On February 25, the local Redbud Chapter of the California Native Plant Society invites you to a cozy and festive winter picnic at General Gomez Arts in Auburn. The indoor picnic will feature “Fantastic Fungal Relationships” by mycologist Thea Cheney, appetizers and refreshments, a native-plant sale, and election of Redbud officers (short and sweet!).
This will be a great chance to mingle with other native-plant enthusiasts and deepen your connection with native plants. Doors open at 3 p.m. (including native-plant sale and food), with program from 4 to 6 p.m.
Register in advance with donation. Thank you for supporting this program and our wide-ranging environmental endeavors! We hope to have a full house. Please RSVP to save your place.
Location is General Gomez Arts and Event Center, 808 Lincoln Way, Auburn. More information at https://chapters.cnps.org/redbud/2025/12/17/february-25-2026/
Native-Plant Sale
Visit the plant sale early for best selection. Winter is still a good time to plant native plants. Many of our local natives have lost their leaves, so this sale will focus on perennial evergreen plants that keep their leaves year-round.
We’ll have a variety of trees, shrubs, perennial herbaceous plants, iris and a few grasses. Find images of some featured plants at https://chapters.cnps.org/redbud/2026/01/25/plant-sale-at-winter-picnic-february-25-2026/
Fantastic Fungal Relationships with Thea Chesney
The next time you visit a spring meadow, be sure to thank fungi for the diverse community of sparkling, delicately marked wildflowers, grasses, and insects that surrounds you! Local mycologist Thea Chesney will explain these mutually beneficial relationships, in which plants provide energy from sunlight to underground fungi in exchange for essential nutrients.
Gain increased appreciation for how fungi help plants gain not only needed minerals but also water and improved disease resistance. With Ms. Chesney, peek into how these underground fungi (called mycorrhizae) are connected with the above-ground fungi we see around us.
About Thea Chesney
Thea Chesney, a lifelong Placer County resident, earned her BS in forestry from UC Berkeley while pursuing her passion for fungal taxonomy in mycology labs. Thea has worked as a botanist, a forester, and a mycologist, always happiest in the wild. Her field work and teaching center around the Sierra Nevada and other California mountains, including a future field guide to montane mushrooms.
About the Redbud Chapter of the California Native Plant Society
The Redbud Chapter serves western Nevada and Placer Counties. They offer native plant sales, programs on native plant-related topics, field trips, a hands-on propagation group, grants to local schools and nonprofits for education and restoration projects, a quarterly newsletter, and ongoing advocacy and conservation projects. Most activities are free and open to the public. To become involved or join, email RedbudChapter@gmail.com.