Flagstaff

Chapter Meetings

Chapter meetings and evening programs are held on the 3rd Thursday of each month from March through October, beginning at 7:00 pm. Our monthly meetings are held at the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 1601 North San Francisco St. Monthly field trips are usually on the following weekend, and are announced via email and the Arizona Daily Sun. These events are free and open to the public. Unless otherwise announced, meet for carpooling to field trips at 8:30 a.m., at the OneAZ Credit Union parking lot at the southwest corner of Beaver and Butler. Bring sun and/or rain protection, water, snacks, lunch, and a car or gas money for carpooling. For more information about field trips, email Barbara Phillips at bagphillips@yahoocom.

JOIN OUR CHAPTER E-LIST

Join Our Chapter E-list: If you would like to receive reminders and announcements about field trips and meetings via e-mail, send a note to Sue Holiday to be added to the list. Stay informed by joining us on Facebook.

Usually the most up-do-date information about upcoming chapter events can be found on our Facebook page.

Chapter Leadership

Name	Role	Contact
Kirstin Phillips	President	KPhillips@musnaz.org
Melissa Amberson	Chapter Contact	azmelissa@yahoo.com
Sue Holiday	Email Distribution	naris123@cs.com
Barbara Phillips	Hike Information	bagphillips@yahoo.com

Volunteering Opportunities

Want to get involved? We've got just the thing!

Northern Arizona University, Deaver Herbarium
We are looking for dedicated volunteers to help mount pressed specimens for the permanent collection. No experience necessary, training will be provided. No reply needed, just show up and join a fun group.Work sessions will take place every first and third Friday of the month at 1:30 to 3:30pm in the Deaver herbarium in the Biological Sciences Bldg on 617 S, Beaver Street. The herbarium is located in room 314 on the south side of the third floor.

Next Sessions:

October 18
November 1
November 15

Parking near the NAU campus is very difficult, but the Mountain Line #10 bus stops right in front of the building. For more information visit the Deaver website or contact session organizers Gisela Kluwin or Vera Markgraf

Museum of Northern Arizona
The Museum of Northern Arizona is looking for dedicated volunteers to assist in the curation of herbarium specimens including identifying specimens, mounting pressed specimens, filing pressed specimens into the herbarium, and georeferencing specimens. The Museum is also looking for volunteers to help plant, weed, and prune the native plants in the Colton Research Garden, at the Colton House, and around the Museum grounds. For more information, please contact Museum botanist, Kirstin Phillips.

The Arboretum at Flagstaff
Our Southwest Butterfly House is open Wednesday-Monday from 10:00-4:00. We are looking for volunteers to assist staff on weekends Shifts are 10:00-1:00 and 1:00-4:00. Training and resoures are provided. Contact Volunteer Coordinator Shannon Benjamin at Shannon.benjamin@thearb.org or 928-774-1442 ext. 127.

Grow Flagstaff Seed Library
The Grow Flagstaff Seed Library is looking for volunteers to help create seed packets to add to the growing seed library. For more information, please contact Jackee Alston.

Plant Atlas Project of Arizona
here are several plant ongoing plant atlas projects in northern Arizona. The Plant Atlas Project of Arizona (PAPAZ) is a statewide partnership between the Arizona Native Plant Society, Grand Canyon Trust, Desert Botanical Garden, Northern Arizona University, Museum of Northern Arizona, and the U.S. Forest Service to document the diversity and distribution of Arizona’s flora. For more information, see the Plant Atlas Project website or contact Kirstin Phillips.

Weed Warrior Activities
The AZNPS Flagstaff Chapter will join forces with the Grand Canyon Trust, Master Gardeners, and other local organizations to tackle the enormous weed problem along Fort Valley Road between the Fire Station, Trust’s headquarters, Pioneer Museum and the Museum of Northern Arizona.

