8. Native Plants For All 1

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8. Native Plants for All: Insights for Inclusive Public Programming 1

📅 DateThursday, February 5
📍 AreaHall D
⏰ Time1:30 pm – 3:15 pm
Video Recording
Section 1 of 2. Join us for an interactive session on how to make public classes, workshops, and events more inclusive and accessible to all. We'll share helpful tips and success stories, and discuss strategies together.
SESSION CHAIR
Carrie Strohl, PhD

The School Garden Doctor, Napa, CA, United States

Carrie Strohl, PhD
The School Garden Doctor
Carrie is the founding director of The School Garden Doctor, a nonprofit rooted in equity and grounded in nature. As a social justice educator and science literacy researcher, Carrie (she/her) collectively creates accessible, inclusive, and culturally sustaining programs. Though she specializes in garden-based interactions, she also advises outdoor, science, and nature-based programs. Additionally, she provides strategic planning, evaluation, and grant writing services to environmental education organizations. Within CNPS, she serves as secretary of the Chapter Council and a member of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) committee.

8.1 Place-based, Immersive Restoration Experiences Promote Belongingness, Empowerment, Community, and Positive Mental Health Outcomes

Alana Luzzio, Brooke Wainwright

University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States

Description
Over the past decade, mental health has worsened across college campuses with students reporting mental health challenges including loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Even before the pandemic, the frequency of college students' mental health disorders was increasing at an alarming rate. Nature-based interventions (NBIs) have the potential to improve college students’ mental health as spending time in nature alleviates stress, reduces depression and anxiety, and restores mood and attention promoting overall well-being across age groups. To understand how these interventions affect mental health, we surveyed participants of Hands on the Land in the form of pre and post trip surveys over an entire year of programming. Hands on the land is a graduate-student-run organization centered on connecting the Davis community to the local natural landscape by providing equitable access to the outdoors in a safe and inclusive environment. We focus on local restoration initiatives at McLaughlin Natural Reserve and Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve, two of seven UC Davis natural Reserves, by facilitating zero-cost, monthly weekend trips for 20-30 students and community members. Our preliminary analysis of one year of programming of over 150 participants, has shown a positive correlation between engaging with nature and building community and increased mental health outcomes in the post survey results.
Presenter Bios
Alana Luzzio
University of California, Davis
Alana Luzzio is a Ph.D Candidate in the Graduate Group in Ecology in the Genomic Variation Lab at UC Davis. Alana applies genetic and genomic tools to inform recovery and conservation of threatened and endangered native species. Alana emphasizes undergraduate mentorship through compensated research opportunities, training in laboratory and field methods, bioinformatics, and conference presentations. Extending to outdoor field-based opportunities, Alana is passionate about equitable access to the outdoors and co-founded Hands on the Land in 2021 and has continued to serve as a Director of the program.

8.2 Belonging in Nature: Queer and Trans Community Days

MK Anthonisen1, Boon'Tianga Athj2, Christian Trujillo1

1Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, San Francisco, CA, United States. 2Independent, Oakland, CA, United States

Description
In this presentation, we’ll share our successes and learnings from the journey of building community land stewardship programs that are welcoming, accessible, and healing. We’ll highlight our Belonging in Nature: Queer and Trans Community Day programming, a space we’ve created for queer and trans folks and their friends to engage in the healing practice of native plant restoration while also building strong relational bonds. These programs support land-based priorities and also offer much needed refuge and connection at a time when queer and trans communities are being increasingly targeted. We’ll share our reflections on some of the significant impacts of this program.

We'll also talk about our collaborations with local queer, trans and Indigenous two-spirit BIPOC facilitators, artists, land stewards, and chefs to create offerings that celebrate the vast diversity of ways to connect with the natural world – through land stewardship, queer and trans ecology, community care, art-making, food, and ceremony. This range of offerings has also provided a powerful gateway to caring for land -- many of our community members join for a workshop (ex: diasporic food–making or working with natural plant dyes) and are introduced to stewardship through the same program. Our programs are grounded in trauma-informed facilitation and disability justice, and we are always learning more about how to make our gatherings more accessible, with the goal of building a strong and diverse community of current and future land stewards.   
Presenter Bios
MK Anthonisen
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
MK (they/them) has been a grateful land steward and naturalist for over a decade. They came into relationship with nature in their late 20s, mostly by accident, and their life was profoundly changed. They are deeply honored to hold space for others to grow in connection with the land that had such a sacred impact on their own life, and they do not take this gift for granted. As a guest on native Ramaytush Ohlone land, they are committed to the ongoing journey of right relationship with Indigenous people and Indigenous land.
Boon'Tianga Athj
Independent
Boon'Tianga Athj is a naturalist and artist committed to environmental justice, particularly for Black, Brown and indigenous communities who have been historically dispossessed from their connection to their ancestral homes. Obsessed with pollinators of all kinds, forests, and the relationship between humans, water, and fire, Boon’Tianga is interested in understanding how Indigenous-stewarded resource management will impact everyone's relationship to the land moving into the future. Boon'Tianga looks forward to learning more about and deepening their relationship to climate science, water(sheds), and the resilience of native flora and fauna, particularly birds and fish.

