Washington Native Plant Society

Native Plant Public Education and Publications: Washington Native Plant Society staff and volunteers provide a broad array of service to the public, its 12 chapters, and 2,544 members statewide, who range from professional experts to enthusiastic novices. Online training became a very popular offering, including subjects such as native pollinators, virtual plant walks, forest fire ecology, climate change, restoration projects and many others covering a large variety of subjects. Plant walks were also offered. A very popular Zoom workshop was Botanical Drawing. Multiple sessions were offered to expand skill over time. This wide variety of educational opportunities continues to attract all levels of expertise.

Youth Ecology Education Restoration (YEER): YEER started as a two-year pilot program in 2021, and was so successful was extended to school years 2023-25. It is an innovative educational program including stewards, teachers, students, and land managers to teach restoration in real life experiences for the students. In two primary components; a five-week unit where students take on the role of restoration ecologists and a field experience, where the students partner with restoration experts to implement restoration components typically over two days work on public land. PY 2023-24 will serve 855 students, with 13 teachers and 33 stewards supporting the program and an additional school. Students planted 1,592 native plants, removed 25 cubic yards of weeds over 10,000 square feet of restoration area.

Study Weekend: Study Weekend is an annual WNPS member event focused on botany with field trips, speakers, dinners, and more. Each year the event is sponsored by a different chapter, allowing this event to be held in diversified areas and widespread throughout the state. Field trips were planned to provide a range of ability levels, from flat short trips to hiking in the remote wilderness. Members chose a field experience for Saturday and Sunday, from the 30 field trip locations offered. Each evening, members gather for dinner and educational evening program. Friday evening, Hillary Franz, WA State DNR Commissioner, met with the audience by Zoom. Saturday evening also presented the annual WNPS Awards as selected by the Board of Directors.