Goodan Ranch
Managed by a Joint Powers Authority consisting of the California Department of Fish and Game, County of San Diego, and the cities of Poway and Santee, the Goodan Ranch - Sycamore Canyon Open Space Preserve encompasses varied and rugged terrain that supports some of southern California’s prominent and familiar plant communities. When you head south along Sycamore Canyon Road from Poway you will leave the busy world of our every day lives and find an oasis of history and peacefulness. The preserve offers opportunities to use your zoom lens as there are many birds and “belly flowers” to find and enjoy. Visitors may explore on foot, by mountain bike, or on horseback along a network of varied trails. Some trails are quite challenging but most are family friendly. You may encounter volunteers and Rangers maintaining trails, removing weeds or leading public hikes. Off trail, San Diego thorn-mint and other sensitive plants survive in hidden pockets. In the center of the valley are the remnants of the Goodan family’s stone house (1937 to 2003) which was destroyed during the Cedar Fire. Alongside it is the new visitor’s center where visitors can learn about homesteaders associated with an old school and post office referred as to ‘Stowe’ (1890 to 1905), and plans for the Trans County Trail. Bring a picnic to enjoy under the oaks and we may see one another there! Carol Crafts is President of the Friends of Goodan Ranch, where she coordinates support for the Rangers and their public outreach activities. She is also a volunteer with two historical societies, the San Diego Tracking Team and Project Wildlife, as well as at the Blue Sky Ecological Reserve. She lives in Poway.
April 20, 2010 - Filming the Wilds of San Diego By Jim Karnik Photographer/filmmaker Jim Karnik, will give a presentation on filming San Diego’s incredible natural diversity for a new high definition habitat series. The Wilds of San Diego is a proposal to produce, display and distribute a multi media project using digital photography and high definition video to increase public awareness and appreciation for the unique beauty of wild habitats and species in San Diego County. The series will focus on connections between wildlife, habitats and humans. The ultimate goal of this project is to reach as large an audience as possible using multiple media outlets including internet, broadcast, DVD and public presentation. The key to reaching a broader spectrum of the San Diego residents will be the use of traveling theater exhibits. These mobile theaters will be installed in public spaces such as visitor centers, libraries, public buildings and shopping malls. Jim has been filming nature in San Diego for over 20 years. He has filmed most of the habitats and species in the county and is now excited to recapture the beauty and natural diversity of San Diego using the latest DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) cameras which allow for both high definition video and high resolution still photography. Accompanied by sample video clips from the new series, Jim will give an overview of San Diego’s major natural habitats and unique qualities. Since 1987 photographer/filmmaker, Jim Karnik has focused his efforts on helping conservation organizations increase public awareness of human and natural history through film, video and photography. Through close collaboration with clients, he strives to create video programs that inform, motivate and inspire.
March 16, 2010 - A Conservation Puzzle: Members invited to hunt for San Diego thornmint By Jonathan Snapp-Cook and Jessie Vinje
Biographies
February 16, 2010 - Edible, Medicinal, Material, Ceremonial: Contemporary Ethnobotany of Southern California Indians
Biography
Deborah Small is an artist, photographer and professor of Visual and Performing Arts at California State University San Marcos and is the co-founder of the Indian Rock Native Garden Collaboration. She currently is working on a photographic book about southern California Indian basket weavers. For more see www.deborahsmall.wordpress.com January 19, 2010 - Connecting Native Plants, People and Politics
Biography Anne Fege Ph.D., M.B.A, is co-founder of the San Diego Children and Nature Collaborative. Dr. Fege's thirty years of accomplishments in natural resources management encompass biodiversity and habitat conservation, wildfire ecology and education, urban forestry, wilderness management, wood energy research, community involvement, and nature education. Fege is an adjunct professor in the Department of Biology at San Diego State University, Botany Research Associate at the San Diego Natural History Museum, a lifetime Girl Scout and volunteer, and retired Forest Supervisor of the Cleveland National Forest. November 17, 2009 -Update on San Diego’s Multiple Species Conservation Program
Biography
October 20, 2009 - San Diego Canyonlands
Eric will talk about San Diego Canyonlands’ goals and programs and opportunities to support a vision of restoration and sustainable stewardship of San Diego’s unique habitats. He will discuss current threats to wetlands and creek channels for the sake of flood control and solutions that could result in sustainable green infrastructure in the San Diego Region.
Biography Eric Bowlby is a Massachusetts native who moved to San Diego in 1976 and earned Associates degrees in English and Computer Science from local Community Colleges. He began his involvement in environmental issues in 1990 working to protect wetlands and other habitats along the San Diego River in western Mission Valley. He became Coastal Committee Chair for the San Diego Chapter of Sierra Club in 1996 and served as Chair of the Chapter’s Executive Committee in 1999 and 2000. He helped establish and build the Sierra Club’s San Diego Canyons Campaign from its inception in 1998 and in 2000 stepped down as chair to take a part time job managing the campaign. He and the Canyons Steering Committee grew the campaign to three full time positions and established 40 new friends groups for canyons and creeks throughout San Diego. In February 2008, with the Sierra Club’s blessing, Bowlby and the Steering Committee launched a new non-profit, (San Diego Canyonlands, SDCL), dedicated to San Diego’s canyons. Bowlby was hired as Executive Director in August 2008. Bowlby has also served for years on the City of San Diego Wetlands Advisory Board and the Open Space/Canyons Advisory Board.
