The fast-paced lightning talks session is not to be missed! Each five-minute talk presents an exciting idea intended to spark discussion amongst conference attendees.
SESSION CHAIRS Kristen Nelson, Bryce King
California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, CA, United States
Kristen Nelson
California Native Plant Society
Kristen is currently the Rare Plant Program Manager at the California Native Plant Society, overseeing and coordinating field-based projects across the state. She holds a B.S. in environmental management and a M.S. in biology, both from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. She has worked as a professional botanist and ecologist across private, government, and non-profit sectors. Kristen has also worked in pollinator conservation and loves to propagate native plants as a hobby.
Bryce King
California Native Plant Society
Bryce King is a Lead Field Botanist with the California Native Plant Society who previously acted as a laboratory assistant at the UC Davis – USDA Agricultural Research Service laboratory and as a Scientific Aid for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. He graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2021 with a BS in Forestry and a minor in Biology. He currently assists with vegetation mapping of the Transverse and Peninsular ranges of California along with collecting data to improve the Manual of California Vegetation classification system.
He has a special fondness for the estuarine and marshland habitats found around where he grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, along with the incredible diversity found within the Central Coast near his alma mater.
L2.1 An Annotated Vascular Plant Checklist for San Clemente Island, CA
Dr. Sula E. Vanderplank1, Dr. Jon P. Rebman2
1SUVA Research, San Diego, CA, United States. 2San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, CA, United States
Description San Clemente Island, the southernmost of California’s Channel Islands, supports a diverse and distinctive vascular plant flora shaped by its isolation, varied habitats, and complex land-use history. We present a comprehensive annotated checklist of the island’s vascular plants, based on extensive field surveys conducted from 2019 to 2025, combined with historical herbarium records and literature review. Our inventory documents 481 species (505 taxa), including 67% native and 33% non-native plants. The list includes 73 taxa newly reported for the island, of which 42 are native and 31 are non-native, and 18 single-island endemic plants (and one endemic hybrid). This checklist provides a critical baseline for ongoing ecological research, management, and conservation of San Clemente Island’s unique flora.
Presenter Bios
Dr. Sula E. Vanderplank
SUVA Research
Dr. Sula Vanderplank is a conservation botanist who works on the Baja California Peninsula and the California Channel Islands, focused on ecology and floristics. She is adjunct faculty at San Diego State University, the Center for Research and Higher Learning in Ensenada (CICESE), and is a research associate at the San Diego Natural History Museum and California Botanic Garden.
L2.2 Protecting Clean Water with Native Plants and Community Action
Kathryn Dressendorfer, Kai Craig
Surfrider Foundation, Long Beach, CA, United States
Description Surfrider Foundation's Ocean Friendly Gardens program engages volunteers in caring for and creating rainwater retention gardens that center native plants and pollution prevention. Stormwater runoff is one of the biggest sources of pollution to our waterways and ocean, but we can transform this pollution problem into a resource that creates hydrated, biodiverse, climate resilient landscapes. Through our volunteer programs, we are creating and stewarding highly visible native plant habitats that align with the goals of our community partners while supporting multi-benefit green spaces. Our projects have brought rain gardens and bioswales full of native plants to the Long Beach City waterfront, schools in Wrigley and North Long Beach, an indigenous cultural center in Santa Monica, and public parks in Huntington Beach and Seal Beach.
Presenter Bios
Kathryn Dressendorfer
Surfrider Foundation
Kathryn Dressendorfer is the Southern California Ocean Friendly Gardens Coordinator at Surfrider Foundation. She collaborates with volunteers and community partners to create projects that prioritize nature-based solutions for watershed pollution, and advocates for the use of native plants in public and residential spaces.
L2.3A Novel Approach for Producing Petitions to List Species under the California Endangered Species Act
Dr. John C. Hunter
CNPS Sacramento Valley Chapter, Sacramento, CA, United States
Description On August 29, 2025, I submitted petitions to the California Fish and Game Commission to list 19 plant species as threatened or endangered under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA)—more than twice the total number of petitions submitted during the last 20 years. I did this to reduce the backlog that has developed over several decades as species have become threatened or endangered faster than they have been added to the list of species protected by CESA. Consequently, more and more species at risk of extinction go unprotected, and an increasingly outdated CESA species list misinforms our conservation priorities.
