2025 Event Calendar
JANUARY 2025
1 Wednesday
FYI: New Year’s Day (Federal Holiday)
2 Thursday
Board of Directors Meeting – CNPS OC
Acorn Grant: The Early Education High School (Newport-Mesa District) grant request for $300 is approved.
5 Sunday
Field Trip: Cancelled due to significantly low rainfall this season – Mushrooming Trip to Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park with Joanne Schwartz.
16 Thursday
Chapter Public Meeting @ Murray Community Center, Mission Viejo: Working with HOA’s to Install Native Plants in Common Area Landscapes – Three Perspectives… Elizabeth Wallace, Jeff Olmsted, Karen Graham. Free hummingbird sage from Irvine Ranch Conservancy.
20 Monday
FYI: Martin Luther King Jr Day (Federal Holiday)
Conservation: Comment letter sent regarding inadequate impact review for the Golden State Natural Resources Forest Resiliency Demonstration Project. Comments and recommendations focus on carbon emissions; concerns that the project includes multiple elements across multiple jurisdictions, many of which require documentation other than CEQA; and evaluation, impacts, avoidance and mitigation of botanical resources. Comments were submitted on behalf of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) state conservation program, the CNPS Shasta Chapter, the CNPS North Coast Chapter, and the CNPS Orange County Chapter. View the letter here.
25 Saturday
Field Trip: Mesa Water District – private tour for CNPS members.
26 Sunday
FYI: International Day of Clean Energy (United Nations Observance)
FEBRUARY 2025
2 Sunday
FYI: World Wetlands Day (United Nations Observance)
6 Thursday
Board of Directors Meeting – CNPS OC
9 Sunday
Field Trip: Coyote Hills – Robert E. Ward Preserve in Fullerton – Postponed, muddy trails
13 Thursday
Conservation: Defenders of Wildlife wrote a letter to California state leaders. A key phrase says, “We would like to partner with our state leadership to defend California’s authority, vulnerable communities, precious natural heritage, and economy from the harm that will be caused by the decisions of the Trump Administration.” This letter has been supported by 110 organizations who signed-on, including our CNPS-OC chapter. Our nexus within these topics is natural resources, especially plants and their connected environments. View the letter here.
17 Monday
FYI: Presidents’ Day, Washington’s Birthday (Federal Holiday)
20 Thursday
Chapter Public Meeting via Zoom: Dr. Kirsten Fisher presents “An introduction to the biology and ecology of the bryophytes – a small but important component of the California flora.”
28 Friday – 2 Sunday March
CNPS Board of Director Meeting and Chapter Council Meeting – San Gabriel Mountains Chapter
MARCH 2025
3 Monday
FYI: World Wildlife Day (United Nations Observance)
6 Thursday
Board of Directors Meeting – CNPS OC
8 Saturday
Field Trip: Red Rocks Wilderness with the Irvine Ranch Conservancy – Filled to capacity. Cancelled due to rain soaked trails – hoping to reschedule to April or May.
9 Sunday
FYI: Daylight Saving Time Starts
15 Saturday
FYI: “Caring for the Native Garden” presentation by landscaper and installer Colin Dunleavy at Tree of Life Nursery.
16 Sunday
20 Thursday
FYI: March-Spring-Vernal Equinox
25 Tuesday
Chapter Public Meeting @ Duck Club: Invasive Plants, OCCNPS, and You. Some Good News. Ron Vanderhoff presenting at 7pm.
28 Friday
Science – O’Neill Grant: This year’s O’Neill Grant review team has awarded $3,000 in grants to four winners for graduate level research. They are Mia Manfredi, Charles Boissavy, Mahima Dixit, and Chloe Novak.
29 Saturday
Field Trip: Tehachapi Mountains Randall Preserve with the Nature Conservancy
30 Sunday
FYI: International Day of Zero Waste (United Nations Observance)
APRIL 2025
1 Tuesday
SCIENCE: Our CNPS Orange County Chapter awarded a $98,566 grant from the Joan R. Hampton Trust to the UCI Herbarium to facilitate the processing of a backlog of plant vouchers. The Joan R. Hampton Trust bequeathed the funds to our chapter for the purpose of supporting publications regarding identification and location of local plants. Chapter President Elizabeth Wallace said we are, “delighted to award the largest grant in its (chapter) history to support the critical scientific work at the UCI Herbarium. We are very grateful to the Joan R. Hampton Trust, led by Richard Schilk, for working with us to document crucial information for future publications about local flora.” The UCI Herbarium is lead by Director and Faculty Advisor Dr. Peter Bowler and Collections Manager Rebecca Crowe. See the article HERE.
