Events & Workshops
Celebrate California native plants! Submit your favorite California native plant photo for a chance to win $100.00 and a Friends of the Ahart Herbarium annual membership!
Join us as we reminisce on the botanical works and travels of renowned Northern California botanist and plant collector Lowell Ahart, in accompaniment of John and his life and business partner, Josephine. Seasoned botanists and those “new to botany” alike will enjoy this story and visual overview of the landscapes explored, botanical discoveries made, and interesting people met along the way.
Please join Calflora’s Executive Director Cynthia Powell to learn about new Calflora tools for native plant professionals, gardeners, and enthusiasts! How can you better use this incredible resource to learn more about regional plants?
Join monkeyflower expert Steve Schoenig on an exploration into the beauty and diversity of monkeyflowers (genus Diplacus, Erythranthe, Mimetanthe). Steve will provide hands-on advice for the—sometimes tricky—identification of monkeyflowers and give an overview of the fantastic diversity of mokeyflowers in the state.
Cottonwoods and willows are the most common riparian hardwood species in California and yet many of us have little idea of how to tell them apart. The goal of the workshop is to instill confidence about vegetative characteristics used in the identification keys in The Jepson Manual and familiarize participants with some of the most common willows in California.
Forest professionals are often asked to assess the health of trees within private and public lands. But making decisions on the health and probability of mortality trees can be complicated. There are many factors to assess and this workshop will present information to aid in the assessment of the health of trees, particularly California native conifers and oaks. Workshop participants will be shown examples in the field of the most common native forest insects and diseases that impact local forest health.
Sorry, this workshop is full.
A group considered difficult by many people, the 90+ California manzanitas are actually easy to identify once you understand the characters and how they vary. Join authors Tom Parker and Mike Vasey to learn about this iconic group of Western North American plants.
Every year, thousands of visitors traverse North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve in Butte County, California. Most are drawn to the spectacular patterned displays of native wildflowers that peak for a few weeks during each spring. Which species are responsible for these displays? And how do the climate, geology, and hydrology of the Table Mountain mesa combine to create these striking floral designs? Learn from our speaker, Samantha (Sam) Hillaire, who is a co-author of the popular field guide, “Wildflowers of Table Mountain, a Naturalist’s Guide.”
Join BLM biologist Steve Laymon and botanist Brooke Thompson to learn about the unique flora of Hog Lake and the exciting Rancho Briesgau riparian restoration project in Tehama County.
Andrea Craig will take you on a tour of the rugged, remote, and richly biodiverse landscape of the Lassen Foothills. This conservation story will focus on Dye Creek Preserve and is about getting to know an elusive volcanic landscape, with over a century of grazing and development, and the diversity that has persevered.
Through soil seedbank studies ‘lost’ vegetation may be rediscovered, past composition highlighted, resiliency potential established and future trajectory imagined. Join Chico State Masters student Kaylie DeLuca to hear about her research on the seedbank of a restored meadow in Lassen Volcanic National Park.
What comes to mind when you think of the winter holiday season? Do you think of evergreens and baking spices? Did you know that many of our native chaparral shrubs and forest trees are evergreen, and that native sages can remain fragrant for years after drying? Learn more about native plants while you create a holiday wreath, kissing ball, or garland!
Bumble bees are among the most charismatic, noticeable (visible and audible!), as well as critically important pollinating insects. In this talk, John Whittlesey will share photos taken over the last 8 years of bumble bees while weaving a discussion of their life history along with anecdotes of “living with bumble bees,” ending the talk with plants to plant if you too would like to invite bumble bees to live in your garden.
Join botanist Rob Preston to learn about the geophyte life style. Rob will share some of the findings from his research on Brodiaea and Dipterostemon and provide an overview of geophytes in the California flora.
Join author and radio host Jennifer Jewell to explore how the power of gardens and gardeners can be viewed through a lens of seeds, and the general state of seeds in our gardened lives: how they grow, where they grow, who grows them, who sells and/or controls them, and their care up and down the seedsheds of our world.
Join Travis Columbus, Research Scientist at the California Botanic Garden, to learn about Eriogonum, one of the most diverse genera of California native plants. Travis will give an overview of California's wild buckwheats with a focus on the Oligogonum subgenus and including new findings from his research.
Cottonwoods and willows are the most common riparian hardwood species in California and yet many of us have little idea of how to tell them apart. The goal of the workshop is to instill confidence about vegetative characteristics used in the identification keys in The Jepson Manual and familiarize participants with some of the most common willows in California.
