Seed Collection Day - Annuals and Early Perennials
Email: propagation@cnpssd.org to inquire about Training, Targets and Locations.
Upcoming Events
Email: propagation@cnpssd.org to inquire about Training, Targets and Locations.
Email: propagation@cnpssd.org to inquire about Training, Targets and Locations.
Visit Mission Hills Nursery on Sunday May 5th for the Native Plant Day event. Our chapter will participate with a presentation by Sherry Ashbaugh, Public Outreach Chair, on California native plants at 12pm. Other speakers are also scheduled during the event.
CNPSSD Propagation Committee is hosting a Private Tour of Moosa Creek Nursery
DIFFICULTY: EASY to ADVANCED
PLANT KNOWLEDGE: Beginner to Novice, Professionals are welcome
ACCESS: Open to all, no charge. Limited attendance to 40. Sign up shall be through email, first to respond shall reserve space. Email propagation@cnpssd.org to request a space.
REQUIRED FEES: None.
AMENITIES: Public Restrooms may not be available at the nursery, please come prepared. Bates Nut Farm is nearby.
DOGS: Not allowed at the nursery tour as there are guard dogs on site.
WEATHER: RAIN or SHINE unless postponed by the nursery. Updates will be provided to those who sign up.
NURSERY TOUR: Moosa Creek
This is to be a guided tour of the facilities as allowed by the Nursery Manager and / or other Moosa Creek employees. The guide shall go over seasonal growing and offer insight into successful commercial scale nursery work.
CNPSSD will participate in the 2024 CNC that will take place April 26-29.
This annual event encourages people to get outdoors and enjoy nature by photographing all types of organisms and posting them on sites such as iNaturalist.
It’s a friendly competition between cities in terms of total number of posts, number of participants and number of species. CNPSSD can make a significant contribution, and all members are urged to get involved.
A link to an iNaturalist page that has been set up specifically for San Diego County can be found here.
More detailed information will be provided in the March and April newsletters. In the meantime, questions can be directed to Don Rideout
Hosted by Rare Plants Committee: Agua Tibia Wilderness - Dripping Springs (Vail Lake near Temecula) with FWS Botanist Lauren Quon. Space on this event is very limited.
Email: raresurvey@cnpssd.org to inquire and to reserve a space.
Join us for a truly unique experience at the Arnold Boulder Mountain Preserve, where you'll explore a nature preserve and private botanic garden under the guidance of expert naturalists — all while supporting a meaningful cause.
Hosted by Field Trips Committee:
Border Bioblitz at Campo, 9am-2pm, Shockey Truck Trail, Campo.
The 2024 Border BioBlitz is in service of the SD Natural History Museum's Community Science efforts and the broader focus on environmental issues at the international border between the US and MX.
The trip itself is fairly slow paced at first and geared to take records as we slowly make our way down Shockey Truck Trail and any accessible side paths to near the Border wall where we'll have lunch and turn around. Dominant habitats we'll walk through are desert transitional big sagebrush scrub and mixed manzanita / scrub oak / redshanks chaparral.
Hosted by San Diego Chapter:
General meeting (open to the public), 6:30pm-8:30pm; Room 101, Casa del Prado in Balboa Park.
Isabelle Kay, Academic Coordinator and Reserves Manager for the past 35 years, will speak on the UCSD Natural Reserve System. She will give an overview of each San Diego Reserve and the challenges of management in the increasingly urbanized milieu of western San Diego County and an increasingly variable climate.
She will highlight examples of the reserves roles as educational, research, and community resources, and then propose some directions for continuing collaboration with CNPS.
Hosted by Habitat Restoration Committee:
Self-guided iNaturalist exploration of a restored area Artesian Creek Open Space; 9am - dusk, docents will be on site from 9am-12pm.
This year marks the tenth year on the San Dieguito River Project and the twentieth year since we began restoration in the San Dieguito watershed. See the renewed habitat resulting from invasives removal. Bring your cell phone loaded with the iNaturalist app. See how many plants and animals you can find in this restored habitat.
For iNat exploration: north end of Maranatha Drive, San Diego CA
There is parking in the cul-de-sac past the school and in the vacant lot on Maranatha Drive. (High clearance vehicles will be given another option for dirt roads off Camino Santa Fe further into the area as well.)