To date, the approach to producing listing petitions has seriously impeded efforts to protect species under CESA: it is labor intensive and relies heavily on rarely available volunteer labor from species experts. To reduce this impediment, I developed a template that makes much greater use of broadly applicable scientific evidence and GIS data layers. My approach produces the required content with less labor and allows species experts to serve as reviewers rather than authors. In this presentation, I will share the specifics of my approach and the fate of these 19 petitions.
Presenter Bios
Dr. John C. Hunter
CNPS Sacramento Valley Chapter
Dr. Hunter is a plant ecologist with nearly 40 years of experience in academics and consulting, and an ex-president of CNPS, who is currently test-driving retirement.
L2.4 Art Fosters Excitement about Botany: How the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is Investing in Meaningful Artistic Collaborations between Staff, Local Artists, and Students
Charlotte Grenier
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
Description In 2025, the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden (Garden) facilitated multiple artistic collaborations between their staff, local artists, and students, fostering novel enrichment and inspiration across the community. Conservation staff led artistic activities such as nature journaling, herbarium specimen curation, and rare plant seed drawing at the Garden’s summer camp, fostering children and counselor interest in these niche botanical fields. The Garden has also diversified their Conservation Gallery exhibits, showcasing art from staff, local artists, and students concurrently with interactive elements. Conservation staff created themed risograph “zines” in collaboration with a local print studio, and a commissioned artist created large sculptures of rare plant seeds in conjunction with an 8th grade class's paintings. These diversified exhibits have been met with increased enthusiasm across the community. Like an ecosystem, the native plant movement is supported by strong community networks. Shifting towards creative collaborations has allowed the Garden to engage a wider audience, inspiring conversations and career paths in native plant conservation. Garden staff, who are passionate about plants in a multitude of ways beyond their scientific interests, have enjoyed knowing they are also valued for their artistic contributions. Thus, emphasizing and fundraising for artistic collaborations between staff and the community have proven to be worthwhile investments.
Presenter Bios
Charlotte Grenier
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
Charlotte’s passion for native ecosystem conservation and art started early in life, motivating her to earn degrees in Environmental Studies and Art from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She spent four years working at the UCSC Arboretum, followed by a year of service in the California Conservation Corps, Watershed Stewards Program. She now works as a Rare Plant Technician for the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.
Williams Ecological Assessments and Planning, Richmond, CA, United States
Description For land managers, there is always more work than can be accomplished. How, then, does one prioritize projects for greatest impact? By focusing on resources that are rare and/or important, and have stressors impacting them that management can alleviate. Rarity, Importance, Stress, and Knowledge (RISK) all come in to play as a first step in prioritization for a particular land unit.
The RISK framework helps identify key resources, stressors affecting those resources, and the current level of knowledge for each. Rarity includes species or communities listed as rare or locally rare by recognized authorities or groups; Importance has more to do with areas of high biodiversity, culturally important species and sites, reasons the unit was set aside or what visitors come to see, or otherwise remarkable resources. These combine to make lists of key and secondary resources: generally, key resources are both rare and important. Stressors may be direct or indirect and not affect resources similarly or in all areas; common stressors include invasive species, altered fire regime, climate change, and land use. Knowledge may also vary by resource and location.
Other prioritization criteria are specific to what aspects of projects are deemed of greatest import by the unit’s land managers, as determined by a structured decision-making process. A matrix with objective scores is created to rank monitoring, one-time, and ongoing natural resource projects. Then, projects are calendared according to readiness/phase and score. An example use of the RISK framework will be presented.
Presenter Bios
Andrea Williams
Williams Ecological Assessments and Planning
Andrea has 20 years of public lands management experience in California, and provided vision for the California Native Plant Society as Director of the Biodiversity Initiatives Group. In 2023, Andrea founded Williams Ecological Assessments and Planning to provide guidance for agencies and organizations wanting to show the meaningful impacts of their work. Known for relentless logic, creative thinking, and botanical skill, Andrea's career showcases examples of protocols, presentations, reviews, and collaborative projects; the RISK framework is one more of these.
