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)

We usually carry a small selection of native plants at our monthly meetings. New members who sign up at the meeting will receive a free plant (if available)

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. 

Biography

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. 
Tom has had a long interest in the islands of California and Baja California first visiting them in the mid 1970’s.  

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.
 
Dylan Edwards is the Environmental Stewardship Coordinator for Ocean Discovery Institute and is the instructor for the team of high school students who lead Watershed Avengers. He received his B.S. in Outdoor Recreation at San Diego State University and focused on outdoor leadership and connecting underserved populations to nature and the outdoors.  He is currently a Graduate Student at Prescott College studying Restoration Ecology and Planning. He has been a CNPS member for just under a year.

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.

Map it !

June 15, 2010 - Making the Most of the New Edition of the Manual of California Vegetation

Speaker - Dr. Todd Keeler-Wolf


The first Manual was published in 1995 as an introduction to a new way of defining and describing vegetation, the second edition, published by CNPS in the fall of 2009 presents a refined tool that distinguishes all of the currently known vegetation types in California. Just as importantly, it also uses the descriptions as a means to describe dynamic processes such as fire, flood, and climate change that shape the state’s biotic landscape.
In many ways the new book is part of the story of how vegetation description is contributing to conservation and sound management of California’s natural landscape. In this talk he will point out what information lies within the book, how to interpret it, and also what related activities are underway to provide integrated information on California vegetation.

Dr. Todd Keeler-Wolf is an ecologist who has worked in California for over 30 years. He is the Senior Vegetation Ecologist at the California Department of Fish and Game and lead’s their Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program. He is also technical program advisor to the California Native Plant Society’s Vegetation Program. In addition to the Manual of California Vegetation, he has co-authored several books and publications, including the revised UC Press California Plant Life Natural History guide (with Robert Ornduff and Phyllis Faber), and the recently published third edition of the Terrestrial Vegetation of California (with Michael Barbour and Allan Schoenherr).

May 18, 2010 - The Goodan Ranch/Sycamore Canyon Open Space Preserve

By Carol Crafts President of the Friends of Goodan Ranch
www.goodanranch.org

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.
For additional information and to view films on-line please visit www.fieldnotes.com

March 16, 2010 - A Conservation Puzzle: Members invited to hunt for San Diego thornmint

By Jonathan Snapp-Cook and Jessie Vinje

 In just a few short weeks the pink and white blooms of San Diego thornmint (Acanthomintha ilicifolia) will emerge from its green thorny foliage.  When surveying for this small annual you might feel the crunch of the crumbly clay soils or smell its wintergreen-like scent before seeing the plants. San Diego thornmint is limited in distribution to San Diego County and northwestern Baja California.  The species is only found on gently sloping clay lens habitat.  Jonathan Snapp-Cook will provide a virtual tour of some of the locations where this species is found and present the findings of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 5-year Review for San Diego thornmint.  Jessie Vinje will provide a first hand account of her work managing San Diego thornmint on three North County preserves.  Jonathan also hopes to lure in volunteers to our spring search for thornmint with tales of populations of greater than 30,000 beautiful plants and unique clay lens habitats scarcely the size of a kitchen table.  If you already know that you want to volunteer for our chapter’s spring surveys for San Diego thornmint please contact Frank Landis at franklandis03@yahoo.com.

Biographies

Jonathan Snapp-Cook is a botanist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Carlsbad.  He is interested in hard to find endemics and vernal pool flora and fauna. 

Jessie Vinje is a preserve manager and botanist with the Center for Natural Lands Management.  She manages preserves in Carlsbad and Encinitas.

February 16, 2010 - Edible, Medicinal, Material, Ceremonial: Contemporary Ethnobotany of Southern California Indians
By Rose Ramirez and Deborah Small

Native plants were an incredibly important part of Indigenous people’s daily life. Many of those plants had profound importance to the intellectual, spiritual, and cultural vitality of California Indian people. This month’s presentation is an ethnobotanical calendar that documents the contemporary uses of twelve native plants. The presentation will include interviews, photographs, videos, and a multimedia presentation of southern California Indians as they gather, prepare, and use native plants. Don’t miss this important work.

Biography

Rose Ramirez is of Chumash descent, a California Indian basket weaver, photographer, and board member of the non-profit American Indian Channel, which documents the arts and culture of native peoples.

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
by Ann Fege 

Native plants, nearby nature, and the work of CNPS are more important than ever, and this presentation will be a dialogue about the values of learning in nature and “playing” outdoors.  When people spend time “connecting to nature,” they are more likely to make personal lifestyle changes, participate in community projects, grasp the imperative of greenhouse gas reductions, and give political support for biodiversity.  When children spend time in nature and outdoor play, they are healthier and happier, develop their curiosity and creativity, get a sense of place, and learn about stewardship of the environment.  Locally, the San Diego Children and Nature Collaborative brings educators, ecologists, parents, community leaders and activists together and is inspired by local columnist Richard Louv, his book Last Child in the Woods, and the national “Children and Nature” movement. 

