Newsletter 2005 November – December
California Native Plant Society
Orange County Chapter
November/December 2005
Newsletter
CONTENTS
Calendar
Chapter Meetings
CalIPC conference
Monkeying around with Monkeyflowers
Employment Opportunity
Acorn Naturalist Lecture Series
Interpretive Guide Certification
“Don’t Plant a Pest” brochures
Help MAD Plants grow
You Are Invited to a CNPS 40th Anniversary Party…
Food and Drink
Live Music
Silent and Live Auctions
The East Bay Chapter and the Willis L. Jepson Chapter are organizing a fun evening party on Friday, December 2, 2005, 7:30 to 10:30 PM, celebrating the 40th anniversary of CNPS. The party coincides with the CNPS Chapter Council meeting in Berkeley on December 3. All CNPS members are invited to come to this very special celebration. There will be a silent auction along with food and drink, a jazz duo, and a live auction later in the evening. The cost is $10 plus a few dollars for wine or beer. If you are interested in attending, please contact me by phone or email no later than November 17. Reservations must be in by the 18th.
Special thanks go to all who helped with the Fall Plant Sale on October 22. We lucked out with a lovely day and a fine array of healthy plants. To give credit where credit is due, Dan Songster and Celia Kutcher have for a long time been the chief organizers of the fall plant sale. Celia prepares the order and checks out the plants before they are shipped to us. Dan contacts the volunteers, sets up the rest area with table, chairs, and carpet (no less), and takes care of refreshments. Volunteers on Friday work at a frantic pace, unloading and placing 1000+ plants and labeling them all. Saturday volunteers give advice, write up receipts, tote plants, rearrange plants, sneak plants out of circulation into private stashes, and, finally, clear away remaining plants and close shop. With humbleness and gratitude, I wish to thank Mary Arambula, Liz Copper, Laura Curran, Lorna Greer, Joan Hampton, Ed Hill, Sandra & Ron Huwe, Brad Jenkins, Laura Lyons (Nursery Manager at the UCI Arboretum), Tom McCranie, Gene Ratliffe, Christianne Shannon, Yumi Shieh, Elizabeth Songster (ever-faithful cash register person), Bill Staub, and Beverly Weber-Fow.
—Sarah Jayne, president
| CALENDAR
Nov 5&6……… RSABG plant sale Nov 9……. Acorn Ntlsts–Lichens Nov 10…………….. Board Meeting Nov 12…… UCI Arb Planting Day Nov 17………….. Chapter Meeting Nov 19………. Planting Day GWC Nov 27……………. LCW plant walkDec 1……………….. Board Meeting Dec 2…… 4oth Anniversary Party Dec 3……. Chapter Council Mtng Dec 14 Acorn Ntlsts–Pollination Dec 15………….. Chapter Meeting Dec 17… Crystal Cove plant walk Weed and Seed: Thurs 10-1……………. UCI Arboretum Any day, 8:30-noon……. Fullerton Arb 3rd Sat………………………. Bolsa Chica 2nd Sat…….. Upper Newport Backbay 2nd Sat……………… Irvine Open Space Chapter meetings are held at the Irvine Ranch Water District headquarters at 15600 Sand Canyon Ave., Irvine. Doors open at 7 PM and the meeting begins at 7:30. Wildflower posters and a wide variety of books are available at the meetings. |
CHAPTER MEETINGS
November 17 (Thursday)—Santa Catalina Island Flora: Understanding the Threats and Instituting Protection Programs.
Speaker: Denise Knapp, Vegetation Specialist, Santa Catalina Island
Travel back in time to California as it was in the early 1900’s by visiting the Flora of Catalina Island! Catalina is the home of numerous rare and endemic plants, including six extant species found only on the island. Thankfully, the Catalina Island Conservancy owns and manages 88% of the island and with its vigorous conservation programs in place, the Conservancy is set to protect that which is intact on the island and restore much that has been degraded by non-native animals and exotic flora.
