The Los Angeles/Santa Monica Mountains chapter hosts lectures, presentations, meetups, and other events from time to time throughout the year. All are welcome!

Click on each event below for more information.

Click here to view the recording of the Tuesday, Sept. 12 Talk. Expires Oct. 16, 2023.

Order plants!

Find out more details about the October 2023 CNPS LA/SMM Annual Plant Sale

Annual Plant Sale

Hikes & Field trips

STAY TUNED FOR COOLER WEATHER!

TBD

Tuesday Evening Talks, 7-9 pm

(Online via Zoom)

September 12: Welcoming Wildlife into the Designed Landscape, with Carol Bornstein (Recording.)

WELCOMING WILDLIFE into the DESIGNED LANDSCAPE

Click here to view the recording of the talk. (Expires Oct. 16, 2023)

Gardeners and landscape designers all have the power to make a difference in conserving biodiversity by creating habitat for wildlife. Residential, commercial, and public spaces are increasingly dedicated to the rewarding and vital endeavor of supporting birds, beneficial insects, and other wild creatures whose natural habitats are threatened by habitat loss, pollution, toxic pesticides, and the unchecked spread of invasive species. This presentation offers guidelines for designing and tending gardens that welcome wildlife, including some of the best California native plants for the Los Angeles region.

Biography:  Carol Bornstein is former Director of Living Collections at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, whose mission is to inspire wonder, discovery, and responsibility for our natural and cultural worlds. For 8 ½ years, she oversaw the museum’s 3.5-acre Nature Gardens and the Live Animal Program. For nearly 30 years, she was Horticulturist at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. She co-authored two books, the award-winning California Native Plants for the Garden and Reimagining the California Lawn. She has selected and introduced several popular cultivars for California gardens, including Verbena lilacina ‘De La Mina’ and Corethrogyne filaginifolia ‘Silver Carpet’ and she continues to share her knowledge of plants native to California and other mediterranean regions through her teaching, writing, and design work.

October 10: Botanical Resources of the Santa Clara (Utom) River Watershed, by Jordan Collins

This study is intended to provide a detailed summary of the botanical resources (both vascular and non-vascular plants) of the Santa Clara (called Utom by the Chumash) River Watershed that will support the conservation of these resources and appropriate land use decisions made within and adjacent to the watershed.  These resources are unique and of great importance to the indigenous peoples (Chumash and Tatavian) that originally occupied this territory and those that have arrived subsequently, and to the botanical scientific community and conservation organizations such as the California Native Plant Society (CNPS), Wishtoyo Foundation, Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), Santa Ynez Band of the Chumash, and others. This study provides a description of the biogeography of the watershed and its flora with over 2,300 plant taxa reported for the region.

Biography: Jordan has been a lover of plants since a young age, growing up in their grandma’s garden. This passion for plants continued on to college. Jordan attended Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA where they studied Biodiversity Conservation and Landscape Horticulture. Throughout their time they were a dedicated student curator at the Robert F. Hoover Herbarium, greenhouse and horticultural enthusiast, as well as teaching assistant for many botany courses. Jordan had the opportunity to work with the US Fish & Wildlife Service alongside Dr. Jenn Yost to help conserve a federally endangered plant species: Gambel’s Watercress. In addition, they also worked with the Morro Bay National Estuary Program, graduate student Erin Aiello, and Dr. Yost to help transplant eelgrass in Morro Bay to preserve a dying population. This work really solidified Jordan’s passion for ecosystem restoration and rare plant protection. At CNPS, Jordan is a field botanist in the Rare Plant Program conducting rare plant surveys, vascular floristic surveys, and bryophyte surveys.
 

Restoration Activities

For Restoration and Conservation Activities, please contact leaders for current information. Rain cancels.

N/E/X/T Garden, Pacific Palisades

Volunteer days: Last Saturday of every month

Last Saturday, Sept. 30 and Oct. 28 9am-4pm

The Native Plant Garden in the City of L.A.’s Temescal Canyon Park

The Native/Environmental/Xeriscape/Temescal/Garden (N/E/X/T/Garden) shows visitors how diverse native and drought-tolerant plants can be grown organically, with minimal inputs, working beautifully in balance with nature. The 3/4 acre garden attracts wildlife, including native butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and songbirds while using only one-tenth of the water consumed by the equivalent area of adjacent lawn.

You can help to improve the N/E/X/T/Garden by volunteering for an hour (or two, or three) to help weed, water, and plant this unique westside native plant garden. Please bring drinking water, sun protection, and perhaps your favorite gardening hand tools (though we have some to share).

700 Temescal Canyon Road, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

Just a few steps east of ~700 Temescal Canyon Road, Pacific Palisades, 90272 (between the PCH & Sunset, below Bowdoin Street).

Confirm ahead of time with Michael Terry at michaelgterry@hotmail.com

Westwood Greenway, West Los Angeles

Defending the native plants at the Westwood Greenway from the invading weeds is an ongoing job! Please join us on the 2nd Saturday and 4th Sunday of the month, 9-11 am weather permitting.  Gloves and weeding tools are a must.  No restrooms on site. More information, including a map, at https://westwoodgreenway.org or email president@westwoodgreenway.org

Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve, Van Nuys

Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve
Van Nuys

Tuesdays and Thursdays, Dawn-9:30 am

Saturday, Sept. 23 7am – 10am
Saturday, Oct. 28 7am – 10am

Help remove non-native plants.
To sign up and get meeting place details, contact George Waddell at moiraw@earthlink.net.