8.3 South Bay Parkland Conservancy's Pollinator Initiative Education Program: Cultivating Community & Ecology

Mary Simun, Jim Montgomery

South Bay Parkland Conservancy, Redondo Beach, CA, United States

Description
The South Bay Parkland Conservancy (SBPC) inspires and empowers communities to protect, tend and nurture land, water and life through advocacy, education and hands-on stewardship. We envision a biodiverse and thriving planet, connecting communities with nature and each other for the well-being of all life, now and for generations to come.

SBPC's Pollinator Initiative cultivates ecological understanding and inspires environmental action in the South Bay and adjacent Los Angeles areas. This program teaches about the critical roles of native habitats and pollinators, emphasizing their essential link to biodiversity and our food supply.  It actively engages the community through hands-on learning and restoration activities, empowering individuals to improve local ecosystems directly. The initiative works to restore and establish native habitats on public and private lands, creating vital spaces for pollinator populations, plant reproduction, and biodiversity to thrive.

The Pollinator Initiative began in 2022 with a simple goal: inspire a South Bay Superbloom through the distribution of native seed packets. In Fall 2024, it collaborated with a local restaurant to supply native plants for “Pollinator Mondays” and expanded in 2025 with two additional restaurants. To connect habitat restoration with food systems and deepen community engagement, the initiative offers programs like Pollinator 101 and Superbloom workshops focused on native plant and wildlife education.  It sustains seed libraries at five locations and provides scholarships at high schools through the SBPC Environmental Steward Award. The Pollinator Initiative serves a vital role in our community by restoring the relationship between people, plants and pollinators.
Presenter Bios
Mary Simun
South Bay Parkland Conservancy
Mary Simun is a biologist, educator and artist who is passionate about educating students and the community about nature to increase their engagement with one another and the environment, with the goals of improving the physical, mental, emotional and social health of Homo sapiens sapiens, as well as working collaboratively to heal the life support system of our marvelous Momma Earth. As a full time compulsive volunteer, her continued mission on planet Earth is to inspire humans to experience a lifelong love of learning, discovery, curiosity, and child-like wonder, and is passionate about immersing young people in nature to combat Nature Deficit Disorder. Simun volunteers for South Bay Parkland Conservancy, Surfrider Foundation, the El Segundo Blue Butterfly Coalition, the Monarch Fellowship, the South Bay LGBTQ Center, and the Friends of the Redondo Beach Public Library. Nature will heal us and Community will unite us.
Jim Montgomery
South Bay Parkland Conservancy
From an early age, the forest, creeks, beach, and lake near Jim’s childhood home in Michigan was his playground and instilled in him a love for the rich biodiversity of life with which we share this planet. As Vice President of Rewilding Projects with South Bay Parkland Conservancy, Jim is passionate about educating, inspiring and empowering community members to engage in volunteer-based stewardship and in the process regain a connection with, and love for, the land, water and life in the South Bay and beyond like he had as a child in Michigan. Together we can leave a legacy of a planet filled with an abundance of biodiversity. He looks forward to collaborating with anyone who shares this vision. For ourselves, for future generations, for all life.

8.4 Fostering Community Through the Desert Climate Resilience Initiative for the Coachella Valley

Danelle Angeline Baronia, Dr. Lynn C. Sweet, Dr. Hector Zumbado-Ulate, Sienna Thomas, Rachel Gallardo, Dr. Darrel Jenerette

University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States

Description
The Desert Climate Resilience Initiative (DCRI) for the Coachella Valley was created to build scientific expertise and community engagement around the relationship between several key themes: native plant communities; climate change and carbon stores in the desert; and building equity within the Coachella Valley. This region faces significant challenges related to drought, heat, and other concerns exacerbated by climate change. Through this program, we have built a collaborative space and framework from which to launch research, partnerships, workshops, and projects focusing on vegetation, plants, and resilience to climate change.