This exciting talk will focus first on Denise’s conservation efforts including reintroduction of rare species and the use of exclosures to protect species such as Santa Catalina Island ironwood, Island scrub oak, Island rush-rose, Channel Island tree poppy, and Trask’s mahogany (which have had some surprising results!) We will also look at the extensive and exhaustive efforts Denise’s husband, John Knapp, has made in mapping over 35,000 populations of 76 invasive exotic plant species on the Island. Such mapping is essential for developing a proper plan to either eradicate or control the destructive invasive plants on the Island.
Next we will hear about their protection efforts using data as a defense. Recently the Knapps have examined the Conservancy’s extensive location data for rare plants, habitats, and wildlife, and come up with a watershed ranking system for deciding which areas of the island are the most biodiverse and in need of protection. Denise will take us on a journey through what they have found to be some of the richest areas of the island.
Both of the Knapps gladly work for the Catalina Conservancy to protect the island’s unique and precious plants, Denise as the Plant Ecologist and John as the Invasive Plant Program Manager. They are also actively involved with the California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC) and serve as Board Members for the Southern California Botanists. They are the proud parents of a 10 month old botanist boy named Wyatt Jepson Knapp.
December 15 (Thursday)—The Native Plants of Mount Diablo
Speaker: Yulan Chang Tong
Mt. Diablo lies east of San Francisco near Walnut Creek and Danville. It is enclosed in 22,000-acre Mt. Diablo State Park where over 1000 species of native plants are found. Midway between southern and northern California, this area is a boundary line for plants. Species from the north reach their southernmost exposure here and plants from the south their most northern extension. Eleven plants are found only in the park.
Yulan Chang Tong, a resident of the area, has been photographing the flora of Mt. Diablo since the ‘70s. Aside from exquisite pictures, she has an encyclopedic knowledge of the plant life and a passion for it. She has published a book of her photographs, “Lilies of the Field”, that expresses her keen artist’s eye and sensitivity to the beauty of our native flowers. Born in China and educated in Taiwan in the field of Chemical Engineering, Yulan traveled to the United States to continue her studies. She received a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at the University of Illinois in 1961. After retiring from chemistry, Yulan began a second career as a nature photographer. Exploring extensively in California, she has enjoyed the variations of desert, coastal regions, foothills, and high mountains. Her nature studies and photography have taken her to Alaska, Arizona, Wyoming, South Africa, Mexico, and many other destinations around the world.
[I had the pleasure of meeting Yulan Chang Tong at a Jepson Herbarium workshop in Death Valley in April, 2004. At that time, she offered to come to Orange County in December 2005. My calendar didn’t even go that far, but Yulan’s did and here we are—December 2005—and Yulan is honoring her promise. In addition to being an accomplished naturalist and a talented photographer, Yulan is also a delightful person. I know that we all will enjoy her presentation. Sarah Jayne]
Wildland Weed Conference In Chico
—Bill Neill
In early October I attended the annual symposium of Cal-IPC, the California Invasive Plant Council, at the CSU campus in Chico, about 90 miles north of Sacramento. The Orange County CNPS chapter generously offered its annual Traveler’s Grant to pay my conference registration fee, with the modest expectation that I would submit a brief report to this newsletter.
I’ve attended all but one of these annual conferences on invasive wildland weed control since they started in 1992, when Cal-IPC was originally named CalEPPC, the California Exotic Pest Plant Council; but Chico is more distant from Orange County than all previous meeting sites, so I was grateful for the Chapter’s financial support.
The most discouraging news from the symposium, presented by a retired Bureau of Land Management ecologist from Oregon, is that invasive weed populations are continuing to expand their range on public lands of western states by 10 to 15 percent annually. If this trend is allowed to continue, the eventual impact to native plant diversity will be catastrophic.
On the positive side are several encouraging developments:
- Since hiring a full-time executive director in 2002, the California Invasive Plant Council has increased its membership and project activity. Symposium attendance in Chico was about 370 and included many employees of land management agencies—Forest Service, BLM, Caltrans—who were relatively scarce at these annual meetings a decade ago. This year Cal-IPC organized sizeable contingents to visit legislator offices in Sacramento and Washington D.C. As can be seen from its website <www.cal-ipc.org>, the organization is effective at advocating invasive weed control and promoting information exchange between weed activists.
