California Native Plant Society

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Annual Native Plant Sale in Three Rivers

Saturday, October 5, 2013
from 9:30 am to 3 pm
(Head start for California Native Plant Society members: Doors open at 9 am)
Admission is free and open to the public.

beautify your surroundings
create a bird and butterfly habitat
make a water-wise garden

Cal Native Plant Photos © Melanie Keeley

Now in its twentieth year, the sale will held inside the Three Rivers Arts Center located just over the bridge on North Fork Drive in Three Rivers. Follow signs on Highway 198 to turn on North Fork Drive (Anne Lang’s Emporium is on the corner.)

10% Discount on plants for pre-orders made by September 16
for California Native Plant Society members only.
Download pre-order form here.
Call Janet Fanning at 559-561-3461 for questions about pre-orders.

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In addition to a great selection of California native plants from Cal Natives Nursery and Intermountain Nursery, the Chapter will be offering a wide variety of inspiring books on topics related to native plants, wildlife and habitat gardening, natural history, regional plant identification….so, stop, shop and enjoy our book sale on Saturday as well. Volunteer horticultural experts will be on hand for questions and to give helpful advice.

The Chapter also needs volunteers to help, on Friday, October 4, at 10 am to unload and set up plants, and on Saturday during the sale itself. Please call Melanie Keeley, at 559-799-7438, to join the volunteer list.

While California’s native plants have graced gardens worldwide for over a century, few of the landscapes designed for our state’s gardens reflect the natural splendor for which California is famous. By gardening with native plants, you can bring the beauty of California into your own landscape while also receiving numerous benefits. Native vegetation has evolved to live with the local climate, soil types, and animals. This long process brings us several gardening advantages:

  • Save Water: 
Once established, many native plants need minimal irrigation beyond normal rainfall.
  • Low Maintenance:
 Low maintenance landscaping methods are a natural fit with native plants that are already adapted to the local environment. Look forward to using less water, little to no fertilizer, little to no pesticides, less pruning, and less of your time.
  • Pesticide Freedom: 
Native plants have developed their own defenses against many pests and diseases. Since most pesticides kill indiscriminately, beneficial insects become secondary targets in the fight against pests. Reducing or eliminating pesticide use lets natural pest control take over and keeps garden toxins out of our creeks and watersheds.
  • Wildlife Viewing: 
Native plants, birds, butterflies, beneficial insects, and interesting critters are “made for each other.” Research shows that native wildlife prefers native plants.
  • Support Local Ecology: 
As development replaces natural habitats, planting gardens, parks, and roadsides with California natives can provide a “bridge” to nearby remaining wildlands.

The California Native Plant Society, through its nearly 10,000 members and 33 regional chapters, has been working to represent the public’s interest in protecting California’s beautiful native plants and their habitats since 1965. Run by professional staff and volunteers, CNPS is a 501(c)3 organization active in promoting public education about native plants and the use of sound plant science in advocating for conservation of natural areas throughout the State of California. To learn more about CNPS, please visit our website at cnps.org.

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Annual Native Plant Sale on October 6

Download Pre-Order form at this link.
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Can you help the Chapter to share the gift of growing natives?
October 6 , 2012 from 10-4 pm*
(*or until all plants are sold)
CNPS members will be allowed into the plant sale 
for the first hour, from 9-10 am.

The Chapter’s Annual Native Plant Sale will be held in the backyard of the Three Rivers Arts Center. You will find an enclosed pre-order form, with a discount given to Chapter members. We do our best to fill the pre-orders, but sometimes plants are not available from the nurseries as the plant sale gets closer. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Volunteers are needed to help set up the plant sale on Friday, October 5 at 10 am. Cathy Capone and Melanie Keeley will be the leaders for this important task. Cathy will be arranging the plants and Melanie will be making sure all the ordered plants are on the truck from Intermountain Nursery. We will also have plants from Cathy’s nursery in Porterville, Cal Natives. We are so fortunate to have these two wonderful nurseries supplying us with locally grown native plants.

Janet Fanning will be in charge of all pre-orders and sales. Please call Janet, at 559-561-3461, for more information or to volunteer for the Native Plant Sale on Saturday. Please join us!

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Alta Peak Chapter Field Trips for Spring 2011

Read the details and dates for the Chapter’s field trips planned, so far, on this field trip calendar.

