Native Plant Society of New Jersey

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Native Plant Society of New Jersey

The Mission of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey is to promote the appreciation, preservation and study of New Jersey's Native Flora.

Watch our videos and past webinars:
https://youtube.com/

08/16/2026

LAST CHANCE - Registration closes Monday at noon.

Slow and Seasonal: Recipes, Remedies, and Relationships with NJ Native Plants
Tuesday, August 18, 2026, 7:00-8:30 PM EDT

On Zoom

Pay what you want: Violet - Access rate $15; Bergamot - Standard rate $25; Elderberry - Supporter rate $50.

Every rate includes the same workshop access and materials.

will share her recipe for the late summer goldenrod cordial cocktail with brandy. She will also demonstrate a non-alcoholic version using white grapefruit juice.

Online webinar with community herbalist in the wise woman tradition Jill Wodnick. A 90-minute workshop on native medicinal plants, seasonal preparations, and the relationships that connect people, plants, and place.

Jill will share practical recipes and plant stories, including violet flower body oil, yarrow mouthwash, and elderberry tonic. Registered participants will receive recipes, a recording, and handouts after the workshop.

Register soon at NPSNJ.org/events

https://npsnj.org/event/slow-and-seasonal-recipes-remedies-and-relationships-with-nj-native-plants/

06/18/2026

Last weekend members of joined Deb Ellis, leader of for a walkthrough of Highland Park Sanctuary along the Raritan River to see a powerful example of how local volunteers can transform degraded land into thriving habitat.

The sanctuary was established by Mary Denver, one of New Jersey's most dedicated grassroots native plant advocates and community land stewards. Mary founded the Highland Park Chapter of NPSNJ in 2010. Along with her daughter Belinda Beetham, they worked almost daily on the three-acre site establishing plant beds, planting native trees, shrubs, grasses, ferns, wildflowers and organized volunteers to help remove invasive species.

Mary passed away in 2023 but her impact and presence remain visible throughout the sanctuary.

06/15/2026

Join us for our next Wednesday Night Webinar this Wednesday, June 17!

Seeing the Forest for the Bees:
Habitat Elements for Native Bees in Northeastern Trees and Forests

Presented by Kass Urban-Mead
Pollinator Conservation Specialist, Xerces Society

Wednesday, June 17, 2026
7:00 PM to 8:30 PM

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_UfIZpb7oRR6srgnyOskP5Q #/registration

Free to all!

In the historically-forested northeastern US, up to 2/3 of our wild bee species use forested habitats for part of their life cycles. Join Kass for an adventure exploring how wild bees use the woods — from the leafy forest floor to deadwood to the “meadow in the sky” at the tippy top of the canopy! Kass will connect these to applied suggestions, and introduce “focal bees” whose life cycles rely on different characteristic elements of a healthy forest.

Kass’s doctoral work in the Cornell Entomology Department characterized pollen usage by wild bees active in early spring forests and forest canopies, and how the movement of bees between forests and orchards can support apple orchard pollination. At the Xerces Society, Kass is a Pollinator Conservation Biologist working to research, communicate, and provide trainings for land managers on the life cycles of forest bees — and the crucial but often-overlooked connections between pollinator conservation and forest health and ecological forest stewardship.

This will be recorded!

06/14/2026

Yesterday members and Kim Anello Correro visited with
for a guided walk by Alec Boss a passionate environmentalist and naturalist around the preserve that also included a private look at the Emily deCamp herbarium collection. We were joined by Linda Kelly recognized as one of the foremost botanists for the entire state of New Jersey and regularly and routinely works with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection helping to advise the department while also working to collect and maintain sensitive plant species for study. She has served as Save Barnegat Bay's head botanist for the last 30 years and her and her team are responsible for cataloging thousands of plant species native to Island Beach State Park and Barnegat Bay's watershed. Her work has been indispensable in helping to preserve the health and biodiversity of Barnegat Bays flora all across its watershed.

Herbaria are vital to the health and well-being of our natural spaces. They offer an invaluable record of how plant species and their ranges have changed over time. The Emily deCamp Herbarium was founded by the deCamp family and friends, all passionate nature enthusiasts, and is one of the most comprehensive collections today.

Check out the photo of a children’s collection from 1910 and notice the handwriting. It is a beautifully preserved collection.

06/05/2026

Herbarium Workshop and Native Plant Walk with

June 13 @ 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Join NPSNJ Programs Saturday, June 13th 10:00 am - 1:00 pm

117 Haines Ra, Toms River, NJ 08753
This workshop is Free
Registration is required
Max: 15 people

REGISTER https://npsnj.org/event/herbarium-workshop-and-native-plant-walk-with-save-barnegat-bay/

Join us for a nature walk around the trails of the Save Barnegat Bay EcoCenter where we will learn about the differences between native, non-native, and invasive plants, the historic uses of plants, how the wildlife of the watershed interact with each other, and practical trail advice to make future hikes more interesting and fun.

While on the walk, guests will be encouraged to pick a plant/flower that speaks to them which will be used in the next part of the program.

When we arrive back at the EcoCenter Alec Boss will give a tour and explanation of the herbarium collection, why herbariums are important, and how they are used by scientists and policy makers. This will all conclude with a hands on demonstration of how to press the plant that each participant collected on the walk.

Questions: via [email protected]

05/23/2026

Few voices carry the power of Robin Wall Kimmerer an author, botanist, and Indigenous teacher. In episode 31 of by she brings that wisdom to bear on the grassroots movement she founded calling all of us to take regenerative action and find new ways to ally ourselves with the good green world.

and sit down with the bestselling author of Braiding Sweetgrass and The Serviceberry, whose words have moved millions to look at the living world with fresh eyes, open hands and a pen.