- As we learned at the symposium, the State of Montana has serious weed problems, but has responded proactively by designating “weed-free” areas, in which incipient weed infestations will be monitored and rapidly controlled, similar to the response to forest fires. This program should be widely copied in California and other states, to fix current practices in which weed problems typically aren’t addressed until infestations become so large and established that control and eradication programs are impractical or impossible to implement.
- Published in September 2005, California now has an official “Noxious & Invasive Weed Action Plan” that will qualify the state and its weed management areas to receive federal money for weed control projects, should Congress pass funding legislation.
- During 2005 Cal-IPC published two more “Don’t Plant A Pest” brochures that recommend native-plant alternatives to invasive exotic plants that are still sold commercially. And this is old news, but three years ago Carolyn Martus—now president of CNPS San Diego Chapter—persuaded Wal-Mart to stop selling pampas grass at its stores. For many years California’s nursery industry dismissed complaints about selling plants that escape from gardens to wildland areas, but commercial growers of ornamental plants are now beginning to notice their bad publicity.
- Additionally at the Cal-IPC symposium, we learned about new herbicide formulations and application methods that are more selective and effective; we heard this year’s “weed alerts”—warnings of species introductions new to California that might become invasive in wildland areas; and we networked and shared information with other weed activists from all parts of California.
[Bill is the Orange County Chapter Invasive Exotics contact. He volunteers a lot of time going after weeds in the county.]
CONSERVATION REPORT
GENERAL ISSUES: The Endangered Species Act is Endangered! The mis-named “Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act” (Pombo) passed the House of Representatives by a narrow margin after much debate. This bill essentially guts the Endangered Species Act, which for 30+ years has been one of the main laws by which species have been protected–and habitats and land along with them. The matter now goes before the Senate. Action Now: Tell our Senators Barbara Boxer, http://boxer.senate.gov/ and Diane Feinstein, http://feinstein.senate.gov/, that the Endangered Species Act is essential to maintaining our natural heritage and must be retained and strengthened, that the Pombo bill must be defeated.
CURRENT ORANGE COUNTY ISSUES:
ALISO/WOOD CANYONS: A revised plan has been unveiled for the property that encompasses about 240 acres of the rare-plant-rich Hobo-Aliso Ridge (located just outside the southern boundary of Aliso-Wood Canyons Wilderness Park). The plan would formally deed the 240 acres in perpetuity as protected open space. Development would be confined to a previously-graded 13-acre site at the base of the ridge and to the area of the existing 9-hole golf course. This is good news for the rare plants within the 240 acres! However, about 90 acres along the top of the ridge, encompassing many of the rare-plant populations, remain under a different private owner and thus will not be protected by the deeding. We will monitor this situation; contact Celia to help.
EAST ORANGE: Irvine Company’s proposed project for about 6400 homes on 2500 acres, between the 241 and the Irvine Park/Irvine Lake area, remains contentious. The development area is surrounded on three sides by large tracts of land donated by the Irvine Company as permanent open space. The development would be a large intrusion of “edge” into the ecological integrity of the preserved area. See:
- City of Orange, http://www.cityoforange.org
- Irvine Company http://www.eastoforange.com
- Orange Hills Task Force http://www.orangehills.org
CHINO/PUENTE HILLS: The Resources Bond Act (SB 153) didn’t make it through the Legislature this session, but is alive and well and contains funding to purchase Aera’s land—thus bringing this part of the “Missing Middle” into preservation. Those “in the know” are hopeful that the bill can be moved forward to the Governor’s desk in January 2006, making it eligible for the November 2006 ballot. If not, leaders in land conservation plan to file an initiative for November 2006 that will look a lot like SB 153. See www.HillsForEveryone.org.
RANCHO MISSION VIEJO/SAN MATEO CREEK: The recent settlement agreement that set aside 9,300 acres of Rancho Mission Viejo as permanent open space was a great victory for the environment. The settlement significantly improves protection of habitat, water quality and wildlife, maintains connectivity between the Donna O’Neill Land Conservancy and the San Mateo Wilderness Area, and keeps the entire San Mateo watershed intact and undeveloped.
The settlement gathers the approved 14,000 dwelling units and commercial development into “bubbles” placed over the remaining Ranch lands. Unfortunately, a number of rare-plant populations are within some of the bubbles. Thus the settlement is a mixed blessing, rare-plant-wise.
