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February 2026
Monthly Meeting
NEXT HYBRID MEETING: Riley Black, When The Earth Was Green, February 21, Oasis, RB And Zoom
Riley Black is the bestselling and award-winning author of When the Earth Was Green , The Last Days of the Dinosaurs , and more. A regular contributor to National Geographic , Smithsonian , and Slate , as well as a repeat guest on NOVA and Science Friday , Riley has spent more than fifteen years bringing the public the latest about the deep past. When not enthusing over fossils in articles and books, Riley regularly volunteers with museum field teams to uncover new
Feb 1
Articles
TREES, PLEASE! Are Your Trees Climate Ready?
By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! February 2026. Are Your Trees Climate Ready? Valentine’s Day is looming, but February 2nd is Groundhog Day . Although we have ample sunshine for groundhogs to see their shadow, where are all the woodchucks? Duh. There aren’t any marmots in San Diego ( unless you count the one that hitch-hiked from NorCal in 2009 ). So how do “we” know that winter is done - if it never began? Across the state annual chill hours are declining and for S
Feb 1
TREES, PLEASE! It’s Not Nice To Fool Mother Nature
By Tim Clancy, for Let's Talk Plants! January 2026. Expansive Empty Parking Lot with a Single Tree Under Clear Blue Sky - Urban Planning Concept Stock Illustration - Illustration of commercial, landscape: 329009840 Royalty free - AI generated. It’s Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature Down at the City of Encinitas (COE) headquarters (HQ) the bureaucrats have been busy creating policies and legislation about trees. They are currently debating the finer points of … A) a Native Plant
Jan 1
TREES, PLEASE! Urban Tree Observations: Conks, Stains, Saps And Bugs
By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! December 2025. Turkey Tails - Trametes versicolor - fruiting body on rotting tree log. Bernard Spragg – Flickr Pro: https://www.flickr.com/photos/volvob12b/41856600312 . Urban Tree Observations: Conks, Stains, Saps and Bugs In October, I wrote about abiotic tree mishaps – especially those inflicted on urban trees by well-meaning humans. Many were preventable, so please re-read that essay if you’re a DIYer, as many of those failures
Dec 1, 2025
TREES, PLEASE! Travel Advisory – PODOCARPUS SPECIES
By Tim Clancy, for Let’s Talk Plants! November 2025. Located on 101 in Solana Beach. Representative of which species? Photo credit: Chartreuse Appreciation Society. Travel Advisory – PODOCARPUS SPECIES Destination: Coastal Region of Encinitas, California Advisory Level: Level 3 – Exercise Increased Caution Summary: Podocarpus specimens are advised to exercise increased caution when choosing the coastal area of San Diego County as permanent growing locations due to inhospita
Nov 1, 2025
TREES, PLEASE! Is That Tree Really Sick?
By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let's Talk Plants! October 2025. Jacaranda tree loses its foliage before blooming in May. Nearby trees have already leafed out. "SelecTree. UFEI. " Jacaranda mimosifolia Tree Record." 1995-2025. Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo. Is That Tree Really Sick? “I think my tree is dying”. Sadly, this is a common lament for far too many residents. Decline of urban trees often arises from largely preventable abiotic causes. Environmentally stressed tr
Sep 30, 2025
TREES, PLEASE! The Herbal Grove
By Karen England, for Let’s Talk Plants! September 2025. Pomegranate, photo credit: WiX stock photo. I have been a regular speaker on the subject of herbs for close to thirty years and in that time, I have always enjoyed surprising audience after audience with just how herbal the entire plant world is and has been for millennia. Seeing people’s minds become “blown” (it looks much like the emoji 🤯 ) as I give my talks is a perk of my job, it’s better than television. One such
Sep 1, 2025
TREES, PLEASE! Your Nose Knows to Sense Scents
TREES, PLEASE! Your Nose Knows to Sense Scents
Jul 31, 2025
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