Photo courtesy of Donna Stevens

The Gila Native Plant Society is sponsoring a two-day course on identifying our native trees and shrubs, to be taught by Donna Stevens, the co-author of Common Southwestern Native Plants: An Identification Guide, now in its second edition. The courses will be in two parts: an classroom lecture and a field trip to put the knowledge gained into practice.

Donna's course description: "Do you want to learn to identify thirty common trees and shrubs in the Silver City area? This course will teach easy ways to distinguish similar plants from each other, using a minimum of botanical terminology. You will learn to build on what you already know about plants to help identify unfamiliar trees and shrubs.

No experience or prior knowledge required. Handout provided."

Course schedule: Classroom session, Friday, June 17, 10:00 am to noon, venue to be announced. Field trip, Saturday, June 18, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm (including travel time). The cost is $15.00 for GNPS members and $20 for non-members, and the course is limited to 20 participants.

To register or for more information e-mail Jeff Boyd at boyd189@gmail.com or phone him at 602-810-8059.