SAN MATEO CREEK AND SAN ONOFRE STATE PARK: The State Parks Commission will hold a special hearing about the proposed Foothill-South Toll Road extension’s effect on San Mateo Campground and San Onofre State Beach on Thursday, Nov. 3, 7 PM in San Clemente at the Community Center Auditorium, 100 North Calle Seville (corner of Seville and Del Mar).
The proposed route would extend the 241 toll road from Oso Parkway to I-5 just south of the Orange/San Diego Co. line. It would run through the portion of Rancho Mission Viejo that was set aside in the settlement (noted above) and the length of the inland portion of San Onofre State Beach. This routing would destroy the ecological integrity of the preserved Ranch lands, destroy the setting and ambiance of the very popular San Mateo Campground, destroy a very important Native American archaeological and sacred site, and greatly increase the possibility of pollution in the lower reaches of San Mateo Creek and the freshwater marsh (a rare habitat in SoCal) and blind estuary at its mouth. Contact Celia if you can attend this hearing and speak for the plants and habitat.
TRABUCO DISTRICT, CLEVELAND NATIONAL FOREST:
Forest Plan: The Forest Service has chosen Alternative 4A as its preference for managing the Trabuco District for the next 15-20 years. The Alternative seems to promise everything to everyone in a continuation of present practices. But reading between the lines reveals:
- An increase in areas open to off-highway vehicles.
- A reliance on “education” and signage to keep off-highway vehicles in designated areas and out of undesignated ones. Presumably this will make up for insufficient funding for staff to police this activity.
- Denial of proposed additions to San Mateo Wilderness Area and of proposals to create a Ladd-Bedford Canyons Wilderness Area.
- Allowance of “limited” special-use developments, including utility corridors and dams.
On the plus side:
- Chiquito Basin has been established as a Special Interest Area, due to its botanical value; a management plan is to be developed.
- There is to be an emphasis on protecting rare, threatened and endangered species. The goals and strategies to do this are to be interwoven into the other Forest programs, rather than being a separate biological resources program.
- There is to be an emphasis on reducing invasive species over time.
- There is to be a priority on habitat linkage protection.
The new plan goes into effect on Oct. 30. Open Houses in OC on the plan:
Oct. 29, 10 AM-1PM, 31421 La Matanza, San Juan Capistrano
Nov. 2, 6-8 PM, 340 W. Commonwealth, Fullerton
See the planning documents at www.fs.fed.us/r5/cleveland.
MAJOR INVESTMENT STUDY (MIS): OCCNPS is among the dozen environmental groups who have signed a letter written by Endangered Habitats League and Natural Resources Defense Council re the MIS. The letter outlines in lawyerly detail that the proposed cross-mountain Corridor B would violate numerous Federal laws protecting parks, natural resources and the environment. This route has long been presented as a tunnel through the Santa Ana Mountains. Geotechnical and financial realities indicate that it would, instead, be more likely to “float up” to become a surface route—which would impact a number of rare-plant populations as well as sever wildlife connectivity along the Santa Ana range and beyond.
MORRELL CANYON/LEAPS: This project has not gone away; nothing new on it at this time.
—Celia Kutcher, Conservation Chair
[Contact Celia at celia552@cox.net if you can take on responsibility for monitoring an area near you]
JOB ANNOUNCEMENT
A search is on at the state office of the California Native Plant Society for a new editor for Fremontia, the quarterly journal of the society. The deadline for applications is November 15, 2005. For complete information on this position, please visit the state organization website at www.cnps.org.