Join Shaine Hill, the Chico State Biological Sciences Greenhouse Manager, to learn about the unique plants in the greenhouse, some of the accomplishments over the past year, and exciting plans for the Conservancy’s future.
Butterflies are among the most charismatic and easily identified pollinating insects. Join CSU, Chico entomology professor, Dr. Don Miller, to get an introduction to some of the butterfly species found in Butte County, with a special emphasis on their relationships with larval host plants. Dr. Miller will also be conducting the annual butterfly count at the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve on the day following the workshop and participants are welcome to join.
Learn about the beautiful—and sometimes confusing—Sedums in section Gormania. Barbara Wilson, coauthor of the revised taxonomic treatment of the species, will guide us through the recent research and remaining mysteries surrounding this unique group of succulents.
Join Chris McCarron from the Great Basin Institute to learn about the rich flora and exciting recent discoveries at the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.
Celebrate California native plants! Submit your favorite California native plant photo for a chance to win $100.00 and a Friends of the Ahart Herbarium annual membership!
Carol Witham will help us to explore the short-lived, weird-looking, fascinating fauna that evolved millions of years ago, and dazzling swaths of tens of thousands of tiny flowers that change from week to week through a two- to- three month “season”.
Sorry, this workshop is full.
Grasses dominate many California landscapes, yet their identification presents a challenge to beginner and experienced botanists alike. This workshop will help you learn the morphological features and terminology used in The Jepson Manual keys so you can confidently key out those tricky species. Dried specimens of more than 20 genera and 45+ species will be provided for participants to key together as a group and as individuals.
Grasses dominate many California landscapes, yet their identification presents a challenge to beginner and experienced botanists alike. This workshop will help you learn the morphological features and terminology used in The Jepson Manual keys so you can confidently key out those tricky species. Dried specimens of more than 20 genera and 45+ species will be provided for participants to key together as a group and as individuals.
Join restoration ecologist Pat Reynolds to learn about the steps that go into the design, implementation and maintenance of habitat gardens dominated by native herbaceous vegetation and include the incorporation of habitat features designed to maximize ecological values and habitat function.
This talk will briefly discuss the ecology and natural history of the California Deserts, explore the adaptations of plants not only growing, but thriving in these environments, and take a virtual floristic tour of some of the beautiful desert wildflowers found in this region.
Shane Hanofee will take you on a tour of the ferns of the northern Sierra Nevada, discussing identification tips, highlighting adaptive traits, and sharing interesting factoids that will have you pushing past the flowers and cones in pursuit of fronds to flip.
What comes to mind when you think of the winter holiday season? Do you think of evergreens and baking spices? Did you know that many of our native chaparral shrubs and forest trees are evergreen, and that native sages can remain fragrant for years after drying? Learn more about native plants while you create a holiday wreath, kissing ball, or garland!
Do alpine communities experience greater plant-pollinator phenological mismatch than lowland habitats? Join Laura Lampe to hear about her research utilizing herbarium and insect specimen data to examine changes in the timing of flowering and flight periods of plants and pollinators in Northern California.
Grasses dominate many California landscapes, yet their identification presents a challenge to beginner and experienced botanists alike. This workshop will help you learn the morphological features and terminology used in The Jepson Manual keys so you can confidently key out those tricky species. Dried specimens of more than 20 genera and 45+ species will be provided for participants to key together as a group and as individuals.
Join us for the 2022 Friends of the Chico State Herbarium Annual Meeting, including a presentation from the Jim Jokerst Field Botany Award winner, Kaylie DeLuca. Botanist Michael Williams also present his research on the unique flora of Adak Island, the “Birthplace of the Winds”.
Join Jennifer Ackerfield from the Denver Botanic Garden to learn about EcoFlora, an innovative program model for connecting people to plant life and plant science through public gardens in urban areas.
Scientific names provide a common language to discuss and learn about plants from around the world. Join botanist and author, Ann Willyard to learn about scientific names for plants and how using them can strengthen collaborations between native plant enthusiasts, amateur naturalists, and academic botanists.
Join Brett Hall to learn about the wide ranging California native plant programs at the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and Botanic Garden.
Identifying a monkeyflower to species isn’t quite as straightforward as it used to be, but don’t be discouraged! Join Steve Schoenig to become more familiar with the currently recognized monkeyflower species and get some tips to accurately identify these charismatic little plants.
