Upcoming CNPS SCV Events and Activities - July 22, 2025

[CNPS-SCV News]

Dear friends,
Check out our chapter's upcoming events:
  

[1] TONIGHT - Native Plant ID - Onagraceae and Polygonaceae
Tuesday July 22, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location: Peninsula Conservation Center (first floor), 3921 E. Bayshore Road, Palo Alto
https://www.meetup.com/california-native-plant-society-santa-clara-valley-chapter/events/309057602/

This session will focus on Onagraceae (Evening Primrose) and Polygonaceae (Smartweed/Buckwheat) families. With hundreds of taxa, these families contain some of the most well-known plants in California. If you have any samples of plants from these families, please bring them to the meeting.

Native Plant ID is a Chapter group that works together to learn plant identification using botanical keys and other resources. Join us as we look at plant samples collected from local gardens and practice methods of identifying the native plants of our region. Bring in plant samples if you have some from a property where you have permission to collect or just come and work with the materials provided. The group meets at 7:00 PM on the fourth Tuesday of each month. For more information please contact Janet Hoffmann at janet @ cnps-scv.org.

[2] Maintain a Native Plant Garden, a talk by Stephanie Morris
Thursday July 24, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Location: Cupertino Library Program Room (2nd floor) - 10800 Torre Ave, Cupertino
https://www.meetup.com/california-native-plant-society-santa-clara-valley-chapter/events/308982964/

Note: This talk is in-person only.

If you've wanted to learn how to maintain native plants, this talk is for you! Come get inspired and learn how to do it yourself. The talk will include pruning guidelines for native plants, information on the time of year to prune, strategies for weed control, an overview of basic irrigation scheduling, and a few favorite tools used in maintenance. 

This is Talk #3 in a 3-part series. Here are links to the previous two talks. Talk 1 was Designing a Native Plant Garden (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPCZhb3ScKc) and Talk 2 was How to Install Native Plants (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V6DAEmcoVU)

Stephanie Morris has been designing California native plant gardens since 1999 in the Bay Area. Her goal is to design creative, beautiful landscapes that are ecologically oriented and practical.

[3] Photo Group Meeting
Friday July 25, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location: Online
https://www.meetup.com/california-native-plant-society-santa-clara-valley-chapter/events/306327885/

The Photo Group meets via Zoom on the fourth Friday of every month. In this supportive peer group, beginners and experts are equally welcome. Folks who just want to see pictures and hear photo tips are welcome too. Share your pictures, techniques, and ideas via Zoom. Slots are 20 minutes each. If you have pictures to share, sign up for a slot here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f49a9a729aafd0-cnps18#/

[4] Chapter Restoration Activities

RSVP is required for all Chapter restoration activities, along with signed waiver forms. Please see the individual Meetup listings for details.
 

[a] Habitat Restoration at Lake Cunningham Park
Saturday July 26 8:00 am - 10:00 am
Location: Native Garden Parking Lot, Lake Cunningham - 2305 S. White Road, San Jose
https://www.meetup.com/california-native-plant-society-santa-clara-valley-chapter/events/310064495/

Join us to restore habitat (weeding and mulching) in the Native Garden at Lake Cunningham Park. During the summer months, we water, weed, and mulch.

 
[b] Habitat Restoration at Cataldi Park
Saturday July 26, 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Location: Cataldi Park - 1797 Bethany Ave, San Jose
https://www.meetup.com/california-native-plant-society-santa-clara-valley-chapter/events/310065783/

Join us to restore habitat in Cataldi Park, San Jose. We are planting and maintaining native plants in a 1/4-acre area of the park off Bethany Ave. We planted more than 100 native plants last winter! Activities in the summer include weeding, sheet mulching, watering, irrigation setup and general maintenance.
 
[c] Community Work Day at the Native Plant Garden in Kirk Park
Saturday, July 26, 9:00 am - 11:00 pm
Location: Kirk Park Native Garden - Briarwood Drive at Wawona Drive, San Jose
https://www.meetup.com/california-native-plant-society-santa-clara-valley-chapter/events/310066463/

Volunteers meet at the garden on Saturdays, weather permitting, for weeding, watering and other maintenance activities. Occasionally there will be other tasks such as mulching and planting.
 
[d] Friday Edgewood Restoration
Friday, July 25, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Location: Varies - join the email group to receive weekly notices
https://www.cnps-scv.org/events/calendar/eventdetail/11421/-/edgewood-restoration

Help restore habitat at Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve, known for fabulous wildflowers and amazing diversity. Weeders see far more than weeds: we get to be up close to the native plants, some of which are seen only by weeders. To participate, join the email list and sign the electronic volunteer agreement, by sending an email to weed-warriors-coord @ friendsofedgewood.org.

[e] Habitat Restoration at Alum Rock Park
Wednesday July 23, and Monday July 28 at 8:30 am
Location: Alum Rock Park, San Jose
https://www.cnps-scv.org/events/calendar/eventdetail/11730/-/alum-rock-park-restoration

Join the Alum Rock Park Trail Crew to help weed non-native, invasive plants at this natural gem of San Jose. Our habitat restoration efforts allow the native plants to “come to light.”  Forms and reservations are required to volunteer. For the Monday/Wednesday workdays, the meeting spot varies, so please contact Todd Hayes at ultratoddh @ gmail.com for more information and instructions on where to park.

 

Here are some events from other chapters and organizations:

[5] Redwoods: Water, Life and Resilience - by Midpen

Friday, July 25, 9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Location: Bear Creek Redwoods Preserve, Los Gatos
https://www.openspace.org/events/guided-activities/redwoods-water-life-resilience

Take a 5.5 mile journey on this “lollipop” loop with Docent Naturalists Nick Yatsko, Catherine Xun, and Nancy Weintraub to discover the remarkable relationship between water and trees in redwood ecosystems, revealing how these ancient stalwarts have survived centuries of changes. Your route will climb along the Upper Pete Siemens Trail through second-growth forests and continue onto Redwood Spring Trail before returning to the Upper Pete Siemens Trail to visit the old-growth redwoods.

[6] Moth Night - by Midpen

Saturday, July 26, 8:30 pm - 11:55 pm
Location: Monte Bello Preserve, Los Altos
https://www.openspace.org/events/guided-activities/moth-night-3

Come celebrate National Moth Week scheduled for July 19-27, and see for yourself that moths are much more than little brown things that eat your clothing! Docent Naturalists Debbi Brusco, Jack Owicki, Vivian Neou, Ray Curiel, and Annette Herz will use special lights to attract the moths to sheets so you can observe how beautiful and interesting these winged creatures are. You'll also have the opportunity to be a community scientist by photographing and submitting your observations to iNaturalist.