3 Thursday
Board of Directors Meeting – CNPS OC
5 Saturday – 6 Sunday
FYI: Theodore Payne Native Plant Garden Tour
6 Sunday
Field Trip: Dana Point Headlands with the Center for Natural Lands Management
7 Monday
Conservation: CNPS-OC delivered a letter recommending biologist Sandy Leatherman to serve on the Randall/Genga Preserve Advisory Committee. This area was formerly called Banning Ranch. Ms. Leatherman has a depth of site specific site knowledge based on her survey and EIR work there as well as useful botanical knowledge of Vernal Pools and Native Grasslands. [Update, Ms. Leatherman was appointed to the Advisory Committee shortly afterward.]
9 Wednesday
Conservation: CNPS-OC delivered a comment letter to OC Parks in support of prohibiting e-bikes on unpaved surfaces in wilderness and regional parks. Eight categories of reasoning were provided including consistency with adjacent USFS Wilderness areas and most CA State Parks unpaved surface policies. Multiple environmental issues were noted. See the full letter HERE.
Membership: CNPS-OC Chapter Membership reached 1,000—the highest level of membership since our chapter’s inception. This is an increase of 14.7 percent over the last year. Our members’ primary interests include field trips, education, and landscaping with native plants.
12 Saturday
CNPS Orange County Garden Tour – California in my Garden. Free.
17 Thursday
Chapter Public Meeting via Zoom: Plant Identification with Sandy Leatherman.
22 Tuesday
FYI: Earth Day
24 Thursday
Garden Tour: Golden West College Native Garden with Dan Songster.
26 Saturday – 27 Sunday
27 Sunday
Outreach: Sherman Gardens Native Plant Expo, 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Corona Del Mar. See our booth.
MAY 2025
1 Thursday
Board of Directors Meeting – CNPS OC
3 Saturday
Field Trip: Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve
6 Tuesday
FYI: Golden West College California Native Garden – ReOpening. Fifty years ago, co-founder of the garden Dan Songster created this local treasure of native plants in an urban college campus. A CNPS Fremontia article described the garden this way, “The intention in 1975 was to have a native garden serving as an outdoor classroom and lab for the science department’s biology, botany, and environmental studies classes. Back in the 1970s, this idea was cutting edge.” See the whole article HERE. Dan Songster’s wealth of combined knowledge in landscape nurture and native plant nature has been a key to the long standing success of both the GWC Native Garden and our CNPS Orange County chapter. These accomplishments lead to the designation of CNPS Fellow to Dan in 2022. Our chapter has been proud to assist the garden over the years with involvement by members and donations. Chapter Leadership members attended the garden reopening event.
11 Sunday
FYI: Mother’s Day
14 Wednesday
Chapter Public Meeting @ Duck Club: Botanical Illustrations with Emyle Rogers
22 Thursday
FYI: Biological Diversity Day (United Nations Observance)
26 Monday
FYI: Memorial Day (Federal Holiday)
27 Tuesday
Science: El Modena High School Ecological Research Poster Symposium. Students this year have been conducting research at the El Modena Water Basin. Our chapter is sending two representatives to learn about and discuss their research.
JUNE 2025
1 Sunday
Field Trip: San Elijo Lagoon and Fiesta del Sol, Solana Beach
5 Thursday
Board of Directors Meeting – CNPS OC
Acorn Grant: CNPS-OC voted to award a $500 Acorn Grant to the Sycamore Magnet Academy in Tustin to continue their work installing native plants in raised planters throughout the school grounds.
FYI: World Environment Day (United Nations Observance)
6 Friday – 8 Sunday
CNPS Quarterly Board of Directors and Chapter Council Meeting in Coloma with the El Dorado Chapter. Theme: Wildfire.
7 Saturday
Field Trip: Plants and birds at Starr Ranch – a joint event with Sea and Sage Audubon.
9 Monday
Conservation: Wildfire Advocacy Day in Sacramento – CNPS-OC President Elizabeth Wallace joined CNPS staff and other chapter representatives meeting with California legislative staffers to offer science-based guidance to help state lawmakers skillfully address our wildfire challenges.
14 Saturday
Conservation: CNPS-OC President Elizabeth Wallace wrote a comment letter in support of Chino Hills State Park Wildfire Mitigation Plan. A copy of this letter is available HERE.
15 Sunday
FYI: Father’s Day
19 Thursday
Chapter Public Meeting @ Duck Club: Student Lightening Talks with Kyle Osornia, Caleb Martinez, Lydia Dean, and Jack Dawes.
FYI: Juneteenth (Federal Observance)
20 Friday
FYI: June-Summer Solstice
21 Saturday
FYI: Juneteenth (California Observance)
26 Thursday
Science: CNPS-OC Board Members Rebecca Crowe and Mel Letterman spoke about native flora illustrations on exhibit at the closing reception of the Clara Mason Fox Botanical Exhibition at the Moulton Museum in Laguna Hills, California.
28 Saturday
Chapter Family and Friends Picnic at Huntington Beach Central Park. The second half of the event will be inside the Shipley Nature Center.