Hosted by Seeds and Bulbs Committee: Buy native plant seeds and bulbs at the Spring Fling, from 10am to 4pm at Moosa Creek Nursery, Coolwater Ranch Road, Valley Center.
Hosted by Public Outreach Committee: Pechanga Earth Day (Event open to Tribal members only).
Hosted by Propagation Committee: Invasive Plant Removal workshop, 10am-2pm Tecolote Nature Center; 5180 Tecolote Road; San Diego, CA 92110.
This will be an orientation course on removal of invasive species and familiarity with the most common invasive plants of San Diego coastal areas. We'll go over assessment, phenology and seasonality, tools and safety, and have a nuanced discussion about herbicide use. CNPS San Diego has slightly different approaches to restoration and invasive plant species control, most center around the Bradley Method to encourage natural recruitment and Cal - IPC (Calif Invasive Plant Council) Protocols for each species.
IT IS OUR 10TH ANNIVERSARY!
Join us in celebrating the beauty and diversity of San Diego’s native gardens. You will enjoy exploring a vibrant palette of landscape designs in Poway, La Jolla, Del Mar, and Solana Beach, each garden teeming with native plants and the wildlife they attract.
Our 2024 theme is 'Planting Animals,' highlighting the ties between native plants and the animals that rely on them. Planting California natives is the starting point for the web of life connected to our gardens. This includes us too!
This year, we feature the gardens of three visionaries: Dennis and Pamela Mudd in Poway and Jim Smith in Del Mar. Together, they created Calscape, a must-have online tool for the home gardener. Their designs embody Calscape’s mission: 'To restore nature - one garden at a time.'
The 10th Anniversary San Diego Native Garden Tour is a celebration of beautiful landscapes and all the life that depends on them. As gardeners and lovers of native plants, we’ve been given an opportunity to help nature thrive. Let the beauty of San Diego's native plant gardens inspire you to strengthen your relationship with the natural world.
Calling all Garden Tour Volunteers
Be a part of this year’s garden tour by volunteering! We need garden docents to assist with a variety of tasks to make this a wonderful experience for visitors. The perks include making new friends, garden previews, complementary tour tickets, and more.
Interested? Volunteer here: Garden Tour Docent Sign Up
On Saturday, March 30, We'll do a crash course on Plant Identification focused on native species, though the starting point will help que in anybody from new learners to amateur and early professional botanists on resources and techniques for assessing and categorizing plants you will encounter on your travels across the state of California.
Any member of the committee is welcome to come help out at the Tecolote Nature Center anytime they are open (closed Sundays and Mondays). Sign up with City of San Diego as a volunteer and reach out to Ranger Steven for details if you are coming out for the first time.
Sign up for updates and Committee announcements by emailing propagation@cnpssd.org and requesting to be added to the contact list.
CNPS National Monuments Campaign - Guest Speaker: Nick Jensen CNPS Conservation Program Director. CNPS State Staff
He will be talking about the National Monuments campaign by CNPS especially in regards to Chuckwalla National Monument in Riverside and Imperial County deserts to expand protections to an additional 660K acres of wilderness and BLM lands. He has been instrumental in advocating for and advancing the Molok Loyok National Monument, formerly Walker Ridge in Lake County.
Nick is the Conservation Program Director. In this position, he oversees the conservation work of staff and volunteer advocates statewide. Nick’s work involves state and federal legislative advocacy, project-level work including presiding over litigation, participation in coalitions of environmental organizations, media relations, and supervising a team of talented conservation professionals. Nick earned his BS degree in Environmental Horticulture at UC Davis, and recently completed his PhD in botany at Claremont Graduate University. As a graduate student, Nick produced the first Flora of Tejon Ranch and studied evolutionary patterns in perennial Streptanthus (jewelflowers). He is a fellow of the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation. From 2006-2010, he was employed by CNPS, first as a Vegetation Program Assistant, and later as the Rare Plant Program Director. Nick has also worked as a botanist for the U.S. Forest Service, Chicago Botanic Garden, and the private consulting industry. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, hiking, gardening, and photographing wildflowers-activities that are often not mutually exclusive.
With Biologist Dr. Reinhard Witt and Architect Katrin Kaltofen, Germany
Our March potluck meeting will be hosted by Lee and Debbie Gordon at their lovely home in Scripps Ranch. Special guests, biologist Dr. Reinhard Witt, founder of the German Naturgarten e.V., and Architect Katrin Kaltofen, known as “Die Naturgartenplaner” from Regensburg, Germany will be presenting their talk, “Biodiverse Community Green Spaces”.
