Frequently asked questions

Answered by a team member at California Native Plant Society

• What is your mission?

  To conserve California native plants and their natural habitats, and increase understanding, appreciation, and horticultural use of native plants.

• How are donations used?

  California is uniquely beautiful, and we feel connected to the awe inspiring expanse of spring wildflowers in the desert, the redwood trees along the northern coast, and the oak woodlands of the foothills. When you support CNPS, you pledge a commitment to conserving the iconic plants and places.

• What can be done with a $100 donation?

  With $100, you can... help bring oak saplings to fire ravaged habitats... or help fund a Rare Plant Treasure Hunt... or support community outreach and education about the importance of native plants in landscaping and gardening.

• What progress has been made already thanks to your donors?

  Accomplishments throughout our 50+ year history are numerous. However recent successes include: publication of the online edition of A Manual of California Vegetation; launch of Calscape.org; launch of the Important Plant Area initiative; launch of the Re-Oak project; and publication of the Wildfire Recovery Guide.

• What is the history of your organization?

  Berkeley, California – 1965. An eclectic mix of nature lovers, gardeners, and plant experts came together as The Bay Area Group to save Tilden Park’s native botanic garden. The group succeeded, and in doing so realized their cause was bigger than a single garden’s preservation. Located in the hills above the iconic campus, Tilden Park’s garden represented much of what a rapidly growing California stood to lose – a rare mix of biodiversity, a connection to the wild, and a sense of this place we call home. With that recognition, The Bay Area Group created the California Native Plant Society (CNPS), a volunteer organization dedicated to the preservation and celebration of California’s native flora. Within a decade, volunteers had established 15 chapters up and down the state. Over the years, CNPS members have included photographer Ansel Adams, two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling, US Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren, and of course a host of legendary botanists like Philip Munz, Leydyard Stebbins, Lester Rowntree, and J.P. Smith, Jr.

  Thanks to the visionary work of those early members, CNPS became the pre-eminent resource on California’s native plants, developing the state’s first Inventory of Rare and Endangered Vascular Plants of California and later A Manual of California Vegetation. In the years since, CNPS has created and contributed to legislation, thousands of authoritative articles, floras, reports, workshops, court cases, and databases as the primary and enduring voice for California’s native flora and places. Today, the work continues in the field, online, in meeting rooms, and in gardens. We’re fighting extinction, conserving public lands, making California more beautiful, and discovering new plant species at exponential rates. Join us! The best is yet to come!