Alaska Native Plant Society

07/31/2026

REMINDER! Visiting grass expert Dr. Travis Columbus is providing a free, in-person lecture on grass ID on Friday, July 31 at the Campbell Creek Science Center.

Attendance is free and open to the public. Doors will be open and refreshments served at 6:30 pm. The lecture will begin at 7.

Columbus is a Claremont Graduate University botany professor and research scientist at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in California who researches the evolutionary biology and taxonomy of grasses.

This talk is co-hosted by the Alaska Native Plant Society and the Campbell Creek Science Center. It will not be live streamed but it will be recorded for later sharing.

FB Event Link: Grass ID with Dr. Travis Columbus

07/30/2026

Thank you to Alaska's News Source for featuring our native wildflower garden work parties at the Campbell Creek Science Center in Anchorage!

You can learn more and sign up for one of our three remaining work parties of the year at https://bit.ly/2026_work_parties

We are also hosting a free public lecture - Grass ID with Dr. Travis Columbus - at 7 pm, Friday, at the Campbell Creek Science Center. Join us!

- with Bureau of Land Management - Alaska

07/19/2026

Current mood: Bedraggled! At least in Southcentral Alaska 🥲

Despite the rain, participants enjoyed our nature journaling field trip to Baxter Bog in Anchorage yesterday featuring 2026 Native Plant of the Year, Eriophorum angustifolium (Tall cottongrass).

It isn't too late to join our summer events! The website calendar is updated through September: https://aknps.org/upcoming-events/

Did you know the Alaska Native Plant Society is offering t-shirts and hoodies celebrating our native plant of the year? Learn more about this plant and navigate to our shirt store 👉 https://aknps.org/2026-native-plant-of-the-year/

05/27/2026

Good news! Our self-guided walk has been extended until June 1. Thank you so much, Alaska State Parks!

05/22/2026

It’s time for some Alaska Native Plant Month walks! Check out these fliers for two free plant walk opportunities in Juneau and Anchorage on this weekend’s calendar and you can find even more by visiting our event calendar at https://sites.google.com/aknps.org/alaska-native-plant-month/event-calendar

05/15/2026

***Extended until June 1*** Just in time for sunny weather, the "Wildflowers of Indianhouse Ridge" self-guided plant hike along Turnagain Arm is open to the public!

With permission from Chugach State Park, Alaska Native Plant Society volunteers have placed small, temporary markers next to native plants along the lower portion of the Indianhouse Ridge Trail. This year, the markers are enhanced with pictures and plant descriptions, and will be in place through May 25, 2026.

Can't make it on those dates? An extensive plant checklist and field guide for Indianhouse Ridge is available at https://aknps.org/field-guides/

Directions: This trail begins at Mile 104.5 of the Seward Highway. There is a small, unmarked pullout with room for 4-5 cars.


Alaska State Parks

📷: AKNPS volunteer Latanya Odden placing markers on Thursday, May 14.

05/14/2026

**Postponed to May 24 ** A few spots are available on our 'Emerging Spring Plants at Windy Corner' field trip coming up this Sunday! RVSPs and a signed waiver are required.

Why go? Early snowmelt on Turnagain Arm makes it one of the first places to find plant growth near Anchorage. Expect 3-4 hours, 2 miles, on the Turnagain Arm Trail, which is fairly level, but rocky in places.

RSVP Required: Contact the leaders Dennis and Annie Ronsse (dennis.ronsse>atdot

05/06/2026

We hope to see you at noon tomorrow (Wednesday, May 6) for the first statewide webinar in our collaboration with UAF Cooperative Extension Service!

Tomorrow's webinar includes presenters from the Kenaitze Indian Tribe and University of Alaska Fairbanks Ethnobotany Program, and more. They will explore how common Alaska plants, both native and introduced, tend to grow well in places modified by humans and how we can interact with them for our holistic well-being, through the lens of Alaska Native plant traditions and ethnobotany.

Get details and register here: https://bit.ly/NativePlantMonth

05/02/2026

Thank you, Alexandria Wenninger, for this great Anchorage Daily News op-ed on the critical relationship between our native plants and their insect pollinators! https://www.adn.com/opinions/2026/05/01/opinion-all-the-buzz-on-supporting-pollinators-the-stewards-of-our-native-plants/

- Alaska Native Plant Month

Supporting native pollinators begins right in our backyards.

05/01/2026

Happy 1st day of Alaska Native Plant Month!

Many thanks to Governor Mike Dunleavy for his May 1 proclamation recognizing the benefits of Alaska's native plants to traditional ways of life, cultural heritage, pollinators and wildlife, the economy, and the health and sustainability of Alaska's communities and ecosystems!

Learn more about Alaska Native Plant Month ➡️ https://bit.ly/AKnativeplantmonth