CoNPS Blog
Nature’s Best Hope: Young Reader’s Edition
Hope is right! Here is a book that gives kids reasons for hope and steps they can take to make positive contributions right where they live, a wonderful way to counteract the ‘doom-and-gloom’ side of conservation and climate change issues. The original edition of...
Collecting, Saving, and Sowing Native Seeds
Here are tips you can count on! Denise Wilson has been a Seed Collection Project Manager for the National Park Service in eight western National Parks, including here in Colorado at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site...
Serviceberry: A shrub for all seasons
Serviceberry flowers have distinctive long narrow petals and clustered in racemes, leaves are oblong to rounded, with teeth mostly at tip.Late May is a special time of year for many of us. It’s the beginning of the gardening season, and a good time to have outdoor...
Fireweed: the Fire Follower
On a summer hike in a burn area, people point to pink-purple understory patches and ask, “What’s that?” After a fire, this native perennial re-carpets our land in striking stands. Fireweed, Chamerion angustifolium, was one of the top-producing plants re-colonizing...
Pollinator Districts: Communities Conserving Pollinators
Conservation is fun! Residents celebrate progress by holding Pollinator puppet parade at Manitou Springs’ Pollinator Party. Photo by Amy Yarger Pollinators play a critical role in the food supply for wildlife and people, making pollinators keystone species in most...
Growing Native Plants in Containers
Yes, you can plant natives in containers! You can attract birds, butterflies, and native bees with them, too. And as you build your container garden you will also be contributing to the corridors of connectivity that environmentalists are trying to encourage...
Grateful for the Colorado Native Plant Society
The year 2023 did not always carry good news, but one star always shone brightly for me, and that was the activity of the Colorado Native Plant Society. Throughout our beautiful state there were opportunities to hike, to learn, to write, to gather seeds, and to help...
First Hints of Spring – Willow Trees in Flower
Flowers on willow trees are usually dioecious, or with female flowers on one tree and male flowers on others. The male flowers as pictured here can be quite colorful.In our snowy and variable spring this year the bright yellow and orange colors of willow twigs were...
A Unique Native Shrub for Shade: Creeping Barberry
When talking about native plants for landscaping or restoration we normally think of colorful flowers that can grow well out in the sun in dry landscapes. But ecologists learned long ago that diversity and ecological function in most places is tied to a diversity of...