Announcing Our Fresh New PNPS Logo:  Conveying Symbiosis with Style!

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We’ve hit the refresh button and updated our logo! In order to better communicate our purpose and recharge our outreach efforts, our new logo more effectively conveys the connection between native plants and wildlife in a Pennsylvania context, in one elegant graphic.
A picture tells a thousand words, but how do you best impart those words simply, cleanly, and attractively? PNPS turned to the Pennsylvania State University’s Department of Graphic Design to help us develop a fresh logo that could communicate the essence of our organization: advocating the conservation and use of native plants and, crucially, the understanding that native plants support wildlife, while identifying as a Pennsylvania organization.

Huiwon Lim, Assistant Professor in Graphic Design at Penn State, with an MFA in Graphic Design and MA in Environmental Graphic Design, generously offered his services and those of his student team (Sarah Bodnar, Samantha Chung, Grace Southern, and Lucas Sterrett)  to work with us to create a brand-new and improved design, pro bono.

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PNPS Annual Meeting
Saturday, September 12, 2020

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we held our Annual Meeting this year via Zoom.  If you were not able to attend, we recorded the program and will be posting a link shortly.

What is a Native?

A native plant is one that occurs naturally in a particular region, ecosystem, or habitat without direct or indirect human intervention. We consider the flora present at the time Europeans arrived in North America as the species native to the eastern United States. Native plants include all kinds of plants from mosses and ferns to wildflowers, shrubs, and trees. 

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Why Natives?

Because native plants are adapted to the growing conditions where you live, they are often easier to grow, and less susceptible to challenging conditions than non-native plants.  Many Non-native plants are also invasive, and threaten out our native plant species.

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In Bloom:

The Mighty Oak – white oak that is! 
Although not the tallest of the oaks, white oak (Quercus alba) is one of the most majestic with beautiful fall color.  It is a reliable shade tree to plant near a house since it has a strong root network and grows somewhat slowly.  Growing only 1 to 1½ feet a year may sound like a drawback, but it is an advantage since slower growing trees are usually more structurally sound than trees that grow quickly.  A white oak tree can live up to 600 years, and the average height is 80 -100 feet - often with a spread just as wide.  That may sound like a lot of tree, but I have three 50’ white oaks on my small 1/3 acre lot in Blair county.

 White oak has more going for it than good looks.  In Bringing Nature Home, Doug Tallamy reports that oak trees provide homes for over 600 species of butterflies and moths, and white oak supports the most insect species of all the oak species.  Since birds eat many of these insects and their caterpillars, white oak is also crucial to birds' survival.  Wild turkeys, wood ducks, bobwhites, blue jays, and other birds also eat the acorns – in an autumnal race to snatch them up before the deer, bears, squirrels, and other small mammals can devour them.

White oak prefers full sunlight and deep, well-draining soil that is slightly acidic to neutral.  This species will tolerate clay loam and moderate drought but will often develop chlorosis, or yellowing of leaves, if grown in alkaline soil.  So if you have the right growing conditions, what are you waiting for?  It’s time to plant yourself a white oak – or two or three.  The sooner you plant one, the sooner you will have a beautiful specimen that will provide shade and support wildlife for decades (or centuries!) to come.  


If you have a favorite plant or photo, send it to webmaster@panativeplantsociety.org for a future publication.

 Article and photo courtesy of Karen Smith

Upcoming Events

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many events are being cancelled.   Please be sure to double check before you head out to an event.

Check our Complete Calendar for all upcoming events.  If your event isn't listed,  let us know and we can add them to our Calendar - email webmaster@panativeplantsociety.org. 
Saturday, Sept 12, 2020 - PNPS Annual Meeting via Webinar.  Click here for details

Get Involved!

Membership Dues and Donations

PNPS is committed to supporting programs and events advocating for the use of native plants. Money obtained from memberships and donations go to the following:
  • Grants: PNPS provides support to community projects with donations of plants or grants to purchase plants.
  • Outreach: PNPS representatives travel across the state to various community events and set up an information table to distribute educational and other outreach materials. 
  • Newsletter: PNPS publishes a semi-annual newsletter to our members.
  • Annual Meeting: PNPS sponsors an annual meeting with speakers discussing a variety of topics relating to the use of native plants. This is also open to the general public at either no or low cost.

We accept donations and membership payments online and by check. Thank you for your support!
Membership dues online - please click the Become a Member button  to pay through Paypal or with a credit card.
Membership by check - Click here for instructions

Donations online - please click the Donate button to pay through Paypal or credit card.   For other options, click here.

PNPS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.  If you would like to learn more please email  info@panativeplantsociety.org  

Volunteer - Your help is needed!

There are always opportunities to help, regardless of your level of expertise.   Click the button to see what volunteer opportunities area available.  
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Join our Facebook forum to share photos, events and opportunities related to natives plants and our mission. Our group is closed and you must submit a request to join. We do this to help us keep out spam and maintain this group as a respectful forum for people interested in native plants.  You must submit a request and answer 2 simple questions to join, even if you are added by a current member.

We are over 13,000 members strong and growing!

Contact Us:

For general inquires, email us at  info@panativeplantsociety.org        Our mailing address is  P.O. Box 807,  Boalsburg PA 16827