A non-profit organization to promote the study and conservation of Alaska native plants.
The Alaska Native Plant Society (AKNPS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to studying and conserving Alaska native plants. General membership meetings are open to the public and are held on the first Monday of every month from October through May. Various guest speakers give presentations on topics related to native plants and AKNPS members give informative slide shows, plant family, and mini- botany talks. During our October meeting, members share photos from their summer adventures. See our Recent News to learn about recent activities.
There are numerous volunteer opportunities including leading public hikes, invasive plants control, plantings and cooperative work with other local groups. Local events are listed on the Upcoming Events page.
General Information
The Alaska Native Plant Society was formed in 1982 by a small group of enthusiastic amateur and professional botanists for the purpose of educating Alaskans about their native flora and the growing need for its protection. We accomplish this through:
- Monthly meetings, held on the first Monday of each month, October through May (with occasional exceptions due to holidays), at 7 PM via Zoom and at the Campbell Creek Science Center in Anchorage. All interested persons are welcome.
- Field Trips, ranging from half day local outings to multi-day excursions throughout Alaska. Some prior trips have been to Kodiak, Seldovia, Chitina / Kennicott, and Denali National Park.
- Displays at local malls during “Celebrating Wildflowers” periods.
- Publication of Borealis, our bi-monthly newsletter for members, October through May.
- Compilation of Alaskan flora references in a bibliography.
- Public Land Sources for Native Plant Materials in the Southcentral Alaska Region for Personal Landscaping Use click here to download pdf.
- This website which is an ongoing project for which volunteers are welcome.
Recent News
The April 3 Alaska Native Plant Society regular meeting from 7-9 pm via Zoom will include the following presentations:
+ Medicinal Plant Series: Lorene Lynn on Urtica dioica (stinging nettle)
+ Aquatic Plant Series: Glenn Brown on Juncaginaceae (Arrowgrass)
+ Featured speaker: Lauren Oakes, on “Forest Loss and Gain in a Changing Climate’
Lauren is a conservation scientist and author of In Search of the Canary Tree: The Story of a Scientist, a Cypress, and a Changing World, in which she investigated the widespread yellow cedar die-off in Southeast Alaska.
Members receive a Zoom meeting link via our email announcements and Borealis newsletter. Guests can join our "Meeting Link" group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/480059036764461 to obtain the Zoom meeting link.
All are invited to join the Alaska Native Plant Society's meeting on Monday, March 6, from 7-9 p.m. at the Campbell Creek Science Center and via Zoom. Anyone in the Anchorage area is welcome to attend in person and arrive 15-20 minutes early to mingle.
We’ll have a short business meeting, followed by a 5-minute talk by Justin Fulkerson on Ruppiaceae (Ditch Grass) and Najadaceae (Water Nymph) in our aquatic plant series. Justin also will give a 10-minute talk on weird, wacky, and beautiful plants and ecosystems he encountered while working on Shemya Island this past summer.
Our featured speaker is Marilyn Barker, who will present on Lycopodium (club moss). Several species in the Lycopodiaceae
family are pictured here.
Members receive a Zoom meeting link via our email announcements and Borealis newsletter. Guests can join our "Meeting Link" group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/480059036764461 to obtain the Zoom meeting link.
If you would like to receive announcements from the Alaska Native Plant Society including our Borealis newsletter, renew or become a member! Learn more and sign up at https://aknps.org/membership.
A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine says the insufficient supply of seeds from native plants is a major barrier to ecological restoration and other revegetation projects across the United States, particularly on the millions of acres of public and private land affected by extreme wildfires, floods, drought, invasive plants, and other hazards.
Native plants have coevolved with native animals in distinctive environments, unlike introduced nonnative plant species. Native plants are often more drought tolerant than nonnatives and are a foundation for native biodiversity in ecosystems, according to the report.
Happy new year! We're kicking off our 2023 meetings tomorrow (Monday, Jan. 9), with discussion on native wildflower meadow plants, aquatic plants and medicinal plants. Please join us via Zoom from 7-9 pm!
We'll have a short business meeting, followed by a 5-minute presentation by Glenn Brown on aquatic plants in the Zanichilliaceae (Horned Pondweed) and Zosteraceae (Eelgrass) families, followed by a five-minute presentation by Valeria Cancino on Single delight, Moneses uniflora, in our Medicinal Plant series.
Our featured speaker is UAF horticulture professor emeritus Patricia Holloway presenting "Wildflower Meadow Plants and their Propagation."
The public is invited to attend in person or via Zoom. Non-members who wish to join the meeting via Zoom can join our "Meeting Link" group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/480059036764461 to obtain the meeting link.
If you would like to receive regular email announcements from the Alaska Native Plant Society including our Borealis newsletter, renew or become a member! Learn more and sign up at https://aknps.org/membership.
Picture caption: Hedysarum alpinum, alpine sweetvetch, growing along the Steese Highway, courtesy Patricia Holloway
The Alaska Native Plant Society's annual native seed fundraiser has begun! Check out our inventory at https://bit.ly/aknativeseed, contact seeds@aknps.org with your request, then wait for confirmation.
Seeds are moving quickly, so please do not send a donation to the seed fundraiser until receiving a response to your request. Your donations support our non-profit programs to promote awareness, education and preservation of Alaska native plants.
We hope to see you at 7 pm on Dec 5 for our monthly meeting! Following a short business meeting, we'll have short talks by Glenn Brown on Osmorhiza, and by Preston Villumsen on the curation of the Campbell Creek Science Center Herbarium.
Our featured speaker is Todd Steinlage who will discuss plant pathology at the Alaska Plant Materials Center.
The public is invited to attend in person or via Zoom. Non-members who wish to join the meeting via Zoom can join our "Meeting Link" group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/480059036764461 to obtain the meeting link.
If you would like to receive regular email announcements from the Alaska Native Plant Society and our Borealis newsletter, renew or become a member! Learn more and sign up at https://aknps.org/membership.
