Friends of the Regional Park Botanic Garden, Tilden Park, Berkeley

Classes, Field Trips & Workshops | Wayne Roderick Lectures | Special Events | Tours | Calendar

Our schedule of fun and informative classes, field trips, and workshops offers something for every native plant lover. Choose from our changing selection of classes on botany and natural history, field trips to wild California, and hands-on workshops on gardening, art, and photography.

WILDFLOWERS AMONG ANCIENT BRISTLECONE PINES:
California’s White Mountains

A special field trip to benefit the Regional Parks Botanic Garden

Dates: July 9-13, 2008
Cost: $800 (includes food, lodging, instruction, and a $200 tax-deductible to the Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden)

The White Mountains soar to over 14,000 feet on the far side of the Owens Valley, across from the dramatic east flank of the Sierra Nevada. Their rugged, desert terrain has a highly diverse geology and flora. Besides the oldest stands of bristlecone pines (Pinus longaeva), the Whites are home to shadscale scrub, pinyon-juniper woodland, seeps and springs, alpine meadows, and sagebrush scrub. The largest contiguous alpine area in California occurs here. We'll learn how to identify the diverse plant life while enjoying magnificent views of the Sierra Nevada.

We will spend three full days in the Whites, which will include moderate hikes in two of the most famous bristlecone groves and a look at the high country above timberline. On the way home, we’ll also stop to see alpine wildflowers in Yosemite National Park.

Accommodations are at Crooked Creek Research Station, located in a stunning setting at an elevation of 10,000 feet and offering comfortable bunk-style beds and first-class food. Participants need to be in reasonably good physical condition and need to exercise care in adapting to the high elevations.

For additional information, see the White Mountains trip flyer.

SUMMER AND FALL CLASSES 2008

To enroll, print out the Class Registration Form and send it with your check to:
John Rusk, 1354-B Lincoln St., Berkeley, CA 94702.
For additional information call John Rusk at 510-528-0526 or email at john@rusk.com.

Graceful Gardening the Pilates Way. Saturdays, July 5, 12, 19, 26
Pruning California Native Trees and Shrubs Workshop. Sunday, July 27
Pruning California Native Trees and Shrubs Workshop: Interm. to Advanced. Sunday, July 27
Botanical Illustration: Capturing Form, Tone, Texture, and Color. Saturday, August 2
Native Medicinal Plants of California. Saturday, August 9
Botanizing California: Flora of California’s Redwood Country. Friday–Monday, August 15–18
Nature's Pharmacy: Medicine Making Workshop. Saturday, August 23 Class is full
Edible and Medicinal Plants of Vollmer Peak. Saturday, August 30
Botanizing California: Exploring the Santa Cruz Mountains. Saturday, September 27
Landscaping with Native Grasses. Saturday, October 18
Selecting and Pruning Young Native Trees and Shrubs. Sunday, October 19
Hands-on Pruning of Trees and Shrubs from the Nursery. Sunday, October 19

GRACEFUL GARDENING THE PILATES WAY
Instructor: Beth Harris
Date: Four Saturdays: July 5, 12, 19, 26, 10:00 AM–12:00 PM at the Visitor Center.
Cost: Single classes: $30 members/$35 nonmembers. All four classes: $100 members/$110 nonmembers. Meet in front of the Visitor Center.

Join us for an enjoyable and invigorating tune-up for your most important tool in the garden—your body! We will mobilize, stretch, and strengthen to unleash aspects of anatomy that help the body enjoy successful labor. Learn to stand, kneel, squat, lift, dig, and move with efficient and effective alignment that suits your own particular physique. Personal modifications will be included for each activity.

PRUNING CALIFORNIA NATIVE TREES AND SHRUBS WORKSHOP
Instructor: Jocelyn Cohen
Date: Sunday, July 27, 9:30 AM–12:30 PM, at the Visitor Center.
Cost: $40 members/$45 nonmembers. (Minimum 8, maximum 15.)

Learn practical pruning techniques for trees and shrubs, focusing on California natives. This class is designed for people who want to prune our native trees and shrubs properly. Among the topics we will cover are general pruning terms and techniques, basic tree and shrub physiology, types of pruning cuts and hands-on practice in how to make them, tools and tool care, and safety. Bring the pruning tools you currently use.

PRUNING CALIFORNIA NATIVE TREES AND SHRUBS WORKSHOP:
INTERMEDIATE TO ADVANCED
Instructor: Jocelyn Cohen
Date: Sunday, July 27, 1:30–5:00 PM, at the Visitor Center.
Cost: $40 members/$45 nonmembers. (Minimum 8, maximum 15.)