L2.6 AIM Monitoring in California: A Closer Look at the California Native Plant Society's Efforts on Bureau of Land Management Lands Statewide
Michael Heine
California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, CA, United States
Description Since the onset of European colonization in the western US, wetlands have become degraded and lost, and with them their biodiversity and ecosystem services. Over the last four years, the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) has worked with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to conduct Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) surveys in wetland and riparian habitats across BLM lands statewide. These efforts have led to increased understanding of land use impacts within wetland and riparian systems and have informed a variety of restoration plans that are being prepared or have already been implemented. This monitoring protocol, coupled with a growing movement to conserve and restore waterways in California, have shown the effectiveness of collecting data in the AIM framework and highlights the potential applications outside of BLM land.
Presenter Bios
Michael Heine
California Native Plant Society
Mike Heine is a lead field botanist with the California Native Plant Society. For the past three years, he has helped lead collection efforts for wetland and riparian data across the state. In addition, he has collected vegetation data for statewide mapping efforts in a variety of ecosystems.
L2.7 "Adopt-a-Trail" Pilot Program: Utilizing Volunteer Support for Invasive Plant Monitoring at Point Reyes National Seashore
Cristobal Castañeda-Salazar
Point Reyes National Seashore Association, Point Reyes Station, CA, United States
Description At Point Reyes National Seashore, one of the urgent challenges to long-term conservation is monitoring early detection of invasive plant species throughout an area comprising over 70,000 acres (about the area of Athens, Georgia). Therefore, a key focus for park managers is to map newly introduced plants, such as Dittrichia graveolens, along with tracking the spread of known invasive plants like Cakile maritima into restored habitats. In response, Point Reyes National Seashore Association (PRNSA) is working together with the National Park Service to run a pilot plant monitoring program called "Adopt-a-Trail". The purpose of the program is to encourage park visitors to become volunteers trained in plant identification and fundamental botany concepts. During the winter 2025/2026 season, volunteers recorded observations of invasive plant activity throughout the park's 150 miles of trails. Volunteers were able to select a trail that they were already familiar with and were provided with GPS devices and maps to mark locations affected by invasive plants. These areas can then be treated by staff to preserve vital habitat for the park's native flora. Through these efforts, we aim to present initial findings of both primary invasive plant species spread, such as Ammophila arenaria, and secondary invasive plants like Cakile maritima, in restored coastal dune habitats within the park.
Presenter Bios
Cristobal Castañeda-Salazar
Point Reyes National Seashore Association
Cristobal Castañeda-Salazar works as the Volunteer Manager with Point Reyes National Seashore Association and collaborates with park staff to lead public stewardship opportunities. In his current role, Cristobal oversees various volunteer-based programs primarily focusing on habitat restoration work that occurs at various sites throughout the seashore. His passion for engaging with nature stems from seeing vast natural lands while immigrating with his family from Guanajuato, Mexico, to California. Cristobal holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Management from UC Davis, with a minor in Geographic Information Systems.
L2.8 Teaching Horticulture, Building Trust: Sharing Curriculum and Lessons Learned from a Youth Training Program in the Golden Gate National Parks
Robin Dingle Binaoro
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, San Francisco, CA, United States
Description This session shares the development and delivery of a horticulture training curriculum originally created at the request of the San Francisco Conservation Corps (SFCC) to provide high-quality, skills-based learning for young adults. The training content and the lessons are relevant to educators, restoration practitioners, and community partners working to introduce new audiences to conservation.
While the program curriculum focused on foundational plant science, hands-on horticulture and restoration skills, and career pathway exploration, just as important was addressing the needs and challenges of the young people we worked with. Attendance, access to meals, student buy-in, and cultural perceptions of nature and national parks all played a significant role in shaping how the program was received. These realities often required as much intentionality and flexibility as the teaching itself.
Rather than focusing solely on program outcomes, this session will highlight two themes: (1) sharing elements of the curriculum that could be useful to others developing similar programs, and (2) candidly discussing the barriers and opportunities that arose.
Presenter Bios
Robin Dingle Binaoro
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
L2.9 Grants and Scholarships Program of the California Native Plant Society's San Diego Chapter
Sherry L. Ashbaugh, Robert Byrnes
CNPS San Diego Chapter, San Diego, CA, United States
Description The CNPS San Diego Chapter's program for research grants, mini grants, and educational scholarships has recently grown to a budget of almost $18,000 per year. Research grants are the newest addition to the program and were established to encourage research and projects on California native plants within San Diego and Imperial Counties by college and university students. Qualifying topics include but are not limited to: the ecology of native plants, plant communities, pollination ecology, seed dispersal, taxonomy, phenology, restoration, conservation, and more. Individuals, schools, and nonprofits can apply for mini grants, which promote enhancement of public understanding, appreciation, and horticultural use of native plants. Mini grants are most often utilized by elementary school teachers for native plant gardens. The educational scholarships are available to students enrolled in the Field Botany of San Diego County course, hosted by San Diego State University (SDSU) Global Campus, and covers full tuition for the class. This scholarship reflects the chapter's commitment to botanical education and supports students and professionals to foster passion for protecting our local biodiversity.