September 22, 2009 - Save water....build habitat Many agencies and municipalities are introducing strict measures for mandatory water conservation, especially for outdoor use and landscape irrigation. We are told about numerous ornamental plants that will "work" in the landscape to save water; plants which fit into the category "California Friendly." The only plants that will truly use less irrigation water and also attract beneficial wildlife species are California native. We will discuss why native plantings are the "friendliest" of the California Friendly" plants, and the crucial need before us to enhance and build wildlife habitat within the human environment. Biography
July 21, 2009 - Finding Connection in Nature
Biography June 16, 2009 - Native Landscape Myths and Legends
Biography
May 19, 2009 -Real California Natives: Experience the food, drink and medicine
Biography April 21, 2009 - Native Treasures: Plant Encounters in the California Outback
Nevin Smith has spent his entire life growing plants in California and exploring its wild landscape with a passion. Our speaker this month will present a personal account of the joys and challenges of exploring the California landscape, working with its native plant treasures, and bringing them to California gardeners. March 17, 2009 - Nature as the Enemy: A discussion of proposals to masticate, burn, and graze native plant communities in the name of “fire safety.”
The cost of viewing chaparral as fuel. This remarkable stand of manzanita chaparral in the Cleveland National Forest that was featured on the Fall 2007 cover of the California Native Plant Society’s quarterly journal Fremontia was masticated by the USFS in 2008. The mastication shown above continues around a Coulter pine tree plantation. The area is miles away from any community Rather than dealing comprehensively with wildfire risk, many local governments are promoting vegetation “clearance” strategies that seriously compromise protected wildlands, challenge the integrity of habitat conservation plans, and increase the spread of invasive species. Some San Diego County officials have expressed the desire to exempt such vegetation “treatments” from the California Environmental Quality Act. Under the federal Healthy Forests Restoration Act, millions of dollars are spent to “treat acres” rather than dealing with fire risk where it would be most effective, immediately around and within human communities. Please join us as we discuss threats posed to California’s native plant communities by misguided fuel treatment projects and what you can do to help protect San Diego County’s native plants from unwise land use policies. Feb 17, 2009 - San Clemente Island Habitat Recovery
Biography - Jonathan Dunn is a native San Diegan with fifteen years of experience in the field of native plant conservation. Jonathan has planned and the directed the implementation of large scale habitat restoration projects on San Clemente Island, the Mojave desert, and coastal San Diego county and has participated on multidisciplinary endangered species recovery teams. Jonathan has broad experience in the collection of native seed for habitat restoration and plant conservation and has studied seed conservation practices at the Millennium Seed Bank in Wakehurst, England. Jonathan is currently working as a plant ecologist for EDAW, and he is the former manager of the CRES Botanical Conservation Center and Native Seed Gene Bank. Jan 20, 2009 - The Right Plant in the Right Place:California Natives for Particular Landscape Situations
For instance, do you have a slope in that you wish covered in durable, drought tolerant plants? Is there a section of your yard that is always dry and you really need a plant that can live with rainwater alone and still be gorgeous? Are you contemplating using a native tree and wonder if you have the room or the right situation? Need a hedge or a screen plant between you and your neighbor? Simply looking for fragrance and color for use in a Mediterranean style bed? No problem! Many examples of our versatile natives will be touched on during Dan’s presentation.
Biography - Dan Songster Nov 18, 2008 - Native plant uses by the Santa Ysabel Kumeyaay by Ken Hedges The Kumeyaay People of Southern California have been mastering the use of native plants for thousands of years. Author and ethnobotanist Ken Hedges has studied this history in Santa Isabel and together with Christina Beresford wrote a book in 1986 which highlights some of the most important uses of native plants in Kumeyaay culture. Please join Ken to hear this fascinating presentation on native plant uses for food, medicine and basketry.
Photo: Christina Beresford grinding Q. kelloggii
Biography Ken Hedges is Webmaster, Publications Editor, and a former curator of the San Diego Museum of Man. He graduated from Mount Miguel High School, Spring Valley, California, in June 1961, and received his BA (1966) and MA (1970) Degrees from San Diego State University, where his thesis title was An Analysis of Diegueño Pictographs. Ken is the author of Santa Ysabel Ethnobotany, based on fieldwork with his collaborator, Christina Beresford, now deceased, who was one of the last Northern Diegueño individuals to have an extensive knowledge of native plant uses. Published in 1986 and continuously in print since that time, the book has become minor classic since few studies of Kumeyaay/Diegueño ethnobotany have been done. In 1997 Ken published Fibers and Forms, a comprehensive overview of American Indian basketry of the west, from Alaska to the Mexican border. He has authored over 100 published papers, edited volumes, books, and reports on Native American rock art, shamanism, archaeoastronomy, ethnobotany, Southwestern ceramics, American Indian basketry, and other topics.
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