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
by Jared Underwood 

 San Diego County is home to many rare, threatened, and endangered species. On a national and global scale, the region has been identified as a major "hotspot" for biodiversity. It is also one of the most rapidly growing regions in the country. This combination of high biodiversity, large numbers of rare and unique species, and rapid urbanization has led to conflicts between growth and biological conservation. In the 1990s the County initiated a Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP) for unincorporated areas of the County. The goal of this program was to develop comprehensive conservation plans that would allow for the conservation of biodiversity and continued growth within the County. The North County Plan (Plan) expands the MSCP into the northwestern unincorporated areas of the County. In this presentation we will outline the goals, objectives, and polices of the Plan that will allow for the streamlining future development outside of proposed preserve areas and for the conservation of rare and endangered species within the proposed preserve system.

Biography

Jared Underwood began working with the County of San Diego Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP) in August of 2008. He currently is the lead planner/biologist for the MSCP North County Plan. He recently received a Ph.D. in Biology with a focus in Conservation Planning from Arizona State University and is excited to bring his passion for conservation to San Diego.
Jared has previously worked for the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Utah Department of Natural Resources, and the US Forest Service. In his spare time he enjoys surfing, scuba diving, hiking, and in general exploring the natural world around him.

October 20, 2009 - San Diego Canyonlands
by Eric Bowlby

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
by Mike Evans 

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
Mike Evans was born and raised in southern California.  In 1976, he co-founded Tree of Life Nursery, the largest native plant nursery in California. He has been active in many conservation, horticultural and botanical organizations.  He was past president (2005) of the International Plant Propagators Society, and past president (2001) of the California Society for Ecological Restoration.  He has been active in the California Native Plant Society, the California Botanical Society, and The Nature Conservancy and he served on the horticultural committee for The Jepson Manual project. He is on the board of the Donna O’Neill Land Conservancy in San Juan Capistrano, Casa Romantica Cultural Center in San Clemente, the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society, and the Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo.

July 21, 2009 - Finding Connection in Nature
by John Muir Laws

Naturalist, educator and artist John (Jack) Muir Laws delights in exploring the natural world and sharing this love with others. For six years, John Muir Laws backpacked the Sierra Nevada to research and illustrate The Laws Guide to the Sierra Nevada, a richly illustrated (2,710 original watercolor paintings), pocket‐size field guide to over 1,700 species found in the Sierra Nevada. This guide helps visitors or residents of the Sierra understand and appreciate the biodiversity of the region.
Laws will present an illustrated lecture about the natural history of the Sierra Nevada, and the process of creating a field guide. This engaging program will highlight some of the beautifully and amazing species in the Sierra and the relationships between them. Laws will also discuss some of the conservation challenges in the Sierra Nevada and what stewards of nature are doing to confront them.

Biography
Naturalist, educator and artist John (Jack) Muir Laws delights in exploring the natural world and sharing this love with others. For six years, John Muir Laws backpacked the Sierra Nevada to research and illustrate The Laws Guide to the Sierra Nevada, a pocket size field guide to over 1,700 species found in the Sierra Nevada. The guide includes 2,710 original watercolor paintings was reviewed by educators, naturalists, and scientists throughout the country, and was intensively field tested by adults and youth. This guide helps visitors or residents of the Sierra understand and appreciate the biodiversity of the region. This comprehensive and easy to use guide allows botanists to identify the insects that come to their flowers, birders to identify the trees in which the birds perch, or hikers to identify the stars overhead at night. Laws is deeply committed to stewardship of nature and collaborates with organizations throughout the state to this end. He is currently coordinating efforts to create a standards based sixth through eighth grade curriculum to help teachers convey a love of nature and an understanding of biodiversity to their students through field studies and nature sketching. As a part of this project, he is working secure funding to donate sets of field guides to every middle and high school in the Sierra Nevada. Laws has worked as an environmental educator for over 25 years in California, Wyoming, and Alaska. He teaches classes on natural history, conservation biology, scientific illustration, and field sketching. He is trained as a wildlife biologist and is an associate of the California Academy of Sciences. His illustrations capture the feeling of the living plant or animal, while also including details critical for identification. In the summer of 2004, Laws published Sierra Birds: a Hiker's Guide. He is also a regular contributor to Bay Nature magazine with his "Naturalists Notebook" column.

June 16, 2009 - Native Landscape Myths and Legends
by Greg Rubin

This presentation challenges much of the conventional wisdom surrounding native plants with lots of photographic examples.  Greg also looks at many of the "Do's" and "Don'ts" of successful nativescapes, including an analysis of a huge, failing native installation (sorry, no names will be divulged).  Bring your questions.