Join us for an engaging presentation showcasing a multi-award-winning garden project in the heart of Munich. Discover how natural garden design in a bustling city like Munich can create biodiverse outdoor spaces for all users, contributing significantly to the preservation of biodiversity. Planned, built, and maintained collaboratively with users, this concept fosters broad acceptance, support, and sustainability in this urban greenspace. Photo credit: Die Naturgartenplaner
Bring a potluck dish to share and meet up with old and new friends. This meeting is open to everyone interested in gardening with native plants and carpooling is encouraged. Everyone is welcome as early as 3:30 pm for a native garden hillside tour.
Please RSVP at this Link: March Meeting Sign Up
February Bird Park Meadow Design Workshop
(photos by Christine Hoey)
The dry stream beds at Bird Park are no longer dry with the recent rains! They have worked beautifully collecting rainwater and preventing runoff. More importantly, the rainwater will recharge the soil which nearby native plants and trees can tap into during the dry summer months.
A neglected native meadow plot at Bird Park needed a make-over. In January, our Bird Park Workgroup weeded and set out California native wildflower seeds sprouting now.
Our February Meadow Design Workshop to redesign this native meadow was led by Greg Rubin. Over 45 people attended to give input but also learn about the different characteristics that make up California native meadows.
Adding to the existing De La Mina Verbena (Verbena lilacina 'De La Mina'), Deer Grass (Muhlenbergia rigens), Canyon Prince Wild Rye (Elymus condensatus 'Canyon Prince') and Purple Haze Coast Aster (Symphyotrichum chilense 'Purple Haze'), Greg created a draft landscape drawing. Additional plants added to the list include:
● Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bellum)
● Purple Three Awn (Aristida purpurea)
● California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum)
● Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
● California Goldenrod (Solidago velutina ssp. californica)
● Purple needle grass (Stipa pulchra)
● California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum)
Once irrigation is installed by the city, let the planting begin! Please join us If you would like to be part of expanding our native plant garden! Sign up at this link: Balboa Park Workgroup
The garden committee welcomes all novice and experienced native gardeners. A separate monthly email is sent out to committee members with meeting announcements, volunteer activities, workshops and early bird sign-ups that don’t always make it into the Chapter newsletter. If you love gardening with California native plants and would like to join the Garden Committee (GC), click on this link: https://forms.gle/L356FhDbvrWCWzmd8 We would love to see you!
Christine Hoey & Silke Gathmann
Garden Committee Co-chair
Learn about the benefits of nature and biodiversity, and how to create it in and around our homes and living spaces. The San Diego chapter of the California Native Plant Society will share how adapting to seasonal and climatic changes can be done through ReWilding open spaces, starting with our own lands. This class will emphasize our local native plants and their wildlife partners, including how to attract birds and beneficial insects.
REGISTRATION is limited to 35 people.
COST: $30 per person
Class participants are also offered a 10% discount at The Country Store on the day of the class.
The class will be conducted outdoors on the patio, so please dress according to the weather. Handouts for taking notes and other educational brochures will be provided to all participants.
Adult learning lectures and activities for the kids are on the schedule. Our booth will be staffed from 9 am to 3 pm, and we need help with booth set up and break down.
The Park Foundation Website can be found here.
In Person Meeting:
Tecolote Nature Center
5180 Tecolote Rd San Diego, CA 92110
Marina Village Conference Center at Mission Bay
1936 Quivira Way, San Diego, CA 92109
Join us for the Bird Friendly Garden Fair at the 2024 Bird Festival.
The San Diego Audubon Society’s Bird Festival runs from February 21-25. You can find info here.
The fair runs from 8 am to 2:30 pm. Educational presentations are part of the fair schedule, so you can volunteer for a few hours and also catch some of those activities.
Suburbia: A Native Plant's Worst Nightmare! By Greg Rubin
7:00 Browsing & Socializing
7:30 Meeting and Presentation
Chapter meetings are free and open to the public.
