Save the Dates!
Seed & Cutting Exchange at Kirk Park: September 20Fall Plant Sale: Online October 11-13, Pickup October 18Chapter Potluck: November 1 |
California Native Plant Society
Santa Clara Valley Chapter
Santa Clara Valley Chapter
Seed & Cutting Exchange at Kirk Park: September 20Fall Plant Sale: Online October 11-13, Pickup October 18Chapter Potluck: November 1 |
The Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society covers Santa Clara County and southern San Mateo. Want to learn more about native plants? Support California's biodiversity? Join us! We welcome CNPS members and the public at our virtual and in-person activities.
To receive weekly updates about our upcoming events, please join our Chapter News list. Subscribe by sending an e-mail to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can also learn about events on our Chapter's Facebook page and Meetup group.
CNPS SCV is an all-volunteer organization -- our activities depend on our many volunteers. We welcome your help to fill these important volunteer roles.
Library Talk Helpers: We hold talks at libraries in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Several volunteers are for each talk to help with setup and check-ins. No experience is necessary. Sign up to help with an upcoming talk.
For more information on other volunteer opportunities, contact Radhika Thekkath, Interim Chair of the Leadership Development Committee, (408) 255-6233 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of California’s native plants and their natural habitats, today and into the future, through science, education, stewardship, gardening, and advocacy.
The Santa Clara Valley Chapter of CNPS covers Santa Clara County and southern San Mateo County. It offers activities focusing on the many aspects of native plants, from gardening, plant identification, and photography to conservation and rare plants. Activities include talks and lectures and workshops, field trips, native plant sales, wildflower show, restoration workdays, and more. The chapter was founded in 1972; more history can be found here.
The Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS SCV) is an all-volunteer organization - our activities depend on our many volunteers. If you are interested in helping, there are many opportunities. You can work from home or volunteer in a group, take on a weekly or monthly position, or volunteer for a one-time event. For more information on these or other volunteer opportunities, contact the listed coordinator or Radhika Thekkath, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 
Public Garden work: Volunteer to plant and maintain native plants in parks. This is a great learning opportunity as you get to work with the experts who run these public garden native plant areas. Tasks vary by season. Typical tasks include weeding year-round, watering in the summer and occasional planting in the fall. There will sometimes be other tasks such as moving and spreading mulch. You can sign up to help at the Chapter's Meetup page where our activities are listed. We currently have three projects in San Jose: Lake Cunningham, Kirk and Cataldi Parks.
Prepare weekly emails: We send a summary of upcoming chapter events to CNPS News subscribers. Join the team of detail-oriented people to create weekly emails about our scheduled events.
Library Talk Helpers: We hold talks at libraries in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Several volunteers are needed for each talk to help with setup and check-ins. No experience is necessary. Sign up to help with an upcoming talk.
Find Speakers for talks: We hold talks on Zoom and in-person on various topics. We need help looking for speakers who are experts in the fields of native plant gardening, plant science, restoration, conservation issues and climate change. Join our quarterly meetings on Zoom where we plan for talks for the upcoming months.
Help with field trips: We host field trips for a variety of reasons, such as introducing newcomers to wildflowers, exploring interesting habitats, or visiting unusual plants. You can help out by volunteering to act as a field trip leader or sweep. The sweep is the last person on the trail in the walk or hike. They assist the trip leader, ensuring that participants enjoy the trip, helping with any issues that arise, and signing out early departures. No prior experience is needed to be a sweep. Contact Field Trip Chair, Nabeel Al-Shamma at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
Conservation/advocacy of native plants: Attend a Conservation Committee meeting to learn where help is needed in our ongoing efforts to protect native plants and habitats. Committee meetings cover rare plants, conservation, legislation, invasive plants, and restoration. If you’re interested in issues in your area, or would just like to learn more, please join us. For more information, please contact the committee chair, Carolyn Dorsch at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Join the Growing Natives Garden Tour committee: Help with various administrative tasks for our annual garden tour. We are especially seeking assistance with publicity, both print and social media. You are welcome to attend a committee meeting to get acquainted with all we do to find where you would like to contribute. For more information, please contact the committee chair, Madeline Morrow at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Assist with volunteer recognition: Help the volunteer recognition coordinator.
