Carol Ralph
Changing Plans
Our April and May evening programs are canceled, hopefully to be rescheduled for the fall. We are showing you here the field trips and plant walks we hoped to do, so you can consider going on your own. Check our website for suggestions as the dates approach. The Native Plant Sale will happen somehow–new format, possibly new date. Keep checking the web site. The Spring Wildflower Show format or fate this year is still uncertain. Again, keep checking. Above all, don’t forget to go outside! The County Health Officer says that outdoor activities are essential, if you stay 6 ft away from people.
Field Trips
All levels of expertise are welcome on our trips. We all are or were beginners, and we all are ready to share.
April 11, Saturday (the day before Easter). Stony Creek Day Hike. This famous botanical trail off Highway 199 in Gasquet offers diverse native vegetation. It is a 1-mile round-trip hike to the confluence of Stony Creek and North Fork Smith River. The trail is narrow and uneven, with an optional extension over boulders. It is partly on Six Rivers National Forest and partly owned by Siskiyou Land Conservancy. Dress for the weather; bring lunch and water. Meet at 8:30 a.m. at Pacific Union School (3001 Janes Rd., Arcata), 10:30 a.m. at the Gasquet Ranger Station, or arrange another place. Please tell Carol you are coming (707-822-2015).
April 18, Saturday. 12:30-3:30 p.m. Native Plants in Arcata’s Gardens and Forest. Join Carol Ralph and Pete Haggard for a walk from the Arcata Community Center to Arcata Community Forest and back to see native plants in public and private landscapes and in a redwood forest. The walk is about three miles on sidewalks and good paths. Call 826-7050 to register for this free trip sponsored by California Native Plant Society in conjuntion with Godwit Days, or register for Godwit Days at www.godwitdays.org.
April 25, Saturday. 10 a.m-12 noon. Ferns in the Dunes. At the Lanphere Dunes Unit of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Carol Ralph will introduce eight species of common ferns during an easy walk of about a quarter mile along the riparian edge of the dunes. Be prepared for mosquitoes. Meet at Pacific Union School, 3001 Janes Road in Arcata and carpool to the protected site. Co-sponsored by the CNPS and Friends of the Dunes. Please reserve your space by calling (707) 444-1397 or info@friendsofthedunes.org.
April 26, Sunday. 1-3:00 p.m. Botanizing the Hammond Trail Loop. See remnants of the native vegetation along this wonderful McKinleyville trail. Wildflower author and enthusiast Elaine Allison will lead this walk of about one mile along coastal bluffs and coastal prairie, through Beach Pine forest and streamside forest, where you will see many common plants and at least one officially rare species. Meet at the west end of Murray Rd. For information: 707-822-2015 or theralphs@humboldt1.com.
May 15-17, Friday-Sunday. Weaverville Weekend. The oak woodland and its flowers on East Weaver Trail is one destination of this overnight trip. We will be camping at East Weaver Campground (or staying at a motel or B&B in nearby Weaverville). Tell Carol if you are interested in all or part: theralphs@humboldt1.com or 707-822-2015.
Spring Wildflower Show a North Coast celebration of wild California plants
Possibly May 1-2-3, 2020, check http://northcoastcnps.org/ for more details
Jefferson Community Center, 1000 B St., Eureka
May 1, Friday, 2-8 p.m.
May 2 & 3, Saturday & Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Contact: Susan 672-3346
This year’s theme: Pollination and Pollinators
- speakers on pollination, native bees, butterflies, and pollinator gardening
- hundreds of fresh wildflowers, native and non-native
- displays on invasive plants, edible native plants, Wiyot plants, dune plants
- wildflower art workshop and a how-to photography session
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At the show, photo courtesy of Northcoast CNPS experts to identify your wild plant
- chapter t-shirts and wildflower posters, postcards, and plant books to buy
- Admission free. Everyone welcome. Handicap accessible.
Native Plant Sale
Freshwater Farms Reserve, 5851 Myrtle Ave., Eureka,
a property of the Northcoast Regional Land Trust, where cows and coho live side-by-side
May 2 & 3. Saturday & Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Contact: Chris 826-0259 or northcoastcnps@gmail.com
over 100 species grown by our chapter
25 species of cheerful annuals and 3 species of milkweeds
25 species of beautiful bulbs
additional plants from five local nurseries
experienced gardeners to help you
list of species at www.northcoastcnps.org>Gardening>Native Plant Sales
cash, check, or credit card
Please bring a box to carry home your plants.
If You Miss the Plant Sale…
A selection of our chapter-grown native plants is available to buy every day, 12 noon-6 p.m., at the Kneeland Glen Farm Stand at Freshwater Farms Reserve, 5851 Myrtle Ave.(near Three Corners Market). If you don’t see what you want there, you can ask if we have it by contacting us at northcoastcnps@gmail.com.