Kai and I went out to the San Manuel Reservation for their Family Science Night, sponsored by the Copernicus Project (UC Riverside). We met lots of kids, teachers and other educators and showed off our “Which Plant is Native?” game. The community center was beautiful. Thanks to the organizers for inviting us!

Kai and Lynn at Science Night

Lynn Sweet
Location: Southern California 

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Only days after my last post, I examined the newly watered trays and found them bursting to life yet again. Now that the weather has taken a turn for the better, I anticipate that these seedlings will have better luck. I will try to be a better plant mother this time and make sure that the trays do not dry out, adn that they get plenty of sun. The current seedlings growing in the trays belong to:

Kyle H

Anndrea

Melissa H and Ruby L

Mike Bell
Location: Encelia Seedlings 

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At the student lunch, we had 17 new members sign up for the chapter. We look forward to working with you all! You’ve already helped us with some great ideas for new projects (my favorite: TV Public Service Announcement)!

So get out there and get started, let the Riverside Branch know if you’d like some materials, and most importantly, have fun!

Lynn Sweet
Location: Southern California 

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Sorry for the delay in updates, but I have sad news to report on the seedling front.

Due to the heat wave that came through Riverside during the second week of the project, the seedlings that initally germinated were unable to survive. The trays that the seeds were planted in were not deep enough to hold water throughout the day, and therefore, the soil dried up.

This represents one of the biggest challenges in growing native plants for personal and professional use. Plants such as Encelia farinosa produce hundreds of seeds per plant which are spread across the landscape. Only a small percentage of each of these seeds is capable of producing a plant, and often conditions are not consistently good enough for the seedling to become a full plant.

I will continue to water the tray over the next few weeks in hope that some of the seeds will contnue to germinate in the cooler weather.

Mike Bell
Location: Encelia Seedlings 

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