Colorado Native Plant Society Virtual Annual Meeting

PEAKS TO PRAIRIES - PLANTS IN A LAND OF EXTREMES

The CoNPS 2020 Annual Conference will be held on-line as a virtual event.

Registration will start on August 1st and run through 5 pm, September 15th.

The Annual Conference registration fee (including the Friday night social) is $30 for members and $35 for non-members.

Friday, September 18: CoNPS Annual Meeting Welcome & Social

Friday Evening 6:30 - 9:00 pm: Virtual Social:

The Virtual Social will feature "Pikes Peak Recap" by Kelly Ambler, and a slide show of the CoNPS 8th Annual Photo Contest Winners by Bruce Tohill. There will also be a multi-member slide show, "CoNPS Members in the Field" by members who will share photographs of their research projects, best native plant photos, favorite hikes and other botany-related subjects.  This is a way for us to come together and share memorable events from all around Colorado.  Finally, a presentation, "Behind the Scenes at CoNPS" featuring photos and snippets from folks who help run this organization.

Saturday & Sunday, Sept. 19 & 20: 44th CoNPS Annual Conference:

Saturday Morning Session: 9:00 am - 12:00 noon

8:30 - 9:00 am: Welcome & Join Webinar

9:00 - 9:10 am: Introductions and Instructions

9:10 - 9:55 am: Keynote Speaker, Heidi Steltzer
                         "The richness of plants in the mountains benefits people"

9:55 - 10:05 am: Break

10:05 - 10:50 am "Colorado's circumboreal alpines and a little biogeography
                              Links to Eurasia and South America and what's unique"
                              Presentation by Mike Kintgen

10:50 - 11:05 am: Break

11:05 - 11:50 am "Colorado native plant availability in the Green Industry"
                             Presentation by Jennifer Bousselot

11:50 - 11:55 pm: Closing

     Saturday Afternoon Session 1:30 pm - 3:50 pm

1:30 -1:40 pm: Announcements, Intros and instructions

1:40 - 2:25 pm: "Thistle be fun:
                           Untangling taxonomy and new species discoveries"
                           Presentation by Jennifer Ackerfield                   

               2:25 - 2:40 pm: Break

2:40 - 3:25 pm: "Light pollution affects invasive and native plant traits
                           important to plant competition and herbivorous insects"
                           Presentation by Shannon Murphy

3:25 - 3: 30 pm: Closing

Sunday Afternoon Session 1:00 pm - 3:15 pm

1:00 - 1:10 pm: Getting Started

1:10 - 1:55 pm: "Finns? Or Fins? No....Fens!"
                          Presentation by Steve Yarbrough

1:55 - 2:10 pm: Break

2:10 - 2:55 pm: Wrap-up Speaker, Tim Seastedt
                         "Climate change effects on herbaceous plant community
                           composition in the Colorado Front Range:
                           Changes in high elevation ecosystems"

2:55 - 3:00 pm: Closing

Registrants will receive an email confirmation when registration closes with details on accessing all webinar events.  Detailed instructions and a how-to video will be given prior to the events for registrants who are unfamiliar with on-line webinars.

In addition, recordings of select presentations may be available for viewing by registered participants for a limited time after the conference in case you either missed a presentation or wish to repeat it.

The 9th Annual CoNPS Photo Contest

The CoNPS Photo Contest will also be a virtual event and will be open to all CoNPS members.  Contestants will enter their photos online through a portal on the CoNPS home page.  Entries will be accepted from August 1 through August 31.  $50 prizes will be given to the winner in each of five categories, Native Plant, Landscape, Artistic, Plants & Wildlife and Garden.

CoNPS members will vote September 1-15 through the same portal on the CoNPS homepage by voting for their favorite photograph in each of the five categories.  The winners will be announced in a slide show at the Friday night Virtual Social on September 18th.

The Great And Wonderful CoNPS Virtual Silent Auction

We will be holding our annual Silent Auction online too! The auction will also be open to all CoNPS members and conference registrants.  Volunteers will be collecting valuable auction items in July and August and they will be posted on our Auction Website.  The auction will also be accessed from our CoNPS homepage.

The fabulous and miraculous items will be available for viewing from September 1 through September 12.  Bidding will be begin at midnight on September 12 and continue until the conference ends at 3:30 pm on Sunday, September 20.  We are auctioning small-sized (but priceless) items this year so your items will be shipped to you after the auction.  We are requesting donations, and asking the donor to hang onto the item and donate their time and shipping cost and ship it to the winning bidder.  Send picture(s), description and value to deniseclairewilson@gmail.com