A PORTENT OF THINGS TO COME…
Welcome to the Phrymaceae, or…Monkeying around with Monkeyflowers
—Bob Allen
You’ve probably heard that the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae, has been broken up and nearly all of its members moved into other plant families. This comes on the heels of extensive analyses of their morphology and genetic material (Judd, et al, 2002, and other publications). If you think this represents a big hassle for those of us accustomed to current families, you’re right! But like it or not, as Bob Dylan said, “the changes, they are a comin’.” Here is a little something to keep in mind:
“An important rule of scientific names is that the relationships between living things are more important than their names. When a living thing is found to be more (or less) closely related to another living thing, its name and sometimes even its family assignment may need to be changed to reflect that relationship. Scientific names have two purposes: to provide a basis for communication and to reflect the evolutionary history of living things.” (Allen, Barnhill, & Roberts in prep., from Chapter 2: The Name Game)
On a related note, The Jepson Manual (Hickman 1993), which is the current technical flora of California, was published in 1993 and is now undergoing a total revision. It is an edited work with different parts written by botanists who are experts on particular plant groups. Final text is due from all authors by December 2005, followed by careful editing, book layout, printing, and release in 2008. The revised edition, nicknamed TJM2 (the first edition is TJM1), follows the new placements of plant families, including realignment of the figwort family. In order to be compatible with TJM2 and current research, our wildflower book (Allen, Barnhill, & Roberts, in prep.), will also follow the new family placements. So let’s get ready for the inevitable and start educating ourselves.
This month, we’ll start with the monkeyflowers, now placed in their own family, the Phrymaceae (fry-MAY-see). There are 9 kinds in our area, all quite popular with wildflower enthusiasts. To make this a bit less painful and prepare you for the spring season, I’ve included some monkeyflower information abstracted from our upcoming wildflower book. The names given in square brackets [ ] are synonyms, found in older publications that you may still be using. Ready now? Good!
Recognizing Monkeyflowers, Family Phrymaceae
- Opposite undivided leaves, often toothed
- Calyx & corolla fused into tubes, each with 5 free lobes
- Calyx ribbed, the lobes pointed, upper lobes longer
- Corolla 2-lipped: 2 lobes up, 3 lobes down; upper lip exterior in bud
- 4 stamens, all with fertile anthers
- Anthers 2-celled, fused at their tips, pollen is shed through a single common slit
- Superior ovary, single style, 2-lobed stigma, sensitive to touch
- Fruit a capsule, seeds numerous and tiny
A Brief Guide to Local Monkeyflowers
Perennial Monkeyflowers
- Bush Monkeyflower, Mimulus aurantiacus Curtis
Medium to large perennial shrub, 10-150 cm tall. Linear leaves, hairless on top, rolled over at the edges, and very sticky. Leaf uppersides are never hairy. Flowers range in size, shape, and color. The tubular corolla is 2.5-6 cm long with five oddly-shaped lobes, each round-, square- or jagged-edged. The many forms of this plant were not recognized in TJM1 but were recently revised and resurrected by David M. Thompson (2005). We have two forms locally, both widespread and common, especially in our wilderness parks.
1a. Yellow Bush Monkeyflower Mimulus aurantiacus Curtis var. pubescens (Torrey) D.M. Thompson [Mimulus longiflorus (Nuttall) A.L. Grant]
Stems are hairy. The lower leaf surface is slightly to very hairy, the lower surface is much paler than the upper. The calyx is densely hairy. Flowers pale yellow. Usually 1-2 flowers per node.
1b. Red or Orange Bush Monkeyflower, Mimulus aurantiacus Curtis var. puniceus (Nuttall) D.M. Thompson [Mimulus puniceus (Nuttall) Steudel]
Stems and leaves are hairless. Leaves are the same shade of green on top and bottom. The calyx is hairless. Flowers bright tawny orange, citrus orange, or red. Generally 2 flowers per node, sometimes 3-4. Locally, this variety is generally more common than the preceding.
- Cleveland Monkeyflower, Mimulus clevelandii Brandegee
Perennial shrub, 30-90 cm tall, from creeping rhizomes. Stems and leaf uppersides are always hairy. Leaves linear, rolled over at the edges. Flowers large, golden yellow, very sticky. Very similar to bush monkeyflower, rarely hybridizes with it. Quite uncommon, dry habitats at higher elevations of the Santa Ana Mountains, more abundant after fire. Along North Main Divide Road above Falcon Group Camp up to Los Piños Saddle, along Trabuco Trail, and upper Silverado Canyon.
- Scarlet Monkeyflower, Mimulus cardinalis Douglas ex Bentham
Root perennial, 25-80 cm tall, from creeping rhizomes. Leaves oblong to oval. Flowers large, scarlet red, flattened side-to-side. Common in shady creeks, springs, & seeps at lower elevations. Lower elevations of Santiago and Holy Jim Canyons.