This class is for people who know the science of pruning trees and shrubs. Although you may lack confidence, you regularly prune woody plants somewhat skillfully. The class is mainly outside in the Botanic Garden, walking, looking, and discussing the essence of specific species and how we can enhance their natural habits through pruning. Among the topics we will cover are plant form and structure, the best times to prune specific plants, and how some of our shrubs and trees respond to pruning. We will also do a fun pruning project in the field. Bring your pruning tools.

BOTANICAL ILLUSTRATION: CAPTURING FORM, TONE, TEXTURE, AND COLOR
Instructor: John Muir Laws
Date: Saturday, August 2, 10:00 AM–4:00 PM, at the Visitor Center.
Cost: $95 members/$100 nonmembers. (Minimum 8, maximum 15.) Bring a potluck dish to share.

Join illustrator and author John Muir Laws for an intensive full-day botanical illustration workshop that will give your botanical drawings new life and joy. Class will begin with a quick review of flower structure and then plunge into drawing details. We will learn techniques for simplifying the complex structure of flowers to foreshorten their forms and investigate tricks to help draw complicated overlapping shapes such as iris flowers or curling leaves. We will try a new approach to drawing shadows that more clearly reveals the structure of the flower, compare ways of rendering rough or shiny surfaces, and learn ways of handling problem colors for the botanical artist (white, pink, and yellow) with both watercolor and colored pencil. Bring a small bouquet of flowers including at least one iris, drawing paper, pencils, and your favorite drawing tools. Also bring something to share at a lunchtime potluck.

NATIVE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF CALIFORNIA
Instructor: Tellur Fenner
Date: Saturday, August 9, 10:00 AM–3:00 PM, at the Visitor Center.
Cost: $30 members/$35 nonmembers. (Minimum 5, maximum 20.) Bring lunch.

California is home to a diverse array of medicinal plants long valued for their therapeutic effects. In this class we will explore many of the more common (and lesser known) plants used in western American herbalism, with a focus on historical as well as modern use. The morning session will consist of a lecture/slide show highlighting the basic taxonomic and phytochemical characteristics of selected medicinal plant families. After lunch we will hit the trail to observe many of the medicinal plants growing in the Botanic Garden, while discussing their uses in treating many common ailments. Preparation methods, harvesting ethics, and botanical safety issues will also be addressed. Anyone curious about the healing potential of our local flora will find this class insightful and self-empowering.

BOTANIZING CALIFORNIA: FLORA OF CALIFORNIA'S REDWOOD COUNTRY
Instructor: Glenn Keator
Dates: Friday, August 15, through Monday, August 18.
Cost: $200 members/$225 nonmembers (fee does not include transportation, lodging, or meals). (Minimum 8, maximum 15.)

The awe-inspiring coast redwoods are best seen in their optimal habitat: the coastal region between Eureka and the Oregon border, where heavy summer fogs and ample winter rains create a sort of temperate rainforest. Here, the redwoods grow taller and broader than anywhere else and support a lush understory of ferns, small shrubs, and herbaceous flowering plants. We'll visit several impressive redwood sites along with wind-swept coastal bluffs, canyons covered with ferns, and diverse sand dunes to see as many of the special plants from California's wettest corner as possible. Accommodations will be at local motels in Arcata and Crescent City. Details of accommodations, itinerary, and driving directions are available on request and will be sent to all participants.

NATURE'S PHARMACY: MEDICINE MAKING WORKSHOP
Instructor: Tellur Fenner
Dates: Saturday, August 23, 10:00 AM–3:00 PM, at the Visitor Center. Class is full.
Cost: $30 members/$35 nonmembers plus an optional $5 materials fee. (Minimum 5, maximum 15.) Bring lunch.

Come join us for an exciting day as we learn to create a variety of botanical medicines using native California plants. In class we will learn the fundamental principles for making a number of preparations, including teas, tinctures, herbal oils, salves, syrups, and percolations. We will start with an overview of the basic chemical properties of plants while learning when certain extraction methods are appropriate and when they are not. The remainder of the class will be devoted to preparing a number of different herbal products, giving us a chance to put theory into practice. This is an interactive class, so please come ready to get your hands dirty while having a lot of fun! All materials will be provided and each student will leave with a product he or she helped prepare.

EDIBLE AND MEDICINAL PLANTS OF VOLLMER PEAK
Instructor: Tellur Fenner
Dates: Saturday, August 30, 10:00 AM–1:30 PM, Vollmer Peak Trailhead (by the Steam Train) in Tilden Regional Park.
Cost: $15 members/$20 nonmembers. (Minimum 6, maximum 20.) Bring water.

If you are under the impression that you have to travel to the far reaches of the wilderness in order to find a variety of plant foods and medicines, think again. Come discover the many useful native and nonnative plants growing just outside of town along the beautiful trails of this southeastern section of Tilden Regional Park. On our hike we will explore the vast potential of many of the edible and medicinal plants we encounter, taking note not only of their ethnobotanical significance but also of practical modern applications. Basic plant identification will be taught along with tips on how to differentiate poisonous look-alike plants from their beneficial counterparts.

