Native Uses for Native Plants at Los Altos Library

Join the California Native Plant Society for a talk explaining the relationship of California native plants to indigenous people and how these plants can be used today. John Kipping will tell us how native plants can be used for food, medicine, and material sources, especially for basketry, and will demonstrate Pomo style coiled weaving. His talk will include a display of specimens, books, and artifacts. He will show us how to make manzanita cider.

John Kipping's background includes a BA and MA in Biological Sciences as well as a three decade career in teaching at the University of California Extension Natural Environmental Studies Program. For more than 20 years he worked in Natural History education at the Randall Junior Museum, San Francisco Botanical Gardens, and the Audubon Canyon Ranch. John is a certified arborist and holds a Coast Guard Master's License. He currently is ship naturalist for Dolphin Charters curing the summer in SE Alaska and British Columbia.