Annual Monkeyflowers with Red to Purple Flowers
- Palomar Monkeyflower, Mimulus diffusus A.L. Grant [Palmer’s Monkeyflower, Mimulus palmeri A. Gray, in part]
Delicate annual, 1-28 cm tall. Leaves linear or oval. Flowers small, 1.2-1.5 cm long, purple to rose-violet, marked with yellow and purple, throat floor yellow. Corolla lobes notched inward. Usually two flowers per leaf node. Rare, among chaparral in the Santa Ana Mountains, in moist soils, seeps, and following fires.
- Fremont’s Monkeyflower, Mimulus fremontii (Bentham) A. Gray [One-sided Monkeyflower, Mimulus subsecondatus A. Gray].
Small annual, 4-20 cm tall. Leaves linear or oval. Flowers larger, 2-2.5 cm long, magenta to red-purple, throat floor yellow. Corolla lobes smooth or wavy, not notched. Always only 1 flower per node. Quite uncommon, sandy soils and dry areas in Santa Ana Mountains and Indian Canyon wash.
Annual Monkeyflowers with Yellow Flowers
- Slope Semaphore, Wide-throated Monkeyflower, Mimulus brevipes Bentham
Upright annual, 5-80 cm tall. Densely hairy & sticky. Usually a single upright stem with 0-few branches. Leaves linear to oval. Flowers very large, bright yellow, short narrow corolla tube opens abruptly to become a very wide-open throat. Common, mostly on slopes, more abundant after fire. East Bluff Trail at Caspers Wilderness Park, widespread at higher elevations in the Santa Ana Mountains.
- Seep Monkeyflower, Mimulus guttatus Fischer ex DC.
Hairy or hairless annual, 2-15 cm tall. Sometimes a sprawling perennial from creeping rhizomes. Leaves oval or round, upper pairs fused at their base. Flowers large, bright yellow, lower lip red-dotted, swollen, often closing the corolla mouth. Quite common from coastline to mountain at stream edges, seeps, and springs at a variety of elevations.
- Showy or Slimy Monkeyflower, Mimulus floribundus Douglas ex Lindley
Small, hairy, upright or sprawling annual, 3-50 cm tall, often covered in a slimy film. Leaves linear to oval, lower leaves with a long petiole. Flowers small and bright yellow, the throat all-yellow but sometimes red-streaked or red-dotted. Hairless fruit. Generally uncommon and difficult to find, mostly along streams and seeps in San Juan Canyon and upper San Juan Trail.
- Downy Monkeyflower, Mimulus pilosus (Bentham) S. Watson
Small upright annual, 2-35 cm tall, very hairy, never slimy. Leaves linear to oblong, no petiole. Flowers tiny and bright yellow, often with 2 red dots in the throat. Hairy fruit. Widespread in creekbeds, streams, and seeps, uncommon though may be locally abundant when found. Easily found along Borrego and Red Rock Canyon trails in Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park.
References
Allen, R.L., C.M. Barnhill, & F.M. Roberts, Jr. Wildflowers of Orange County and the Santa Ana Mountains, California. Includes Chino Hills, Temescal Valley, and San Mateo Wilderness. In preparation.
Hickman, J.C., editor. 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. This first edition is often known as “TJM1”, the revised edition “TJM2.”
Judd, W.S., C.S. Campbell, E.A. Kellogg, P.F. Stevens, & M.I. Donoghue. 2002. Plant Systematics: A Phylogenetic Approach, second edition. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, MA.
Thompson, D.M. 2005. Systematics of Mimulus Subgenus Schizoplacus (Scrophulariaceae). Systematic Botany Monographs, Volume 75. The American Society of Plant Taxonomists, Ann Arbor, MI.
Mimulus aurantiacus |
Mimulus fremontii |
FIELD TRIPS
There are no chapter field trips planned for the rest of the year. If you have places you’d like to go and plants you’d like to see, please contact the Field Trip chair. We’ll be gearing up for the new field trip season soon!
