NATIVE PLANT WEEK WILDFLOWER SHOW, SYMPOSIUM AND PLANT SALE
April 18, 2015 (Saturday); 9am-4pm
Sepulveda Garden Center, 16633 Magnolia Blvd., Encino, 91436
The annual Wildflower Show of the Los Angeles / Santa Monica Mountains chapter of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is scheduled for April 18 at the Sepulveda Garden Center in conjunction with a simultaneous Native Plant Week Symposium, plant and book sale. The Symposium will feature speakers throughout the day. Plants for sale will be available courtesy of our co-sponsor the Theodore Payne Foundation. We welcome California native wildflower cuttings from your home gardens.
The Symposium will feature the following speakers:
10 -11:30 am
Finding LA’s Hidden Wildlife Through Citizen Science
Lila Higgins
Lila is a museum educator with 13 years of experience in environmental education, exhibit development, and citizen science programming. In late 2008 she joined the Natural History Museum (NHM) of Los Angeles working in the Education & Exhibits department. She oversees the Museum’s Community Science and Live Animal programs and is also the lead educator on the Museum’s newest indoor/outdoor exhibit, focused on public participation in urban biodiversity research. Prior to working at the NHM, Lila worked on both coasts in many nonprofit and governmental organizations. She has a broad background with expertise in areas other than museum education, including volunteer management and biological control research. Lila holds a bachelor’s degree in entomology from University of California, Riverside and a Master’s degree in Environmental Education from California State University, San Bernardino. Her presentation will point out the hidden wildlife in Los Angeles and how to find it. This wildlife has eluded scientists for years by either being too secretive, hidden in plain sight, or tauntingly out of reach on private property. Citizen science can help us to explore this uncharted territory, and enable everyday people to make extraordinary discoveries. Lila will share stories about the projects, programs, and citizen scientists that are finding L.A.’s hidden wildlife one specimen at a time.
noon-1:30 pm
Chumash Indian Plant Knowledge
Jan Timbrook, Ph.D.
Dr. Timbrook is an anthropologist and ethnobiologist and the Curator of Ethnography at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. She studies the interactions of human societies with plants and animals with a specialty in the indigenous Chumash people of the Santa Barbara region. She joined the staff of the Anthropology Department at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History in 1974 and is one of the top experts in Chumash studies. Her degrees are in Anthropology from University of California, Santa Barbara. The native Chumash people of the Santa Barbara region have used some 150 species of plants for food, medicine, raw materials for making clothing, tools and utensils, religious paraphernalia, and other items essential to existence. Equally important are the ways in which the Chumash have thought about plants and been affected by them. Dr. Timbrook’s informative, illustrated talk will provide a glimpse into the fascinating plant world of the Chumash, including the complex interrelationships between the first people of our region and the environment in which they lived. Her popular book, Chumash Ethnobotany: Plant Knowledge Among the Chumash People of Southern California, will be available for purchase and signing at the program.
2-3:30 pm
The Small-Space Native Garden: Creating Intimate Outdoor Spaces
Steve Gerischer
Steve is the owner of the award-winning firm Larkspur Garden Design, a plant enthusiast, and a popular teacher on subjects related to gardening in this region. He also serves as President of the Southern California Horticultural and Pacific Horticulture societies. His presentation will cover the challenges of gardening in smaller spaces. The process of designing a small space takes on added importance when every inch of garden counts. He will teach attendees how to create a smaller-sized, cozy landscape with attractive hardscape, comfortable seating, a fire pit or bird bath or water feature, and, of course, California plants to add color, fragrance, texture and wildlife habitat.
For more information about the California Native Plant Society, visit www.cnps.org. Find the website for the L.A. / Santa Monica Mountains Chapter of CNPS at www.lacnps.org. The Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants, Inc. is located at 10459 Tuxford St., Sun Valley 91352, 818-768-1802, or visit them at www.theodorepayne.org.