Biography
Greg Rubin, owner of California's Own Native Landscape Design, started working with native plants back in 1985, while renovating his parent's home in Chatsworth, CA. Although educated and subsequently employed in a successful engineering career, Greg maintained a fascination with natives based on this early experience. Soon, he was landscaping for friends and family on weekends and holidays. Demand continued to rise, and by 1993, Greg was able to start his successful and unusual landscaping business. Since that time, his company has designed over 500 native landscapes in San Diego County.

Greg has been featured in a number of periodicals including the North County Times, Union Tribune, and magazines such as Sunset, San Diego Home and Garden, San Diego Reader, and California Gardener. Media coverage includes appearances on KGTV, KUSI, and KFMB. He has also been a repeat guest on KPBS radio’s These Days with Tom Fudge. Greg regularly gives presentations on native plants to garden clubs and other organizations throughout San Diego County.

May 19, 2009 -Real California Natives: Experience the food, drink and medicine
by Kristie Orosco

The indigenous people of San Diego County have been using native plants for many thousands of years. These plants have significant meaning and are still commonly used for food, drink and medicine. This month’s presentation is a special opportunity for all of us to experience what many native people already know. Our meeting will begin with tasting three food items including Shaawii (acorn pudding), miners lettuce and chia seed mix.  We will also enjoy Manzanita berry tea, lemonade berry tea and chia energy drinks. And we will learn about and experience the medicinal use of elderberry, mistletoe wash and oak gall wash. Please note that some foods may be substituted, depending on harvest abundance and seasonal availability; however, every effort will be made to make the above mentioned plants and foods available.
All of us will be able to sample various items and learn a little about how they are prepared and used from the people whose ancestors have been appreciating native plants for a very long time.

Biography

Kristie Orosco is a member of the Kumeyaay Tribe and has lived on the San Pasqual Indian Reservation all of her life.  The Kumeyaay Tribe is the Indigenous Community of San Diego, who’s aboriginal territory spans from Northern Baja California to the San Dieguito/Margarita watersheds.  The San Pasqual Indian Reservation is situated in a coastal sage scrub and oak woodland community; this is where Kristie’s plant knowledge and inspiration was born.  Kristie’s interest in ethno-botany began over 20 years ago and continues today.  This interest in native plants and the environment has flowed over into her career path.  Since 1994 Ms. Orosco has manifested her life’s passion by working in the Tribal Environmental Protection field.   For ten years Kristie has been a Board Member of the Native American Environmental Protection Coalition.  Ms. Orosco has accomplished many projects and most currently is the Environmental Director for a local Tribal Government.   Her current position is gives her the opportunity to manage projects such as:  Development of a Tribal Sustainability Plan, Implementing a River Restoration Project, a Native Plant Trail and Interpretive Center project, management of a 150+ acre Endangered Species Habitat Preserve, Cultural Resources Protection Program,  Extensive Environmental Education Outreach and many others.    It is a goal of Ms. Orosco to advocate for the protection of San Diego’s rich biological diversity; because she is confident that this will compliment the protection of the cultural tradition and heritage of San Diego’s indigenous peoples.

April 21, 2009 - Native Treasures: Plant Encounters in the California Outback
by Nevin Smith

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.
Mr. Smith has been one of California’s most respected nurserymen for over 30 years. Currently he is Director of Horticulture at Suncrest Nurseries in Watsonville. He has selected, named and introduced numerous native plants familiar to many of us.
Please join us for this important presentation from one of the most respected horticulturalists in the industry.

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.”
by Rick Halsey

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
by Jonathan Dunn

San Clemente Island, which is home to several rare and endemic plant and animal species, is also managed by the US Navy as an alternative landing field and training facility. Unmanaged grazing by feral goats during the last century caused extensive damage to the island's unique biota. During the last two decades the Navy has invested considerable effort on San Clemente Island to assist the recovery of endangered species and stabilize the island's damaged ecosystems. Jonathan Dunn, currently a biologist at EDAW, is a former project manager for the San Clemente Island Native Habitat Restoration Program. Jonathan will present a status review of habitat and species recover projects undertaken by the Navy in recent years on the island.

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
by Dan Songster

Many of our natives have wide landscape potential, others a more narrow application and some can be used in unexpected ways! Some of the plants discussed will fit into one of the situations you have in your home garden, or you may see ways to use natives you have not considered before.

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
Co-Director of the Golden West College Native Garden, Huntington Beach.
Board Member, Orange County Chapter of the California Native Plant Society
Active on the state level of CNPS, currently serving on the CNPS Horticulture Committee.
Employed in landscape design, installation, and maintenance for over 30 years. California native plants emphasized since 1978.
Interests other than gardening with natives include Surfing, hiking, reading (writing), and family!

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.