30 Monday
Conservation: CNPS-OC Board President Elizabeth Wallace, along with other CNPS-OC constituents, met with Congressman Young Kim (R) to advocate for increased funding for the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service, to prevent public land selloffs, and to support the Antiquities Act and Congress’ prerogative to establish national monuments.
JULY 2025
3 Thursday (tentative)
Board of Directors Meeting – CNPS OC
4 Friday
FYI: Independence Day (Federal Holiday)
11 Friday – 14 Monday
Science: CNPS is conducting a Veg-a-thon in the San Bernardino Mountains near Lake Arrowhead. These events are get-togethers where participants, regardless of their expertise level, team up with CNPS botanists to conduct surveys in a fun and collaborative environment. If you are interested in joining CNPS for the Veg-a-thon, fill out this survey HERE.
13 Sunday
Field Trip: Kayaking with the Newport Bay Conservancy
26 Saturday – 30 Wednesday
FYI: Botany 2025 Conference in Palm Springs, annual meeting of six leading professional botanical societies (the American Bryological and Lichenological Society, the American Fern Society, the American Society of Plant Taxonomists, the International Society of Plant Taxonomy, the Society for Herbarium Curators, and the Botanical Society of America).
AUGUST 2025
1 Friday
Conservation: CNPS-OC submitted a comment letter to the Randall Preserve/Genga Resource Access Plan. A copy of the letter can be found HERE.
7 Thursday – 11 Sunday
Science: CNPS is conducting a second Veg-a-thon in the San Gabriel Mountains near Paradise Springs. Everyone is welcome. If you are interested in joining CNPS for the Veg-a-thon, fill out this survey HERE
16 Saturday
CNPS OC Leaders Summer Strategy Meeting
Conservation: CNPS-OC submitted a comment letter to the San Clemente City Council with concerns about a recent Planning Commission document regarding the proposed Hansen Hotel. A copy of the letter can be found HERE.
SEPTEMBER 2025
1 Monday
FYI: Labor Day (Federal Holiday)
4 Thursday
Board of Directors Meeting – CNPS OC
5 Friday – 7 Sunday (tentative)
CNPS Quarterly Board of Directors and Chapter Council Meetings with the Milo Baker Chapter.
18 Thursday
Chapter Public Meeting via Zoom: Balancing Ecology and Beauty! Creating a Landscape that Welcomes Wildlife and People: Presented by Sarah F. Jayne
20 Saturday
FYI: World Cleanup Day (United Nations Observance)
22 Monday
FYI: September-Autumn Equinox
27 Saturday
Field Trip: Oak Canyon Nature Center Native Plant Hike
OCTOBER 2025
9 Thursday
Board of Directors Meeting – CNPS OC
13 Monday
FYI: Indigenous Peoples’ Day (Majority of states. Columbus Day – Federal Holiday)
14 Tuesday
Chapter Public Meeting @ the Duck Club: Mike Evans and Jeff Bohn – Tree of Life Nursery.
18 Saturday
CNPS-OC Members Celebration at TOLN. More information.
23 Thursday
Outreach: CNPS-OC will host a booth at the H2O for HOA’s event sponsored by the Moulton Niguel Water District at the Norman Murray Center from 9 a.m. until noon. Free event, register here.
31 Friday
FYI: Halloween
NOVEMBER 2025
2 Sunday
FYI: Daylight Saving Time Ends
5 Wednesday
Moulton Niguel Water District’s California Native Garden Tour
6 Thursday
Board of Directors Meeting – CNPS OC
10 Monday
Conservation: A letter by the CNPS Orange County Chapter has been posted in support of the Fairview Park Master Plan Update in Costa Mesa. The chapter advocates for stronger habitat protection and restrictions on activities that threaten rare native plants. View the letter here.
11 Tuesday
FYI: Veterans Day (Federal Holiday)
12 Wednesday
Chapter Public Meeting: Conservation
12 Wednesday – 15 Saturday
FYI Science/Conservation: The Cal-IPC Symposium “Beyond Eradication: Resistance, Resilience, and Recovery,” will take place in Venture and online. More information is available HERE.
27 Thursday
FYI: Thanksgiving (Federal Holiday)
DECEMBER 2025
2 Tuesday
FYI: Giving Tuesday
5 Wednesday
Moulton Niguel Water District’s California Native Garden Tour
4 Thursday
Board of Directors Meeting – CNPS OC
5 Friday – 7 Sunday
CNPS Quarterly Board of Directors and Chapter Council Meetings. This meeting will be virtual.
14 Sunday
California In My Garden Art Series -Holiday Watercolor Workshop with Emyle Rogers and CNPS Orange County chapter at the Irvine Ranch Water District Community Room.
18 Thursday
Chapter Public Meeting: O’Neill Grant Recipients.
21 Sunday
FYI: December-Winter Solstice