Invasive plant species tend to be aggressive, to outcompete native plants for resources and space, and to decrease biodiversity. Diffuse Knapweed, Kochia, Bull Thistle (below), Cheatgrass and many other species are present throughout our project focus area. Together we can work to remove them and increase the chances for native grasses and flowers to flourish. There has already been major improvement at the Pioneer Museum, and native species are filling in among the native grasses. However, there is still more work to do. Details about these projects are on the Grand Canyon Trust’s website. Please come out and join local weed warriors and plant enthusiasts for one or all three workdays of weed removal, exercise, and fun. Please contact Dorothy Lamm with questions or just register at the website. See you there.

Chapter News

Flagstaff Meeting: Lois Neff and Nemacladus Aug. 18, 7 p.m.

Posted on Aug 05, 2020

Lois Neff: Nemacladus: history, hunting, and sorting the species

Nemacladus (Campanulaceae), is a genus of 26 mostly desert annuals. I will introduce them through images of the tiny flowers. In the post-apocalypse of my thesis defense and during the Covid-19 quarantine, I decided to put faces to names–that is, I’d read articles by numerous botanists for my study, but knew nothing about them as people. I will present a bit about these botanists and their contributions. Also, I’ve met and interacted via email with several Nemacladus hunters, and will share how they hunt for Nemacladus. This part of the presentation is partly self-serving, as I would love to have more people looking for the plants, and letting me know when they find them! I will convey some details about what I did for my thesis–enough to give you an idea of the complexity and complications involved in studying Nemacladus.

Lois Neff is a master’s student in Dr. Tina Ayers’ lab at Northern Arizona University studying plant systematics and evolution.

Email flagstaffAZNPS AT gmail.com for the Zoom link and password. This talk will not be recorded. The talk will occur August 18 at 7 p.m.

Image: Nemacladus flowers. Image credit: Lois Neff

Arizona Native Plant Society talks are free and open to the public.

Native Plants for Gardens

Posted on Jul 06, 2020

The next Chapter meeting is Tuesday, July 21 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. A talk will be given by the owners of Plants for the People: Molly McCormick & Jeff Bowler.

What would it take for Flagstaff to become a refuge for migrating hummingbirds, butterflies, song birds & native bees? Can our collective gardens supply the food & nesting sites these species need as native habitats endure climate change?

We would like to find out and work towards making Flagstaff the ultimate destination for tiny wildlife. To meet this goal, Molly & Jeff started Plants for the People, a small business that provides hard to find native seeds, seedlings, and shrubs for all of the greater Flagstaff area’s residents.

In this talk they’ll share information about their favorite native plants for gardens and how ecologically-based landscape design can support low-maintenance beautiful habitats.

Molly is an ecologist, Permaculture designer, and herbalist. Jeff is a musician, farmer, and landscape designer. Flagstaff has been their refuge for 20 years.

Hope you can join us! To receive the Zoom meeting details, please email Sue Holiday.

Logo art by Ryan Bear Art

Tuesday, May 19: Sheila Murray and Kirstin Phillips. Citizen Science Rare Plant Monitoring Program

Posted on Mar 11, 2020

Come learn about 10 rare plants growing on the San Francisco Peaks and Mt. Elden that haven’t been collected in decades. The Museum of Northern Arizona and The Arboretum at Flagstaﬀ are starting a program to train citizen scientists to search for and monitor rare plants that haven’t been found in years. You can help land managers safeguard these rare plants by ﬁnding them in the wild and checking on their condition.

Sheila Murray is the Research Botanist at The Arboretum at Flagstaﬀ. Kirstin Olmon Phillips is the Botany Collections Manager at the Museum of Northern Arizona. Both are avid professional and recreational botanists with an interest in rare and endangered plants who enjoy hiking and spending time outdoors.

The meeting will be at the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 1601 N San Francisco St, Flagstaff, AZ from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Salvia dorrii ssp mearnsii Photo: Frankie Coburn

Gallery

See what your chapter has been up to!