Symposia

Northern California Botanists is soliciting presenters and workshop ideas for our 2027 Symposium (January 11 and 12^th, 2027 followed by workshops on the 13^th) on the following topics; if you are interested, please fill out this form.  The deadline for responses is May 13, 2026.

• • • Lichens & Bryophytes

• • • • California’s diverse ecosystems support rich communities of lichens and bryophytes.  These small organisms are often overlooked due to a general lack of understanding about what they are and their role in the environment.  This session will highlight recent work on lichens and bryophytes and welcomes presentations that improve our knowledge of these organisms within California.

• • • Exploring the Range of Land Restoration & Stewardship

• • • • There are a wide spectrum of restoration and stewardship needs and approaches that inevitably must be tailored to be site-specific. We’re interested in the observation processes and creative thinking that have gone into your projects so that we can shine light on techniques, whether old or new, that have provided positive results.

• • • Strange Soils & Specialized Plants: Stories from Serpentine and Beyond

• • • • Northern California's turbulent geologic history has produced a diversity of soils. Diverse soils contribute to California's remarkably high floristic diversity through refugia habitats and specialist endemic plants. In this session, we will highlight stories about Northern California's strange soils and the unique plants they harbor. We will share work from a range of unique plant communities on serpentine soils, gabbro, travertine, and beyond.

• • • Pollinator Conservation Actions and Imperiled Species

• • • • The session explores recent assessments and program developments to inspire and encourage discussion around the need and proactive solutions to bridge imperiled pollinators to rich refugia by addressing ways to support biodiversity and food security through pollinator conservation.

• • • Working Lands

• • • • Working lands are often described as lands that are actively managed for agricultural, forestry, ranching, and resource-based economic production while providing essential ecological benefits like habitat, water quality, and carbon sequestration. This session will focus on the ecology and botany of working lands in Northern California.

• • • New Discoveries

• • • • This session features new species discoveries, rediscoveries, new taxonomic understandings, range expansions, otherwise interesting discoveries, and similar topics.

• • • Good News

• • • • This session highlights good things happening in Northern California Botany. If you have something to celebrate, want to highlight a success story, or have something fun and interesting you would like to share, this is the session for you.

• • • Workshops on Jan 13th

• • • • We are soliciting ideas for workshops that presenters are willing to offer as part of the symposium (i.e., there will be no compensation to workshop leads). The workshops should be 4 – 6 hours max. We can reserve space on campus or you lead a field-based workshop.