In Person Meeting:
Tecolote Nature Center
5180 Tecolote Rd San Diego, CA 92110
Saturday, February 10th, 10 am - 12:00 pm
Bird Park Meadow Design with Greg Rubin
Bird Park on 28th St near Thorn St
The El Niño rains finally arrived which made weeding at Bird Park fairly easy last month. Now, our attention will turn to crafting our next feather plot originally intended to be a native meadow. Join us for our first meeting this year at Bird Park for a native garden meadow design charrette led by Greg Rubin of California’s Own Native Landscape Design. This meeting is open to everyone interested in native gardening.
Where: Bird Park is located on 28th St near Thorn St next to the children’s swings
When: Saturday, February 10th, 10 am - 12 pm
What to bring: Hat, folding chair, pen & paper, reusable water bottle
Calling All Garden Tour Volunteers!
Be a part of this year’s garden tour by volunteering! We need garden docents to assist with a variety of tasks to make this a wonderful experience for visitors. The perks include making new friends, garden previews, complimentary tour tickets and more.
Interested? Volunteer here: Garden Tour Docent Sign Up
For more information, contact gardening@cnpssd.org
On February 3, Multiple Committees from CNPS will be coming out to support San Diego Audubon Society and the University of California Reserve System at Kendall-Frost Marsh for the Love Your Wetlands Day Event at the site of the newest extension of the marshland in Mission Bay. The event will include:
Guided marsh and kayak clean ups
Guided birding
Booths from environmental organizations
Educational presentations by local scientists
Speeches by elected officials, and cultural activities with Indigenous leaders
Native planting & a seed planting demonstration area
Fish seining
Come assist and share your skills with allies and friends, engaging with the public on growing their own native plants from seed.
Sign up for updates and Committee announcements by emailing propagation@cnpssd.org and requesting to be added to the contact list.
KENDALL-FROST MISSION BAY MARSH RESERVE
2111 Pacific Beach Drive
San Diego, CA 92109
ZOOM MEETING: Tuesday, January 23rd @ 6PM - 8PM
Send a request for the link at conservation@cnpssd.org
The Conservation Committee has three major components:
Careful and insightful evaluation of Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) and planning / development documents.
CNPS representation on board and action committees for planning boards, wildlife boards, habitat conservation plans, and other regional advisory boards.
Evaluating sites for potential restoration and obtaining rights of access, developing resource management plans, and engaging our other Committees to collective action.
On Friday, January 19, we're meeting at the Tecolote Nature Center Native Plant Nursery for a weeding training session on identifying winter weeds and tackling their removal before they choke out recently planted natives, especially tender young seedlings and saplings. There are many common weeds in the nursery and garden, some worse than other, and some that are in fact native plants that have found some ground to grow in. We'll discuss careful removal and mitigating damage to young plants as well as discussing considerations on when or if to remove competing native plants.
Any member of the committee is welcome to come help out at the Tecolote Nature Center anytime they are open (closed Sundays and Mondays). Sign up with City of San Diego as a volunteer and reach out to Marla for details if you are coming out for the first time.
TECOLOTE NATURE CENTER
5180 Tecolote Rd
San Diego, CA 92110
Annual Wildflower & Bulb Meadow
Photo credit: Edmund Piffard
To all our members and neighbors: Have a safe and productive 2024. We resolve to protect, share, & appreciate San Diego and Imperial County's native flora & all the life it supports.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
DIFFICULTY: EASY to MODERATE (steep sand dunes & little to no shade) 2.5 miles roundtrip (4.0 km)
PLANT KNOWLEDGE: Beginner to Novice, Professionals always welcome
ACCESS: Open to all, no charge for field trip.
REQUIRED FEES: None.
AMENITIES: Restrooms may be available at the Imperial Dunes Ranger Station, the Osborne Overlook, and Glamis Beach Store. Conditions are unknown, so come prepared for any possibility.
DOGS: Leashed dogs are allowed unless weather conditions prohibit safe trail use. Spiny plants like the invasive Puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris) and the very similar native Caltrop (Kallstroemia californica) are common in the area.
[EXTREME TEMPS above 90F [32C] or forecast for Heavy Rain / flash floods Will Cancel]
TRIP DESCRIPTION:
Algodones Dunes is best known for the OHV Ride Area Glamis in Eastern Imperial County as well as the sarlaac pit / Jabba's flying palace in Return of the Jedi. For those who took these Imperial County trips before covid, you may remember the last time we went out here as a big group was January of 2020. We are far past time to head back especially following the summer rains that dropped three years worth of rain on Imperial County back in August.