Presenter Bios
Robert Byrnes
CNPS San Diego Chapter
L2.10 Starting Fresh: Using a Campus Garden to Build a Teaching Herbarium
Professor Holly McMullen
Southwestern College, Chula Vista, CA, United States
Description Starting an herbarium from scratch is both daunting and exciting, especially in a teaching setting where people often want to touch, smell, and feel plants rather than just observe them behind glass. At Southwestern College we are building a brand-new teaching herbarium tied directly to our on-campus native plant garden. Because our specimens are collected and documented from the very beginning, this herbarium offers a unique chance to track changes in plant morphology over time as the garden matures and as environmental conditions shift.
This presentation will share practical steps for starting a small herbarium with limited resources, including pressing, mounting, labeling, and simple storage solutions. It will also highlight how we have involved students at every stage, making the herbarium a living archive rather than a static collection. Beyond teaching plant identification, the herbarium becomes a record of phenological variation, seasonal shifts, and even long-term responses to climate.
For programs or organizations that may not have access to a traditional herbarium, this approach offers a replicable model. Starting small, focusing on a single garden or restoration site, and involving students or volunteers makes the process both manageable and meaningful. By linking hands-on learning with careful documentation, we can preserve the sensory experience of plants while creating a resource for research, teaching, and conservation.
Presenter Bios
Professor Holly McMullen
Southwestern College
Holly McMullen has been teaching horticulture and plant science at Southwestern College since 2017. She is passionate about helping students discover the beauty and importance of California native plants, both in the classroom and through hands-on experiences in the college’s garden. Holly has worked to expand the presence of native species on campus and to show students how these plants connect ecology, culture, and design. Her goal is to inspire the next generation of land stewards by making native plants accessible, engaging, and central to how we think about landscapes.
L2.11 Ecological and Evolutionary Mechanisms of Drought Adaptation in Eschscholzia californica, the California Poppy
Peter T. Nguyen1, Kristal Lam2, Elizabeth Ryan2, Cory Merow3, Elsa Cleland2, Jason Sexton1
1University of California, Merced, Merced, CA, United States. 2University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States. 3University of Connecticut, Mansfield, CT, United States
Description California's intensifying climate extremes pose unprecedented challenges to native plant communities, yet some species demonstrate remarkable resilience across diverse environments. The California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), the state's iconic flower, serves as an ideal model organism for understanding climate adaptation, thriving from coastal fog zones to desert valleys throughout its native range.
This research integrates landscape genomics, quantitative genetics, and microbial ecology to understand drought resilience in E. californica. Landscape genomics analysis across California's climatic gradients will delineate population units for management and identify drivers of population connectivity, revealing which environmental factors limit gene flow and where adaptive genetic variation should be prioritized for conservation. Paternal half-sib common garden experiments are quantifying heritability and plasticity of drought-related traits under contrasting water availability, while reciprocal inoculation experiments test whether soil microbiomes from arid versus mesic sites enhance plant drought tolerance and how host genetics influence these plant-microbe interactions.
Preliminary population genetic analyses reveal patterns consistent with isolation by distance, with some evidence of environmental associations that warrant further investigation. The first year of common garden trials has been completed with comprehensive trait data collected across drought and well-watered treatments, revealing promising patterns in trait variation that are currently under analysis. The soil microbiome experiment is underway with inoculated plants established and growing. Understanding these mechanisms will provide insights for predicting species responses to intensifying drought and developing effective conservation strategies for California's flora.
Presenter Bios
Peter T. Nguyen
University of California, Merced
Peter Nguyen is a Ph.D. candidate in the Quantitative and Systems Biology program at UC Merced in Dr. Jason Sexton’s lab. He studies the California poppy as a model for understanding how plants adapt to drought across California’s diverse climates. By using multi-omic approaches, he aims to uncover the mechanisms that shape resilience in native plant species.
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!
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.
DateSaturday, February 7
