General Meeting ● Thursday, November 12th, 2020

Due to ongoing pandemic concerns, our September 10 meeting and program will take place at 7:30 p.m. via the following Zoom Invite Link: https://cnps-org.zoom.us/j/2945183480?pwd=V0RjeklXSVdtUWVUMzdGdjMwZVJmZz09   

Through original artwork, graphics, and photography, Robin will lead her guests on a virtual tour of the desert underground. This “tour” reveals the amazing partnerships that connect every native plant underground across the landscape. Journey through the interlocking biological and geological systems that work together to gather, move, and share resources, pass information between plants, create a surprising carbon sponge, and help to combat climate change wherever desert soils remain intact. It may be the first time you appreciate caliche! You won’t believe what is happening under our feet.

Robin Kobaly is a botanist and plant ecologist with expertise in plant communities across the American southwest. She is Executive Director of The SummerTree Institute (www.summertree.org), and President and cofounder of The Power of Plants (www.powerofplants.com). Robin has bachelors and masters degrees in Biology and Plant Ecology from the University of California, Riverside, with three decades of experience in plant ecology, wildlife biology, land use management, aerial photo interpretation, and natural history interpretation. Her popular seminars and workshops examine the astonishing ages of ancient desert plants and their value to ecosystem sustainability, ethnobotanical and landscape uses of native plants, and the almost magical things happening underground in desert soils.