Save Plants
June 2020 Newsletter
Dig In, Sign Up, Save Plants
In the midst of the pandemic and social unrest, how did we continue to do plant conservation? Truly, COVID-19 posed many challenges for our work to safeguard and conserve imperiled native plants. In some areas of the nation, we haven’t been able to leave our homes and we haven’t been able to enter the areas where our rare plants live, while in other areas of the country we have found ways to continue our conservation work. The secret has been continued connections, patiently accepting delays, and adjusting – sometimes switching to tasks that can be accomplished indoors. The secret is always persistent optimism. With careful adherence to social distancing and maintaining clean spaces, our important plant conservation work has continued. In this issue of Save Plants, learn more about how some of our Participating Institutions are conserving plants in these challenging times.
Photo: The IAE field team is conducting their monitoring of threatened golden paintbrush (Castilleja levisecta) while wearing masks and taking sanitary precautions with equipment. Photo credit: Tom Kaye, courtesy of Institute for Applied Ecology.
June 2020 Newsletter
Dig In, Sign Up, Save Plants
In the midst of the pandemic and social unrest, how did we continue to do plant conservation? Truly, COVID-19 posed many challenges for our work to safeguard and conserve imperiled native plants. In some areas of the nation, we haven’t been able to leave our homes and we haven’t been able to enter the areas where our rare plants live, while in other areas of the country we have found ways to continue our conservation work. The secret has been continued connections, patiently accepting delays, and adjusting – sometimes switching to tasks that can be accomplished indoors. The secret is always persistent optimism. With careful adherence to social distancing and maintaining clean spaces, our important plant conservation work has continued. In this issue of Save Plants, learn more about how some of our Participating Institutions are conserving plants in these challenging times.
Learn more in this month’s Save Plants.
Sign Up for monthly informative and comprehensive news from our PIs on the science of saving plants delivered straight to your email. Don’t miss another update!
2020 Center for Plant Conservation National Meeting
Dear CPC Colleagues,
After careful consideration, we have decided to postpone the CPC National Meeting until October 8-9, 2020. We are especially grateful to Denver Botanic Gardens, who have agreed to be our host as was planned for May and are accommodating this change. We are awaiting word from the National Seed Lab (NLGRP) in Fort Collins, but anticipate that we will have a pre-conference field trip on October 7 to NLGRP.
If you have already registered and plan to attend the October meeting, you don’t need to take action. If you registered, but need a refund, please contact Jackie Tondreau (jtondreau@saveplants.org) and we will arrange to refund your money.
Our understanding is that airlines are being very reasonable to accommodate changes. We suggest contacting carriers and discussing the situation.
We are currently working with the hotel in Denver to shift the reserved rooms from May to October. It may be possible for reservations to shift, but please stay tuned for an update about that.
We will announce new deadlines for abstracts and new deadlines for registration as soon as we have worked out details.
Thank you for your understanding about this change in plans. Your health and safety is our highest priority. We hope to see you in Denver in October. Hey, maybe the aspens will be turning!
Best regards,
Joyce and the CPC National Office Team
CPC Rare Plant Academy
CPC Rare Plant Academy is a hub of learning, sharing, and discovery for the plant conservation community. CPC Rare Plant Academy brings the Center for Plant Conservation Best Practices to life by integrating instructional videos and community discourse with web-based interactive guidelines for plant conservation methods. This platform seeks to answer plant conservation’s most challenging “how to’s” by capturing the knowledge of Center for Plant Conservation’s network of expert botanists in modern, learning-friendly formats. As such, CPC Rare Plant Academy will be a training ground for the next generation of plant conservation scientists, who will be the first line of defense against plant extinction.
The Center for Plant Conservation is pleased to announce the publication of CPC Best Plant Conservation Practices to Support Species Survival in the Wild. For the first time we have consolidated our guidelines to cover plant conservation practice from soup to nuts. We urge practitioners to review the new guidelines that reflect updated knowledge about best scientific practice.
2020 Center for Plant Conservation National Meeting
Dear CPC Colleagues,
After careful consideration, we have decided to postpone the CPC National Meeting until October 8-9, 2020. We are especially grateful to Denver Botanic Gardens, who have agreed to be our host as was planned for May and are accommodating this change. We are awaiting word from the National Seed Lab (NLGRP) in Fort Collins, but anticipate that we will have a pre-conference field trip on October 7 to NLGRP.
If you have already registered and plan to attend the October meeting, you don’t need to take action. If you registered, but need a refund, please contact Jackie Tondreau (jtondreau@saveplants.org) and we will arrange to refund your money.
Our understanding is that airlines are being very reasonable to accommodate changes. We suggest contacting carriers and discussing the situation.
We are currently working with the hotel in Denver to shift the reserved rooms from May to October. It may be possible for reservations to shift, but please stay tuned for an update about that.
We will announce new deadlines for abstracts and new deadlines for registration as soon as we have worked out details.
Thank you for your understanding about this change in plans. Your health and safety is our highest priority. We hope to see you in Denver in October. Hey, maybe the aspens will be turning!
Best regards,
Joyce and the CPC National Office Team
CPC Rare Plant Academy
CPC Rare Plant Academy is a hub of learning, sharing, and discovery for the plant conservation community. CPC Rare Plant Academy brings the Center for Plant Conservation Best Practices to life by integrating instructional videos and community discourse with web-based interactive guidelines for plant conservation methods. This platform seeks to answer plant conservation’s most challenging “how to’s” by capturing the knowledge of Center for Plant Conservation’s network of expert botanists in modern, learning-friendly formats. As such, CPC Rare Plant Academy will be a training ground for the next generation of plant conservation scientists, who will be the first line of defense against plant extinction.
The Center for Plant Conservation is pleased to announce the publication of CPC Best Plant Conservation Practices to Support Species Survival in the Wild. For the first time we have consolidated our guidelines to cover plant conservation practice from soup to nuts. We urge practitioners to review the new guidelines that reflect updated knowledge about best scientific practice.
News from our Save Plants Digest
As Seen on CPC’s Rare Plant Academy
This presentation focuses on ways that CPC institutions can collect and transfer data to better inform conservation status assessments.
Forging on Despite Lonely Labs
Although many labs in CPC’s Participating Institutions are currently idle, the researchers are certainly not. Researchers are digging deeper into the literature, formulating new projects and experiments, and getting creative in their stay-at-home tasks. Our collective passion for plants is undaunted. Our work to conserve them continues.
Conservation Champion: Jennifer Ceska
Amidst these times of great human suffering, it is important to remember rays of light that can outshine the darkness. Our Conservation Champion Jennifer Ceska is such a radiant being. She customarily calls colleagues “beloveds.” When she wraps her big smile and warm heart around a crowd, it will follow her anywhere. Her nurturing attention has helped the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance thrive over many years and even during a pandemic. We wish we could clone her!
Featured Plants from our National Collection
America’s flora is at risk, but it can be saved.
Today nearly 30% of the native flora in the United States is considered to be of conservation concern. Without human intervention, many of these plants may be gone within our lifetime. 80% of at-risk species are closely related to plants with economic value and more than 50% are related to crop species.
Plants in Peril.
CPC’s National Collection of Endangered Plants is composed of the most imperiled plants in the country. An important conservation resource, the Collection is a backup in case a species becomes extinct or no longer reproduces in the wild. Live plant material is collected from nature under controlled conditions and then carefully maintained as seed, rooted cuttings or mature plants.
BECOME A FRIEND OF CPC.
With your financial support, our future flora will be as diverse and green as future generations deserve. Please donate and join the CPC today!