Planters who have already joined the movement range from children to elders. Many are brand new to planting & environmental work, while others are seasoned professionals or retirees. The Plant Baby Plant community includes gardeners, teachers, artists, farmers, activists, poets, foragers, scientists, librarians, physicians, scout leaders, chaplains, readers, birders, paddlers, hikers, students, parents, and many more. Visit plantbabyplant.com to join the movement and learn how you can raise a garden and a ruckus.

"Plants know what to do to slow climate change, but they can't do it alone. The mantra 'Drill, Baby, Drill' represents a worldview and value system that has led us all to the edge of global climate catastrophe. It doesn't have to be this way. We don't have to sit by while the world we love is in danger." - Robin Wall Kimmerer

2025 TIME 100 Most Influential Person
2023 Elected to U.S. Academy of Sciences
2023 National Humanities Medal Recipient
2022 MacArthur Genius Fellow
300 + Weeks on NY Times bestseller list

Episode 31 of The WildStory can be found here.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-wildstory-a-podcast-of-poetry-and-plants/id1703650112?i=1000767817361

Join Plant Baby Plant here:
https://plantbabyplant.com/

05/15/2026

Welcome to Episode 31 of The WildStory Podcast by NPSNJ.

We open with guest poet (0:03:15), who joins in conversation about her stunning new poetry collection Night Owl (Ecco) Aimee shares her sense of wonder and joy, as she reminds us to take care of the life-in all its forms-found on this planet.

In this month's Ask Randi, entomologist and owner of Toadshade Wildflower Farm Randi Wilfert Eckel (0:34:27) tackles a listener's question about insect hotels. Are they actually helpful for pollinators - or could they do more harm than good?

We then speak with best-selling author and botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer (0:42:39) in a powerful conversation about - Plant Baby Plant a grassroots movement she founded that is rooted in restoration, reciprocity, and resistance.

We welcome back beloved author Margaret Renkl (0:57:11) to talk about her beautiful new children's book, The Weedy Garden (Greenwillow Books), featuring gorgeous collage illustrations by her brother, Billy Renkl. The book is a celebration of the biodiversity we too often overlook right outside our doors.

To close this episode of The WildStory Kim Anello Correro and Ann talk with acclaimed botanist, professor, and author Beronda L. Montgomery (1:13:17), speaking about her important new book, When Trees Testify (Henry Holt and Co.). Beronda explores the deep connections between black botanical history and the living landscape.

This episode of The WildStory is dedicated to the memory Megan Andrejco a beloved member of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey's Hudson Chapter. Megan was a Master Gardener, passionate land steward, and generous volunteer who devoted countless hours to caring for gardens and green spaces throughout Hudson County. Megan recently died from ovarian cancer, and will be deeply missed first by her family, friends from NYBG, clients here in NJ and many communities she nurtured with her knowledge, kindness and care for the living world.

Listen Here!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-wildstory-a-podcast-of-poetry-and-plants/id1703650112?i=1000767817361

05/12/2026

Join us for our next Wednesday Night Webinar via Zoom!

Natives for Container Gardening
Presented by Jeremie Fant

Director of Conservation at Negaunee Institute of the Chicago Botanic Garden

Wednesday, May 20, 2026
7:00 PM to 8:30 PM

Free to all! It will be recorded!

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xwFJNWgbSg6RMGfGuxaPFg #/registration

It’s New Jersey, the most densely populated state in the USA. Many of us ask can we support pollinators and birds on our balconies and our tiny, on average, ¼ acre yards. Well Jeremy Fant lives in Chicago, with only a 5 X 10’ balcony for gardening. For the past 15 years he has learned by trial and error what containers work best, the plant partnerships that are successful, even flourishing year to year. By setting out to create a thriving native plant container garden he has discovered what works and will share the container materials, soils, plants, and more that grow successfully on his balcony.

Jeremie Fant is Director of Conservation at Negaunee Institute of the Chicago Botanic Garden. Originally from Australia, Jeremie received his Degree in Horticulture from the University of Adelaide and then went on to get his Doctorate in Genetics at the University of Cambridge in the UK. Jeremie will educate us on successfully planting pollinator-friendly perennials for small spaces!

05/04/2026

Blooming today in Marlton: Eastern Bluestar

https://www.jerseyyards.org/plant/amsonia-tabernaemontana/

05/02/2026

Ecological Restoration: Principles, Practice & Local Action with Instructor William Young

Four week course on Zoom - Begins June 9th.
More information at NPSNJ/events

Register
https://npsnj.org/event/ecological-restoration-principles-practice-local-action-with-bill-young/

Examine the case studies below: How have they succeeded and where did things go wrong?
This course introduces NPSNJ members to the science, practice, and ethics of ecological restoration, with a focus on Northeastern ecosystems (mostly NJ) and community-scale action.

Session 1 - What Is Ecological Restoration? Foundations, Ethics & Reference Models

Session 2 - Diagnosing Degradation: Soils, Hydrology, Vegetation & Stressors

Session 3 - Implementing Restoration: Plants, Invasives, Installation & Stewardship

Session 4 - Monitoring, Adaptive Management & Community Engagement

NJ case studies:

-Oxford Wetlands Mitigation Bank, Oxford, NJ.

-NJ Meadowlands restoration

-Teaneck Creek Park, Teaneck,

-Sylvan Lake, Avon, NJ

-A raft of restored Superfunds in New Jersey

-Jersey City Historic Reservoir #3

Address

324 Forest Dr S
Short Hills, NJ
07078

Website

http://www.npsnj.org/

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