ACTION OPPORTUNITIES
UCI Arboretum: Fall Planting Date
Saturday, November 12, 9 AM to noon
Join OCCNPS’ Thursday Crew as we assist volunteers from PacifiCare in planting native grasses on the Arboretum’s Wildflower Hill. The grasses will be in 4″ pots, easy to plant into the prepared site. Bring your favorite planting trowel or hand hoe; hat, sunscreen, gloves, sturdy shoes are advised. Water and snacks will be provided. May be cancelled in the event of rain, contact Celia, 949-496-9689, before 8:00 AM that morning if in doubt.
Join us on Thursdays, 9:30 – 1:30. Feel free to come and start work at 8 AM or later, and quit when you’ve had enough. Hat, gloves, water, sturdy work shoes, sunscreen are advised; bring your favorite weeding implements if possible.
Directions: from 405, go south on Jamboree to Campus Dr. Turn left on Campus, then immediately right on the unnamed campus service road. Turn left into the Arboretum gate, park free on the gravel behind the greenhouse.
Golden West College Native Garden
Fall Planting Day
Saturday, November 19, 9 AM to 1 PM
Join Garden Co-Directors Dan Songster and Rod Wallbank for an enjoyable day among the plants, soil, boulders, (and people), that make up this unique garden. See the progress being made in the garden. If you have never volunteered for such a project-you don’t know what you are missing.
Work will begin at 9 AM and will involve planting in several areas of the garden including on some inclines. (If you haven’t planted on a slope before, come and learn how.) It is likely we will also be preparing some areas for future sowing of wildflowers.
Planting and watering will be finished by half past noon at which time we will enjoy a lunch the garden is providing. (Probably a large delicious sandwich or a Pizza. If this does not sound good to you please feel free to bring what ever you prefer!)
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Golden West College has a Swap Meet on weekends in the Golden West Street Parking Lot. Parking is sometimes difficult and you may have to park towards the northern end of the Golden West Street Lot.
Directions: Take Beach Blvd. North off the 405 Freeway. Immediately run into McFadden and turn Left. Follow McFadden to Golden West Street; turn Left again; Take the first legal left-turn off Golden West Street into the parking lot and drive across the lot towards the Automotive Technology Building, parking as close to the campus as possible. For those familiar with the campus, the Garden is on the West side of the Math Science Building. After parking follow the small signs to the Garden.
Bring favorite shovel, pair of gloves, sunblock, comfortable work shoes, and smile.
Have questions? Need more details? Call Dan at home- (949)768.0431 or Email him at songster@cox.net
Fullerton Arboretum
Chris Barnhill welcomes you to come anytime to work in the native plant section of the Fullerton Arboretum. www.arboretum.fullerton.edu/
The Laguna Coast Wilderness Park Nursery
Robert Lawson, Volunteer Nursery Manager
trev3411@yahoo.com
Shipley Nature Center
For directions and information visit www.fsnc.org.
Santa Ana Park Naturalist Programs Calendar
To volunteer or request information, please call 714.571.4288 or email santiago_park@yahoo.com
Bolsa Chica Stewards
We are at the reserve every 3rd Saturday of the month—rain or shine—from 9 AM ‘til noon. October through April we focus on planting hundreds of natives and during the summer months we tend to the new plants and do other projects on the mesa. Anyone interested who would like more information is welcome to call Kim Kolpin at (714) 717-6304 or Kolpin@Stanford.edu
Upper Newport Bay
Please join ROOTS for ecological restoration volunteer opportunities in the Upper Newport Bay each Wednesday at our Native Plant Nursery on Shellmaker Island from 9 AM – 11 AM or Saturdays November 12 and December 10 from 9 AM – noon.
Contact Project Coordinator Matt Yurko to confirm project dates, times and directions.
Thanks for volunteering in the Upper Newport Bay!
Matt Yurko, Project Coordinator
California Coastal Commission
949-640-0286
myurko@coastal.ca.gov
Irvine Open Space Nature Center “Second Saturdays” Land Steward Program.
