About Us

About Us

Our Mission

The mission of NPSO Emerald Chapter is the same as that of the umbrella state organization: we are dedicated to the enjoyment, conservation, and study of Oregon’s native plants and habitats.

History of Our Chapter

In the spring of 1979, a group of native plant enthusiasts met to establish a Lane County chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon and to elect initial officers of the chapter. David Wagner (President), Stan Cook (Vice President), Laramie Palmer (Secretary), and John Christy (Treasurer) were joined by Linda Johnson, Charlene Simpson, Ken Lodewick, and Robin Lodewick as founding members. On August 13, 1979, the Emerald Chapter was installed by state NPSO President Frank Lang as the sixth chapter in the state.

Activities

  • Our monthly programs, held from September to April, feature exciting speakers who cover a range of topics of interest to native plant enthusiasts. Our regular meeting place is Amazon Community Center, Main Hall, 2700 Hilyard St, Eugene, usually the 3rd Monday of the month.
  • Expert leaders guide field trips to inspiring locations throughout the year. For up-to-date Emerald Chapter meeting and field trip schedules, see the Events page on this website. To look for events across the entire state, check out the State and Chapter Events page on the state website.
  • Our Rare and Endangered (R & E) Plant Committee keeps watch over our County’s rare and endangered flora.
  • Our proactive Conservation Committee members comment on and provide oversight of projects that may threaten local plant communities.
  • Emerald Chapter’s Native Gardening Awareness Program (NGAP) seeks to promote gardening with native plants and habitat creation through education, outreach, and demonstration. We support local nurseries who sell native plants and have created a document of invasive ornamentals we recommend gardeners not plant because they can disrupt native plant communities when they escape your garden.
  • We partner with Lane Community College and University of Oregon Botany Programs to collect and display native plants from Lane County at the annual Mount Pisgah Arboretum Wildflower Festival held on the Sunday after Mother’s Day in May.

Notable Emerald Chapter Contributions to the Local Botanical Community

  • Hosted NPSO statewide annual meetings in 1983, 1991, 1998, 2009, 2016, 2023.
  • The Emerald Chapter has co-hosted the  Wildflower Festival at Mt. Pisgah Arboretum with Lane Community College Botany Program and University of Oregon Botany Program since 1988.
  • In 1989, members join Lane County Citizen’s Advisory Committee for Roadside Vegetation Management to promote mapping and management of Rare and Endangered (R&E) plants along roadsides in Lane County. The information organized by the committee is used to this day to manage timing and location of treatments countywide.
  • In 1993, Emerald Chapter member Charlene Simpson and a team of other local botanists lead the effort to produce a geographical inventory of the flora of Lane County which culminated in the publication of the “Vascular Plants of Lane County: An Annotated Checklist” which was published in 2002.
  • The Native Gardening Awareness Program (NGAP) Committee developed several documents for members interested in gardening with native plants from 2002-2005 including individual pamphlets for trees, shrubs, and herbaceous species that are useful for landscaping your garden and lists of local nurseries and contractors who can help design your native garden.
  • Soon after the Lane County Flora was completed, the R&E Plant Committee developed the first Lane County R&E Plant List. This list was most recently updated by a team of professional botanists and ecologists and NPSO members in 2023.
  • Emerald Chapter members participate in community events such as Bikes to Blooms at Bake Stewart Park near Cottage Grove in May and various neighborhood picnics and festivals as volunteers are available.
  • We routinely collaborate with other non-profits such as Eugene Natural History Society, Lane County Butterfly Club, Mount Pisgah Arboretum, Lane County Audubon, University of Oregon’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History.
  • We can help monitor rare plants, salvage plants from areas being developed, and volunteer for restoration projects.

Current Governance and Priority Projects

Officers and Board of Directors (April 2024 – March 2025)

  • President: Jenny Lippert
  • Vice President: Karl Anderson
  • Secretary: Bob Hladky
  • Treasurer: Claudia Crawford
  • Directors at Large: Angela Soto, Sarah Erskine, and Steven Yeager

Committees

  • Programs Committee: Sarah Erskine and Angela Soto
  • Publicity Committee: Margaret Conover and Camille Stewart
  • Field Trip Committee: Jenny Lippert
  • Website Committee: Clayton Gautier
  • R & E Committee: inactive, reconvenes every 3rd year in preparation for Oregon Biodiversity Information Center (ORBIC) list review
  • Conservation Committee: inactive

Projects for 2024/2025

  • Lane County Checklist Update: Jenny Lippert, Chair; Members: Steven Yeager, Michael Hartman, Karl Anderson, Thea Jaster, Tanya Harvey, Bruce Newhouse
  • Emerald Chapter Website Redesign: Clayton Gautier, Chair; Members: Tanya Harvey, Angela Soto, Camille Stewart, Steven Yeager, Jenny Lippert