What we’re about
This group is for anyone interested in California native plants. We have activities for everyone -- whether you enjoy hiking, gardening, photography or in other ways learning about California native plants, this is the group for you. We have volunteer and restoration projects opportunities in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Please join us!
The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the understanding and appreciation of California's native plants and how to conserve them and their natural habitats through education, science, advocacy, horticulture, and land stewardship. The Santa Clara Valley Chapter of CNPS covers Santa Clara County and southern San Mateo County. For more information about our organization visit www.cnps-scv.org. If you're not a current member of the California Native Plant Society, please consider joining: https://www.cnps.org/membership
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Transgenerational Justice for Native Plants, a talk by Christopher TelomenLink visible for attendees
Transgenerational Justice for Native Plants, Animals and People
Native plants, animals and people deserve to live their lives with dignity and health on the land where they belong, with familiar care and in transgenerational community. Focusing on straight-species, locally-native plants and material support for indigenous people, we will explore how each/all of us can take accountability for the history of native plants, animals and people in so-called California, and build on our current conditions to create more opportunities for habitat and community in the future.
Throughout the talk, photos and lessons will be drawn from recently-installed native gardens and projects. We will end with a walkthrough of how to design, install and maintain your own beginner-friendly, locally-native, straight-species habitat garden.
Resources, including a list of helpful local organizations, will be provided and a brief Q&A will follow.
Speaker Bio:
Christopher Telomen (they/any) is a white, queer, trans/NB, chronically ill, and ADHD California native habitat care worker. They design, install and maintain native gardens around the so-called San Francisco Bay Area on stolen indigenous land. Their work is necessarily intersectional, incorporating frameworks of pollinator relationships, sustainable material sourcing, invasive plant management, white supremacy, disability, settler-colonialism, land back, climate change, immigration and poverty. They center indigenous people, plants, and animals in their work and they provide sliding scale services for people who need them.This talk will be live-streamed on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@CNPSSantaClaraValley - registration not required) and on Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/xDjvJX4lRDWxG01mtklJVQ - registration required).
- Habitat Restoration at Cataldi Park1797 Bethany Ave, San Jose, CA
Join us to restore habitat in Cataldi Park, San Jose. We are planting and maintaining native plants in a 1/2-acre section of the park off Bethany Ave.
We planted more than 100 native plants this winter. Activities in the summer will include weeding, sheet mulching to control weeds, watering, irrigation set up and general maintenance.Wear a hat and garden shoes and bring plenty of water to stay hydrated. Work gloves will be provided.
First-timers: Please bring a signed waiver form available at https://lakecunninghamnativegarden.files.wordpress.com/2022/01/2021-volunteer-service-agreement-adoptapark-version.pdf
Workdays are sometimes rescheduled or canceled. Always RSVP to confirm and check the latest updates Friday night.
- Community Work Day at the Native Plant Garden in Kirk ParkBriarwood Drive & Wawona Drive, San Jose, CA
TIME: 9am
VENUE: Kirk Park Native GardenVolunteers meet at the garden on Saturdays from 9 AM to 11 AM, weather permitting, for weeding, watering and other maintenance activities. Occasionally there will be other tasks such as mulching and planting. Community volunteers, including families with children over 6, are always welcome! First-time volunteers will need to fill out a form from the City of San Jose available at https://lakecunninghamnativegarden.files.wordpress.com/2022/01/2021-volunteer-service-agreement-adoptapark-version.pdf
Wear a hat, gloves, and sturdy garden shoes. Bring plenty of fluids and hydrate often.
Address: Briarwood Drive at Wawona Drive, San Jose (click the address to show it on a map).
Directions: From Meridian Avenue, go east on Foxworthy Avenue. Turn left on Briarwood Drive and go about a block. The park is on your left. Park along Briarwood Drive. The garden is along the cement walkway that parallels the north edge of the park.
Workdays are sometimes rescheduled or canceled. Always RSVP to confirm, and check the latest updates Friday night. If you can't make it, please change your RSVP so we know and wait-listers get a chance.
- Seed and Cutting Exchange & Plant Sale PickupPeninsula Conservation Center, Palo Alto, CA
The Seed and Cutting Exchange will be on Saturday, August 9 from 1:00 to 3:00pm at the Peninsula Conservation Center (PCC), 3921 E. Bayshore Road in Palo Alto. This free event provides an opportunity to share and receive both seeds and cuttings of native plants. Browse the diverse offerings, ranging from easy-to-grow to hard-to-find, and go home with seeds and cuttings of new native plants! We will provide coin envelopes for seeds but bring containers to carry cuttings home.
If you have native plant material from your own garden to share, please bring some. Label your cuttings to make them easy to browse – some gardeners attach helpful hints about growing; others display photos of plants in bloom. You may find it convenient to use calscape.org for this – there is a link on each plant’s information page to make a printable sign for most native species and cultivars.
If you bring cuttings, keep them cool and moist in a bucket of water. Don’t have native plant material to share? No problem, as there is usually enough for all.
Several popular books will be available for sale during the event, including Seed Propagation of Native California Plants (2021 ed.), by Dara E. Emery; California Native Plants for the Garden by Carol Bornstein, David Fross, and Bart O'Brien; and Wildflowers of California. Free seeds and information from the CNPS SCV Wildflower Ambassadors!
Plant pickup from the online sale (Tue/Wed Aug 4/5) at the CNPS SCV Nursery will also be available during the Exchange.
Location: Peninsula Conservation Center, 3921 East Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, CA, 94303