Join us from 9 AM until noon the 2nd Saturday of each month to help remove exotics and maintain trailside habitat. Call 949-7224-6738 for information or email osvolunteer@ci.irvine.ca.us
Amy Litton, Senior Naturalist
Irvine Open Space Preserve
Community Services Department
LECTURE SERIES
Acorn Naturalists at 155 El Camino Real in Old Town Tustin presents an excellent natural history lecture series on the second Wednesday of each month from 7 – 9 PM. For directions and more information, go to www.acornnaturalists.com
November 9, 2005: Lichen Ecology And Identification by Kerry Knudsen.
December 14, 2005: Wildflowers & The Critters That Love Them: The Wacky World of Pollination by Bob Allen.
LOCAL PARKS AND NATURE PRESERVES
Crystal Cove State Park
Guided Backcountry Walks take place every Saturday and Sunday. Meet at 9 AM at the El Moro Visitor Center. Parking is $10. Guided plant walk December 17, 9 AM.
The Donna O’Neill Land Conservancy
For information about events, reservations, and directions, contact Laura Cohen or Michelle Thames at 949-489-9778. Visit the website at www.TheConservancy.org
Laguna Coast Wilderness:
The park is open on Saturday and Sunday from 7:30 AM to 4 PM. Maps are provided for self-guided tours. Special topic docent-led tours are offered periodically. Parking is $3. Call 949.494.9352, for more information. Website: lagunacanyon.org. Guided plant walk November 27, 8 AM.
Irvine Ranch Land Reserve
For walks in the Northern and Southern Reserves call The Nature Conservancy at (714) 832-7478.
Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park:
The Orange County Natural History Museum is located at the entrance to the park. Call (949) 831-2790 for more information.
Thomas Riley Regional Park:
For more information call (949) 728-3420.
INTERPRETIVE GUIDE CERTIFICATION
A Certified Interpretive Guide Workshop, offered through the National Association for Interpretation (NAI), is being offered at Acorn Naturalists January 11 – 14, 2006. The four-day course covers everything you need to know—from theory to application—to become certified as an Interpretive Guide through NAI. The cost is $310 for NAI members, $355 for non-members. For complete information and registration forms, go to www.attendingmarvels.com. Forms are also available at Acorn Naturalists.
LOCAL “DON’T PLANT A PEST” BROCHURES ARE NOW AVAILABLE
“Don’t Plant a Pest” brochures are available at many nature centers and public information offices throughout southern California. Geared to southern California, this brochure helps gardeners, homeowners, and everyone in the landscaping business make better plant choices for their garden or landscape. It features the most common invasive plants that are sold in nurseries and offers safe alternatives. Invasive plants like pampas grass can be a fire and flood hazard and a maintenance nightmare in your garden. At last there is a brochure to educate home gardeners about what NOT to plant and what TO plant. The brochure can be viewed at, http://www.smslrwma.org/dpp/index.html. Place bulk orders by calling 760-728-1332, minimum order 100 copies. No individual copies will be mailed.
Our chapter hands out these brochures at our meetings and other events that we attend. If you know of a place where these should be available in Orange County, please let us know—we want these to be in wide circulation and we have hundreds on hand for free distribution. See the back of the newsletter for contact numbers.
HELP MAD PLANTS GROW!
The MAD (Move, Adapt or Die) Plants program has expanded. After successful piloting during the last school, the program is being marketed to the schools by Inside The Outdoors, the science outreach program of the Orange County Department of Education. Developed by chapter members in cooperation with ITO, the program uses native plant themes to present California life science curriculum to 3rd graders.
Help support creation of additional sets of these materials, from plant costumes to printed game boards. Any amount is useful and valued. Donations of $25 or more will receive a certificate of appreciation for supporting native plants and local education through the MAD Plant program. Any funds collected over the cost of materials will be donated directly to the Outdoor Science Foundation earmarked for MAD Plants scholarships. As with most contributions to CNPS, your donation for MAD Plants is tax deductible under regulations for 501c3 organizations. Visit http://www.ocde.k12.ca.us/ito/osf.html for more information.
Please mail contributions to CNPS Orange County, P.O. Box 54891, Irvine CA 92619-4891, or bring to a chapter meeting. For more information, contact Sarah Jayne or Brad Jenkins. Make checks payable to OC CNPS.
Thank You! Brad Jenkins, Treasurer