Join the Wildflower Ambassadors Program: This is the outreach arm of our chapter. Members of this group give away packets of free native seeds and resource handouts at events and library talks to encourage people to grow native plants in their gardens. The program is an easy entry point for those who are new to native gardening as they can learn through participation in these activities and from other members who have greater experience. Sign up here.
Assist with outreach events: Ideal for people who love to talk about native plants. We are invited to MANY events – become part of the team and help us say “Yes” to attending more outreach events.
Volunteer at an event: We hold one large fall plant sale, a spring Wildflower Show, a spring native plant garden tour, an annual members’ potluck in late fall, and other events throughout the year. We need lots of volunteers for each event. We hold Zoom training as needed for large events.
Take on a leadership position: We can’t do any of our work without leaders, and they are all volunteers that started off new to the organization, just like you. An excellent way to find out more about what the president, treasurer, secretary, and our board do is to attend one of our board meetings. Our Zoom Board meetings are held on typically the third Thursday of the month at 7pm. To attend, contact our chapter co-presidents at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
We welcome your help to fill these important volunteer roles.
You can find information about many activities on our website cnps-scv.org. For more information on these or other volunteer opportunities, contact Radhika Thekkath, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Wanda Broadie Alexander began life in a small town in the great open spaces of Midwestern Kansas. Born of parents who had escaped farm life by means of college and career, she enjoyed yearly family camping adventures to the various National Parks (relatively new in those days) and felt the excitement of seeing her first bear. Her real and abiding passion for nature and all its creatures came later with a trip to the Galapagos after a series of personal losses of husband and parents culminated by the tragic and untimely death of her sister in an airplane crash in the early 70’s. The Galapagos experience brought an in-depth knowledge and appreciation for our shared life processes and the transforming nature of life and death. This led her to became actively engaged in environmental issues.
When she inherited 80 acres of unbroken prairie in the flint hills of Kansas, she donated it to Bethel College in Kansas where students learn to understand prairie ecosystems. The Broadie Habitat Preserve in Montana, which helps to preserve one of North America’s smallest, most vulnerable grizzly bear populations, is another result of her generosity and support. After purchasing 2.5 acres of hillside land on a dead-end road in Los Gatos, CA, Wanda wanted to be sure that the wildlife corridor on her property would be preserved, which led her to obtain a conservation easement on her land through the Wildlife Land Trust.
Wanda was the CEO of ACT for Mental Health, a small mental health agency in downtown San Jose. She fostered this agency for many years with the mission of providing quality mental health care to folks who otherwise would not be able to afford it. She received a Jefferson Award in 2013 for her decades of leadership in offering mental health services. Throughout her professional life as therapist and mental health clinician, she sought to find ways to help clients and patients connect with nature as part of healing. She spent many holidays on eco travel, which spanned every continent, including the Antarctic. She was an avid photographer, capturing gorgeous images of animals, plants, people and landscapes.
Wanda was a frequent volunteer for our Chapter, and especially enjoyed helping with book and poster sales. She generously left her property to CNPS for an Environmental Education Center.
Brenda Butner was a key figure in the history of the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. She began her horticultural work at Foothill College, where she, botanist and author Tony Corelli, and Mary Kay of Western Horticulture Society were students together. Brenda developed a major interest in native plants and was our Chapter President from 1989 to 1991.
Brenda was always interested in new developments in the native plant field. Whenever there was a field trip, large or small, she would be on it. An avid student, stimulating speaker, and very well organized, Brenda then became the Field Trip Chair; her tenure is recalled by others as one of the best field trip seasons ever. She also worked at Yerba Buena Nursery under Bart O’Brien where all became close friends. Brenda developed the student program at Yerba Buena Nursery.
Brenda’s involvement at Edgewood Park brought her in contact with politics. She was instrumental in helping to defeat the golf course project and saving the park from development. She also developed the Docent Program at Edgewood Park which continues to this day.
Whenever she traveled, botany and native plants were her prime motivating interests, whether it was in Australia, Himalaya, or Costa Rica.
After her death, the Brenda Butner Memorial Lecture was endowed by her husband, Al Butner, who continued to be a chapter member and native plant enthusiast until his passing in 2013. The endowment makes it possible for the chapter members to hear speakers of great accomplishment in the fields of California native plant horticulture, science, and conservation.