BOTANIZING CALIFORNIA: EXPLORING THE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS
Instructor: Glenn Keator
Dates: Saturday, September 27, 9:00 AM–4:00 PM (meet the evening before at Best Western Inn, Scotts Valley, 831-438-6666).
Cost: $70 members/$75 nonmembers (fee does not include transportation, lodging, or meals). (Minimum 8, maximum 15.) Bring lunch.

Despite their close proximity, the Santa Cruz Mountains are home to several special habitats that harbor rare and endangered shrubs and trees. The beautiful habitats we'll visit include redwood forest, riparian forest on the San Lorenzo River, maritime chaparral, stabilized sand dunes with knobcone pines, and lithified sand dunes with the endangered Santa Cruz cypress and a rare stand of coastal ponderosa pines. Other highlights include several rare manzanitas. We'll drive down to our motel Friday night in order to take advantage of a full day in the mountains and visit Henry Cowell State Park, the Ben Lomond sand dunes, and the Nature Conservancy preserve near Bonny Doon.

LANDSCAPING WITH NATIVE GRASSES
Instructor: Bob Hornback
Date: Saturday, October 18, 9:00 AM–12:00 PM at the Visitor Center.
Cost: $40 members/$45 nonmembers. (Minimum 8, maximum 20.)

Renowned for their sturdiness, native grasses can be excellent candidates for our California gardens. Through observing live specimens and established plantings at the Botanic Garden, you will discover how grasses can provide attractive and dramatic possibilities in a variety of landscape situations.

SELECTING AND PRUNING YOUNG NATIVE TREES AND SHRUBS
Instructor: Jocelyn Cohen
Date: Sunday, October 19, 9:30 AM–12:30 PM, at the Visitor Center.
Cost: $40 members/$45 nonmembers. (Minimum 8, maximum 15.)

Fall is an excellent time to plant our native trees and shrubs, but success depends on several factors including selection, placement, and pruning. In this class, we will discuss basic pruning techniques for young plants and how they differ from those for mature plants. Among the topics we will cover are choosing the right plant for the right place in the garden, placing the plant, what to expect in growth, and how to prune young plants in the garden.

HANDS-ON PRUNING OF TREES AND SHRUBS FROM THE NURSERY
Instructor: Jocelyn Cohen
Date: Sunday, October 19, 1:30–4:30 PM, at the Visitor Center.
Cost: $40 members/$45 nonmembers plus a $37.50 plant materials fee. (Minimum 8, maximum 15.)

We will build on the information from the morning class as well as previous pruning classes. (Prerequisite: October 19 morning class and/or July 27 classes or equivalent.) Each student will prune and take home a 5-gallon plant provided in the class, learning to consider the long-term plan for the look of the plant and its place in the garden. Among the topics we will cover are placing individual plants in the garden, finding the essence of the plant, pruning in the container, pruning for landscape versus container garden, and creating a vision for the plant through time. We will also have the opportunity to do some hands-on pruning, with individual attention for each student. Registered participants will be able to select a 5-gallon plant from a list before the class.

INSTRUCTORS

Jocelyn Cohen is a certified arborist, aesthetic pruner, landscape designer, and specialist in small restoration/rehabilitation projects with California natives. She is also a docent at the Botanic Garden, a member of the Urban Forest Council for the City of San Francisco, and a member of the board of the San Francisco Tree Council. She has a garden design certificate from UC Berkeley.

Tellur Fenner is a clinical herbalist/educator and has studied and used plant medicines from all the major US bioregions. He is an herbalist of the "generalist" persuasion and believes in the importance of an interdisciplinary practice that integrates botany, pharmacy, physiology, and materia medica.

Beth Harris is a master Pilates trainer and rehabilitation specialist in Montclair and El Cerrito who was formerly a professional dancer. She also gardens and participates in habitat restoration projects in the East Bay and Marin County.

Bob Hornback owns Muchas Grasses and specializes in plant brokerage, consultation, and design with ornamental grasses. He is a popular garden writer and speaker and teaches horticulture and botany at campuses throughout the Bay Area.

Glenn Keator is a talented and popular free-lance instructor of botany in the Bay Area. He currently teaches, leads field trips, and provides docent instruction in botany for the Botanic Garden. He is the author of a number of books on native plants.

John Muir (Jack) Laws, a research associate of the California Academy of Sciences, is a naturalist, an environmental educator, and an artist who delights in exploring the natural world and sharing this love with others. His most recent book is an illustrated field guide, The Laws Guide to the Sierra Nevada.

SITE MAP