From Brawley, the dunes are unmistakable for the huge mounding ribbons of sand that rise as a wall on the eastern horizon. On one side of the 78 to the south, view over a destroyed mad max environment, cut through and obliterated by dune buggies and bikes and the other side dotted with patches of rare plants, fox dens, lizard tracks, and an amazing array of bowls teeming with life in the BLM Wilderness Area.
Expect desert iguanas, flat tailed horned lizards, banded geckos, and western whiptails among the possibilities of reptiles in the area.
For the first section of the day trip, we'll meet at the Gecko Rd Imperial Sand Dunes Ranger Station at 10AM and then drive to the Hugh T. Osborne Overlook to view winter / spring annuals and hardy perennials growing in dunes like the rare Algodones Dunes sunflower (Helianthus niveus ssp tephrodes), Giant spanish needle (Palafoxia arida var gigantea), Pierson's milkvetch (Astragalus magdalenae var piersonii), Sand Verbena (Abronia villosa), desert dichoria (Dichoria canescens), and Plicate coldenia (Tiquilia plicata), Colorado desert buckwheat (Eriogonum deserticola), and Wiggin's croton (Croton wigginsii). These sand bowls are certainly a different experience from anywhere else. In The world slows down to a standstill and becomes silent as the sand seems to absorb sound and time itself, with only the clouds above and the beetles / weevils crawling across the sand marking the minutes passing. Movies allude to the feelings these places give, but it's a pale comparison to experiencing this place in person.
The next section of the trip will head to the Desert Iguana sign / parking area on Ted Kipf Rd. Here, we'll have lunch at the vehicles (~12PM) and form the plan to get into the microphyll woodlands growing at the base of the dunes. This area has shade from desert trees like ironwood (Olneya tesota) and blue palo verde (Parkinsonia florida), many covered in Desert starvine (Brandegea bigloveii). Blooming in the woodlands will be various globemallows (Spaeralcea species), blazingstars (Mentzelia sps), popcorn flowers (Cryptantha sps), desert marigolds (Baileya sps), spineflowers (Chorizanthe sps), buckwheats (Eriogonum sps), and others. We'll end at 3PM, but expect a 5:30PM return to San Diego.
January can be cold overnight in Imperial County, but expect mid to low 60s F (18 C) in the morning warming to low 70s F (23 C) into the afternoon. Wear layered clothing, wear sturdy shoes, and bring a hat as there will be little shade. The wind can have strong gusts in winter. Bring plenty of water & sunscreen.
If driving, make sure your vehicle can handle sand and gravel on rutted dirt roads. 4x4 / AWD are not necessary.
CARPOOL:
I CAN NOT OFFER CARPOOL for this trip as I plan to remain in Imperial County to camp that weekend. Inquire (DM) about the rare plant survey happening in the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument - Imperial County section on Sunday.
FOR ANYONE WILLING & CAPABLE OF OFFERING CARPOOL, PLEASE MESSAGE THE GROUP TO COORDINATE.
Friday, December 22nd
Starting at 10AM, ending around 1PM
Heavy rain will cancel the meeting
TECOLOTE NATURE CENTER
5180 Tecolote Rd
San Diego, CA 92110
Then on December 22nd, we'll start new flats with the seeds, start a vernal pool pilot project using clay pots and restoration quality seeds, and Make our way to a Holiday lunch to celebrate this year's reboot of the Propagation Committee where we can imbibe some Coronado Brews and talk about plans for 2024.
Sign up for updates and Committee announcements by emailing propagation@cnpssd.org and requesting to be added to the contact list.
Featured by the Chapter Board of Directors & Hospitality Committee
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
In-person meeting
ROOM 101 CASA DEL PRADO Balboa Park, San Diego CA 92101
Bring your native plants, items for discussion, winter wreaths, and / or artwork for gifting or exchange with other members! Grown too many fall bulbs or harvested too many acorns from your Island oak (Quercus tomentella)? Buy one too many buckwheat at the Plant Sale and hope to exchange for a gooseberry? Made cuttings from your manzanita and want to share? It's a gift exchange with the spirit of sharing knowledge and giving. Thanks and welcome to all, but please leave the poison oak at home? Gifts of unopened and sealed items are acceptable.
Please do not bring food that is not individually wrapped or not easy to use tongs. Thanks!