Call Joan Stewart, at 539-2717, to confirm details 
about each field trip, like where to meet at 10 am.

Summer Field Trips at higher elevations will be planned for June and July, and will be featured in our next newsletter coming out in late May. An up-to-date field trip schedule will be posted on the this website as field trips are scheduled.


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Children’s Field Trips:Making a Nature Treasure Map

The Alta Peak Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is offering two special Spring field trips for children, inspired by the wonderful, new CNPS curriculum, “Opening the World Through Nature Journaling”, created by John Muir Laws and Emily Bruenig.

Saturday, March 5, 2011
and/or Saturday, April 2, 2011
from 9 am to 12 noon
Case Mountain BLM land in Three Rivers
Led by Elsah Cort, with Joan Stewart

Each child will be given a “nature sketch journal” and a pencil to document the nature walk, creating a map of their own discoveries as they hike, with thumbnail sketches to capture quick notes. They will construct a map of treasures found along a trail as we walk and stop and look.

Unlike other activities that are done in one spot, the treasure map is made along the trail while hiking and stopping in several places. The group will move slowly along the trail, looking for interesting nature discoveries that the kids can map as they go, with quick sketches and inventing place names along the way.

These field trips are designed to encourage children to notice nature up close, and drawing skills are not emphasized at all. The curriculum was developed by Jack Laws, who was the enthusiastically received Alta Peak Chapter program speaker at the Green Faire in October of 2009, in collaboration with Emily Breunig, an English and writing instructor.

Any local artist, botanist or plant lover who would like to volunteer with the children for these outings can contact Elsah Cort. More treasure mapping field trips may be planned for the summer at higher elevations in Sequoia National Park, and in the Autumn for observing nature in other seasons.

This interdisciplinary combination of art, science, writing, and observation exemplifies the California Native Plant Society’s goals in creating educational programs: to engage students of all ages in the incredible natural world of California, to inspire them to keen observations of the wild places in their own backyards, and to foster in them a desire to protect these unique habitats.

Reservations are required for these field trips, so the Chapter can make sure each child receives a nature journal. The age limit for these field trips are from 7-12 years. Adults are welcome to come with their child. It is suggested that each child bring a hat, a knapsack, drinking water, and snacks or a sack lunch. Each child will receive an artist’s sketch journal, pencil and eraser. They should wear long pants, or jeans, and good walking shoes. Optional items could include a small magnifying glass, their favorite pencils and a portable pencil sharpener. The group leader will have some magnifying glasses and pencil sharpeners to loan. Also, make sure that the kids have a bathroom break before the meeting time of 10 am.

Meet at the end of Skyline Drive in Three Rivers, at the gate to the BLM property. Park on the side of the road, being careful not to block private driveways or the right of way for traffic. Please carpool if you can.

Call Elsah Cort at 559-561-4671 to reserve a space and field journal for your child. Each field trip will be limited to 15 children, so sign up early.


More educational resources can be found on the CNPS website at http://cnps.org/cnps/education/resources.php.

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A new native plant children’s curriculum…

“Opening the World through Journaling: Integrating art, science, and language arts”, a curriculum written for CNPS by John Muir Laws and Emily Brueunig, teaches children to become keen observers of the natural world by drawing and writing about the plants and animals in situ. In a set of nested exercises, students use games to gain confidence in drawing and writing as a way to gather information. Later, they employ these skills to put together a field guide, make treasure maps, and to write short stories and poems. John Muir Laws says,

“Keeping a field journal develops and reinforces the most important science process skills; observation and documentation. All other parts of the process of science depend on these skills. We assume that we are naturally good observers, but learning to really see is a skill that must be learned and developed. Journal activities tie directly to the State of California science framework content standards and the visual and performing arts framework content standards.”

We would like to know who uses the material and how it is used for grant and goal purposes. In the near future, we will send you a request to evaluate the curriculum after using it. For this reason we request your email address. CNPS will not share your email address with other organizations or entities.

Questions? Please contact CNPS Education Program Director, Josie Crawford, at jcrawford@cnps.org or (916) 447-2677 ext 205.

Alta Peak Chapter would love to have someone join our board who would like to help schedule some children’s events, like special field trips geared just for kids.
Contact us if you feel a nudge about this. You don’t have to be a plant expert, just someone who knows how to make some phone calls and organize a little calendar of events.