A central component connected DCRI efforts to the community. As an academic institution, our strengths lie in both education and subject matter expertise. However, much expertise and context exist outside of the historically recognized scientific mainstream. Thus, we have engaged with members of the Coachella Valley community, ensuring to include the lesser-represented eastern valley and indigenous communities, through science-based guest lectures, community science, tabling events, workshops, and social media outreach. We incorporated community feedback into a dedicated public website, which serves as a dynamic platform for sharing resources and raising awareness. Additionally, our work with the community has contributed to the Prioritization, Adaptation, and Resilience for Climate Toolkit for the Coachella Valley, further enhancing its value as a resource for fostering resilience in the face of climate challenges. By gathering valuable input from the community, we reflected their voices in every stage of developing the Desert Climate Resilience Initiative.
Presenter Bios
Danelle Angeline Baronia
University of California, Riverside
Danelle Angeline Baronia is a Field Biologist and the Outreach and Engagement Lead at the University of California, Riverside’s Center for Conservation Biology Sweet Lab. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution and a Master of Science degree in Biology, both from the University of California, San Diego. With the Center of Conservation Biology, she has helped to spearhead their Desert Climate Resilience Initiative that is focused on building climate resilience within the Coachella Valley.

8.5 The Nat’s Nature Trail: Connecting People, Plants, and Wildlife

Carla M. Quimson

The San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, CA, United States

Description
In May 2024, The San Diego Natural History Museum (The Nat) opened The Nature Trail Garden, transforming a corner of Balboa Park— visited by 14M annually— into a living showcase of Southern California’s biodiversity. Encircling the museum, the garden is designed as both habitat and classroom, demonstrating how native plants can thrive in public spaces while deepening connections to nature.

Led by horticulturist Carla Quimson, the garden is rooted in community. A Garden Advisory Committee of California native plant experts and The Nat scientists provides guidance, ensuring the garden reflects both ecological integrity and educational purpose. More than 70 volunteers, The Nat Garden Corps, are trained to care for the garden, lead tours, and model best practices in native horticulture.

Community engagement has been pivotal. In spring 2025, over 200 volunteers joined a planting party that added 600 plants representing 150 species, many rare or endemic to San Diego and Baja California, like Baja California Bird Bush Ornithostaphylos oppositifolia, Otay Manzanita Arctostaphylos otayensis, Elephant Tree Bursera microphylla, Santa Catalina Island Ironwood Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. Floribundus plus more are greatly enhancing habitat value. Beyond the trail, The Nat hosts an annual Garden Fair, welcoming thousands of visitors to experience firsthand the connections between native plants, pollinators, and people.

This presentation will highlight three key lessons: the power of grassroots stewardship, the value of integrating science with community partnerships, and the role of visible public gardens in shifting perceptions. Together, these efforts demonstrate how planting a garden can spark a broader movement—cultivating not only biodiversity, but also the communities that sustain it.
Presenter Bios
Carla M. Quimson
The San Diego Natural History Museum
Carla Quimson is a horticulturist and landscape designer dedicated to advancing native plant awareness in Southern California. At the San Diego Natural History Museum, she leads the Nature Trail Garden, engaging volunteers, scientists, and community members to educate visitors about the importance of native plants. Carla’s love for the natural world began in the Philippines, shaping her passion for connecting culture, community, and ecology. Her work centers on education and stewardship, with the goal of transforming public landscapes into thriving green corridors for biodiversity.

Thank you to our 2026 sponsors!

Giant Sequoia

Special thanks to Esri, our 3-time Giant Sequoia Sponsor, for making this movement stronger than ever!

Valley Oak

Manzanita

CNPS Sacramento Valley

Buckwheat

AECOM

California Invasive Plant Council

California Native Bee Society

EBMUD

H.T. Harvey & Associates

Judy and Robert Fenerty

Kleinfelder

Moulton Niguel Water District

PSOMAS

Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

California Poppy

ASCENT

Barona Band of Mission Indians

Carol Witham

Inland Empire Resource Conservation District

Land Trust of Santa Cruz County

Linda and David Chipping

Vern Goehring

Northern California Bontanists

Stillwater Sciences

East Bay Regional Parks

Northern California Botanists

Rutherford and Bransfield

Wildlife Conservation Board

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The mission of the California Native Plant Society is to protect California’s native plants and their natural habitats, today and into the future, through science, education, stewardship, gardening, and advocacy.

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