Brenda was the first CNPS member I met. I volunteered to sell books and posters and took over that job from her. She assured me that it wasn’t too difficult, but what she did not tell me was that it would lead to total commitment to CNPS. Brenda's commitment was very contagious and inspiring.
From that small involvement and from my eagerness to grow native plants came the opportunity to work at Yerba Buena Nursery with Brenda. There she was instructive and patient with my learning. She even taught me to say “no” sometimes. She knew her own limits and how to manage her time. Together we chaired the Wildflower Show to a great financial and floristic success, largely due to Brenda's organizational ability.
Brenda became Chapter President and drew many new people to the Board. She followed that position with Field Trip Chair. I will always remember our first trip to the desert and how well it was organized. She keyed many plants that were new to the group, helped with the camping and photography efforts, and above all, ensured the enjoyment of every participant. She was particularly good about finding and making available information about our destinations. Brenda instituted the informal Friday plant walks in local parks and open space lands.
Brenda joined me on a Los Altos Hills town committee for Environmental Protection. She wrote guidelines for using native plants in town landscaping, and wrote the town's first Heritage Tree Protection Ordinance. … We planted a valley oak (Quercus lobata) for Arbor Day, and buckeye seeds on road edges.
Brenda was a docent at both the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve and Edgewood Park Preserve. She worked three days a week at Yerba Buena Nursery. She became particularly skilled at propagation techniques, and was responsible for the manzanita cuttings. She started the Chapter's Gardening With Natives group, a very successful gathering which met once a month.
When Brenda got cancer she did not stop her numerous activities unless her treatments really disabled her. She still put in time at Yerba Buena Nursery, attended meetings, and took as many field trips as she had strength for. She organized the botanists for our 1995 Wildflower Show and spent hours helping identify our specimens.
Brenda was so very considerate of all the people around her. She kept us all informed and enthusiastic, and always thanked all the people who helped her. Did we ever thank her enough? I really miss her.
Alfred ButnerAlfred was a general surgeon with El Camino Hospital, Stanford Hospital, and the VA Hospital until he retired in 2012. Al was a long-time chapter member and supported all of Brenda’s CNPS activities. Al was chapter Publicity Chair, a Going Native Garden Tour garden owner, and joined many chapter field trips and activities. He donated a used surgical table from El Camino Hospital to the chapter nursery, which was still in use over 20 years later. After Brenda’s passing, Al funded the Brenda Butner Memorial Fund in her memory.
We are looking for a volunteer to co-chair our Growing Natives Garden Tour committee (https://gngt.org/). This annual spring tour of native plant gardens in the Santa Clara Valley & Peninsula has provided inspiration for thousands of people since its inception in 2003. The position is an excellent opportunity to use your project planning skills to put on one of the premier native plant tours in the state. You will be partnering with an experienced committee member as co-chair, so no prior experience with the tour is needed. The committee meets monthly throughout the year to prepare for the tour. Applicants should be willing to commit approximately 4 to 8 hours monthly to participate in meetings and other organizational activities. Additional hours are generally needed in the months immediately before and during the tour, which will be held on April 13/14, 2024. Interested and want to learn more? Please contact Madeline Morrow at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
info about our leaders
| Mon Sep 01 @ 8:30AM - Alum Rock Park Restoration |
| Wed Sep 03 @ 8:30AM - Alum Rock Park Restoration |
| Fri Sep 05 @ 9:00AM - Edgewood Restoration |
| Sat Sep 06 @ 8:00AM - 10:00AM Lake Cunningham Native Garden |
| Sat Sep 06 @ 9:00AM - 11:00AM Cataldi Park Native Garden |
| Sat Sep 06 @ 9:00AM - 11:00AM Kirk Park Pollinator Garden |
| Mon Sep 08 @ 8:30AM - Alum Rock Park Restoration |
| Mon Sep 08 @ 7:00PM - 08:30PM Conservation Committee |
| Wed Sep 10 @ 8:30AM - Alum Rock Park Restoration |
| Fri Sep 12 @ 9:00AM - Edgewood Restoration |